Cardiology Appointment

I'm basically just re-posting what I put on Facebook because I know some people do not use it.  So, my apologies if you've already read this.

Our cardiologist appointment went really well. Katie had an EKG, an X-ray, and an ultrasound done on her heart. Dr. Romp was very good with her and she was only a little nervous. Her heart will never be normal, but he said it looked good.

Katie has "free" pulmonary regurgitation, which the doctor said is a step up from severe. It almost looked as if she didn't have a valve there. The heart will compensate though, but cannot do so forever. The right ventricle will enlarge over time, and they do not want it to get too large. So, this means that the valve will eventually need to be fixed.

For now, we will go every year and the cardiologist will tell us when we need to start thinking about replacing it. The time line is unknown, but he said between 5 and 10 years. We're hoping that technology will advance and that open-heart surgery won't be needed by that time, but that it can be fixed in another way. She has no physical restrictions and we should not see any outward complications from the regurgitation.

As with any heart patient, there is always the chance of developing an arrhythmia. We're not going to think about that and just enjoy each day God gives us with this precious child.

God gave us the most wonderful little girl. And He took care of all the little details. We received good news from the cardiologist and from the pediatrician as well. There was a possibility of a syndrome that some heart kids have. Katie was tested for this and it was negative. Praise the Lord for His goodness and love for us!

Thank you for praying for her!

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Katie!

Katie turns 3!

Katie turned three on Sunday.  We have all been sick and Ryan was at a soccer tournament, so we are going to celebrate this next weekend.  I'll post pictures of her party sometime next week.

Katie had her first illness.  She started running fever last Sunday, so I took her to the doctor on Monday.  She had strep throat.  She felt fine after only one day on the antibiotics and her temperature returned to normal.




It has been a really rough week for illness at our house.  First Trevor had an eye infection.  Katie had strep.  Ryan threw up last Wednesday and missed his 3rd day of school.  Travis got a cold.  I got strep.  The doctor called to tell us Katie has giardia (parasite that is being treated with antibiotics).  Travis shared his cold with me.  Spencer got strep and is still out of school today.  Please pray for us to get well soon!

First Doctor's Visit

Our first visit with the International Adoption Clinic was yesterday.  I was a little disappointed with the visit, and felt that our pediatrician would have done as much or more on our first visit.  They were much more focused on the emotional part of the visit, and Katie is not having attachment/bonding issues.  I guess if she was I would have been grateful.  I was hoping that I would get more answers on her physical condition, but the exam was not even as thorough as our yearly exams with the pediatrician.  They did draw blood and we'll get those results back at the next visit in four weeks.  They will also set up an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist at UAB so that we can find out if she'll need more surgery.   

There's No Place Like Home

The boys made this sign for us to welcome us home.

After two days of travel, we finally made it home on Saturday.  I was so glad to see everyone at the airport, especially Ryan and Spencer.  We have had such a wonderful group of people praying for us and supporting us. We couldn't have done this without all of you.

I wanted to also give an update on how Katie is doing and how she is adjusting.  She does not like our dogs at all, which is somewhat of a challenge.  We try to keep them in another room or outside, but there are times that she sees them and she will scream.  It's gotten a little better than the first day, but not much.  We're trying to take this very slow and allow her to warm up to them at her own pace.

No longer do we have to worry about bath time.  I was able to get her to sit down in the bath last night, and then today she wanted to get in the water at the pool.  I was so excited!  She was the one who actually initiated it and was laughing and playing.







She loves her brothers, and they are very quick to meet her demands.  We're going to have to work on teaching them to say "no" to her.  She is already telling them what to do, which is kind of cute, but will grow old quickly.  I've been very impressed with their patience with her and the love they show her.  And, they've endured watching Dora for her.






Travis has gone back to work and she is doing great with me now.  We took a picnic lunch to his work today and she was fine when it was time to leave.  She wants me to hold her a lot more than she did before.

I ventured to Target with all four kids, and lived to tell about it.  They were actually pretty good.  Katie loved riding in the shopping cart and was excited when I put goldfish crackers in the buggy.

We laugh often at her English.  We've decided she's  Chinese Italian.  Everything she says has an "uh" on the end.  "Goldfisha"   It's really cute.  She repeats everything, so we have to be careful about what we say.

Trevor and Spencer seem to be having the hardest time with the adjustment.  Spencer is not liking the fact that he's not the youngest anymore, and I think Trevor is just cranky from jet lag.  They have been fighting more today than they have in a long time.  Please pray for them as they make the adjustment.

First Sunday at Church

While you're at it, please pray for all of us.  Things are going really well, but that doesn't mean things are easy.  We're all still making adjustments and I'm sure issues will arise over the next few weeks.  Thanks!

Cancelled

Our flight has been cancelled. We will get in at 12:25 pm tomorrow. We were able to get a hotel at the airport and will get some much needed rest. Say a prayer for us.

Delayed

I just wanted to let everyone know that our plane is delayed. We will not get in to Huntsville until about 11:45. You all are still welcome to meet us but I understand that is really late for everyone to be up. At this point we have been up over 24 hours and I'm so ready to be home. I'm not very happy! I can't wait to crawl into my own bed and sleep in tomorrow morning. Haha. I have a two year old now- they never sleep in.

Hong Kong

We have arrived safely in Hong Kong.  The train ride was relaxing and both Trevor and Katie slept during part of it.  I was able to read without getting carsick, so that was nice. 

We did tour one of the older parts of Guangzhou this morning.  It was very beautiful there.  There was a group of school girls that were walking behind us and taking photos of the silly Americans. :)

We will leave at 11:50 a.m. tomorrow.  That is 10:50 p.m. your time.  Please say lots of prayers for us as we travel.  It will be a 14 hour plane ride with a two year old.  Then a 7 hour lay-over in Chicago.  Then we will finally make it home! 

Can't wait to see everyone!