Bubbles and One Night Left

Sophie Wei slept the best she has ever for me. When I went into her room to sleep on Simone's bed I quietly layed down and opened my book, turned on my flashlight and I hear very softley, "Mommy..........MOMMY." I say to her, "Sophie, Mommy's hear time to go to sleep." Then not another peep until 3:30 am!! SIX HOURS of her sleeping and tossing and turning, without needing me to hold her. PROGRESS. From 3:30 on I changed her diaper twice and layed her in bed with me while she slept on my arm. If I moved my arm she fussed so I tried not to move which caused me to have a few kinks but I will do any thing for sleep :O) By 4:45 am she was saying, "GO" to me which means she is finished sleeping so I just get up and go down stairs with her for breakfast and another ELMO DVD.

This is her last night tonight in her SPICA cast. We are all very excited and have been showing her photos from my friend Robbies blog so she can see what will happen tomorrow when the doctor takes her cast off. I know these photos are helping Simone and she can't wait!
These photos are from today. I have been picking up my camera more these last few days, making sure I have plenty of pictures with Sophie Wei in her Spica Cast along with videos.

Our friends Lisa, Ally and Abi brought by some Halloween bubbles, a card and a worm. I let Sophie Wei go for the bubbles, first time since before her cast was on. She loved it and I did not care because today was the last day in the cast!! It also has a very stinky smell to it so maybe this might spruse it up a bit. Thanks for the fun girls.
Oh the worm....Lisa also brought a slimmy, long fake worm for the girls. When Rick pulled into the drive way Simone had her back to him. Just as she saw him coming she held up her worm to show him and he jumped so high because he thought it was a snake!! I felt so bad because I know how he is about snakes but to him it was so real looking and dark and the way it moved as Simone turned around he thought it was a snake. Sorry Daddy.....

Sophie Wei had a blast...What a different girl this afternoon!!

I will NEVER forget this cast and all it stands for! I can not wait for Sophie Wei's next step and pray her body is healing and will continue to heal!

While rolling around in the grass Simone rolled onto the sidewalk and hurt her toe. She wanted me to take a photo of it. Ouch!

I can't wait for tomorrow. I am so excited and nervous at the same time. I know we have a bit to go with recovery but it seems like it will be better than what we have been through already??? I have so many questions for tomorrow.......How did the Acetabulum form, how does the femur head look, how does the plates and screws look in the femur, when do they come out and how, weight baring instructions, skin recovery and back to her club feet recovery (when do we start the brace again. I am so worried that she will regress with this due not having the bar on for so long now and the fact we had to wait a month for it to come in after we came home from China.)......That's just a few of my questions for now. I have to go over our list and get ready for tomorrow. I will try to post tomorrow to let everyone know how it went.

I also can't wait to order our copies of the xrays!

Sponge Bath

I learned how to give Sophie Wei a sponge bath from my friend Robbie....Sophie Wei does not like it too much but that is nothing a big sister and gum can do to help.

It was nice to have my Mom here for two days to help us. It is such a nice feeling to have her hear!!

Sophie Wei was receiving comfort from Simone.

Sophie Wei happy and smelling good after her sponge bath. Simone making bracelets.

Simone not very happy about me taking these photos.

Sophie Wei was all about me taking pictures of her because Simone was not. Then she wanted out of her stroller and wanted me to hold her.

Two Nights and One Point Five Days Left

Three Days Left

Three Days Left!!!!!!!!!!

This will be a very happy drive to the doctors on Friday!!

Six Days LEFT IN SPICA Cast

We are all celebrating that we only have six days left in the Spica Cast!!

We see the light at the end of the tunnel and sleep for us all.

Sophie Wei has been sleeping better the last few nights. She still is up a few times. For example, last night Rick said that she calls out to him, "Daddy" and he replies, "go to sleep" and she does. I just wish it worked for me that way :O)

We both think the antibiotics are helping her a bit so that is a blessing. It is my turn tonight so we will see how it goes.....only 6 more nights with the spica cast on!!!!

Rick and both feel like we are almost "half way there". We are wondering if it will take her the "projected" time for her to start walking and how hard will this next section be??

Sophie Wei we are so proud of you for how far you have come and we pray your body and spirit is healing and can get some solid rest soon. We love you so much.

Simone we are so proud of you for being such a big help these last few weeks and understanding that why Sophie Wei needs us all to help her. You are such a good little "doctor".

Here is a picture of Sophie Wei with her hair a little messed up :O)

Treasures from Friends at School

Over a week ago my friends at the Elementary School where I teach put together two big baskets for us!!! They also gifted us money so we could purchase more poise pads, wet wipes and food. We are extremely grateful for the help and feel so blessed to have so many friends that are helping us through this time. So far we have gone through over 200 Poise Pads and they are so expensive.

There are so many things in baskets to keep us busy while Sophie Wei is in her Spica Cast. We have things that are borrowed so they are labeled so we can return them after we are finished and things that have been gifted to us. WHAT A GREAT IDEA because Sophie Wei's attention span is so short that having new things to look or play with has been great.

Here is a list of some of the things that are in the basket:
Books, movies, puzzles, crafts, stickers, games, manipulative activities, sorting objects, shapes, foam sheets, dvds, books on tapes, stuffed animal, silly jumping dog, phonics books.

They have been a blessing to our family. I LOVE MY FRIENDS!

I was also so blessed to have my friend Andrea M. go to Costco to help us with our shopping. They same day that she came over we had Rachel, Lauren and Jake over in the morning and Rachel even did my dishes for me :O)

After Rachel, Lauren and Jake left and while we were still visiting with
Andrea, Ellie and Easton, Simone had a big melt down/crying fit. She had just reached her melting point and just needed me to hold her for a bit. Sophie Wei left Andrea hold her which she normally does not let many other people hold her so I felt so relieved so I could help Simone. I think I would of just cried if I was home by myself as Simone was in that bad of a mood. I was able to hold Simone for a while and then put a movie in for her. This was good because Simone has not really had the attention that she has needed in the last few weeks so we have been more intentional with making sure she has time with us and have been taking her out for one on one time.

We are so blessed with such good friends!!

Turtle Cookie Bouquet

We received this surprise on our front porch when we came home from our morning walk.....It was a Turtle Cookie Bouquet from Cami and Chris!!!!!!!!!!!

It was so very cute and these photos do not do them justice. What was so nice about this cookie company is they also called us and left a message to make sure we found them on our front porch.

They were so yummy, we polished them off by the second day and the girls loved the idea of the cookies looking so "pretty in the air".

Thanks Cami and Chris, you made our day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Below is a photo of the jeweled bracelet that Simone made in the hospital. She loves all jewelry but has been wearing this one non stop. She says it reminds her of Sophie Wei's surgery. I am so glad that we went down to the craft/art room and made these! Just another great activity that the hospital does to help people. They have an art program that continues for all children who have been at the hospital. We plan on going back soon for a session. I think it would do us all good to go back and say thanks to the staff and nurses. Hmmmm....maybe we will have to bring some cookies :O)

9/19/08

Spica Car Seat

Here is the car seat that we received on loan from the hospital.

Marathon and a Before the surgery we had read that one of our car seats may of worked. We have a BritaxBritax Regent but due to the position that Sophie Wei she is positioned in her cast we could not use them. We are very thankful for the hospital letting us borrow the car seat as some days it is the only place she will nap.......on the way to dropping Simone off at preschool.

Stroller

This stroller has been a great help for us because we can go for walk or Sophie Wei can sit in here in the house while we try to get things accomplished.

We put a pillow behind her back since she sits at an angle.
This helps make it more comfortable for her.

Today I found a very cool link for Ivy Rose Spica Chairs. If anyone is looking for a table for their child in a spica chair they need to see this site...
I wish we knew about it before Sophie Wei's surgery.

Sophie Wei Sleeps

sophie wei only was up and fussed 3 times last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Right after Rick put her to bed and after I gave Simone a bath and put her to bed Sophi Wei fussed but I thought Rick was in there so I did not go in. She fussed for about 5 minutes and then stopped, I went down stairs and saw Rick...I told him what happened, we lucked out.

Rick said he changed her diaper around once around 10 and then he held her again at 3:30, That's IT!!!

What a blessing!!!!

It only took two days shy of 4 weeks!!!

Photo Space

Ahh, I guess that I have reached my upload limit for photos through Google/blogger......I have uploaded around 3,500 photos and at my high resolution I guess that is as much as I can upload.

So I added more room which was $$$$ but not back for all of the blogging that I have done over the last few years......I will now have 10x the storage which I will not need but I still need to do blurb books so I can't delete any more photos to make room. I guess i have to wait for 24 hours for it to go through.....I will try back when it goes through or when it is my night off......So see you in two nights....I have some touching photos from surgery that I am finally ready to post.

So if anyone has this problem when uploading that is what is going on.
9/10/08

So Close

So Close

God’s presence can be a hidden presence,
Not because God chooses to withdraw,
But because we fail to see God who is so near.

There are many reasons for our failure to see.

We are concerned about future projects and fail to see present blessings.

We may also be looking for the wrong indicators.
We may be looking for peace when God’s presence is in the turmoil.

We may be looking for resolution when hope lies in the non-fulfillment
of our present expectations.

We may be wishing for answers when God’s goodness is manifest in further questions.

God is frequently closer than we think.

We need, however, to develop a new confidence that
God inhabits our despair as well as our praises.

From: Day to Journey with Henri Nouwen by Charles Ringma

I received the above email today from my friend Nadine! She found this today on another blog. It could of not came at a better time because this is what I have been struggling with. It also reminds me to continue to pray about what is going great because there are so many things we have to be thankful for. I miss you Nadine and can't wait to see you....this summer??!!!??!

Night Time

Night Time continues to be so very hard. Last night I was up with her all night. I did get in a few "cat" naps for a few minutes here or there but I held her most or walked the room back and forth with her in my arms. I keep thinking to myself, I wish I could say things are getting better but they are not. Just when we say out loud that they are we are reminded of our situation.

Sophie Wei has also been getting bloody noses so we purchased a humidifier to see if that will help. If it continues we will go see our pediatrician just to rule out the ibuprofen that she had been taking for three weeks.

20 Days left.

On a lighter note the girls have made me smile. Yesterday when I was doing the laundry I left the girls on their bedroom floor between their beds and told them I would be right back. I could hear them laughing from the laundry room witch is just down the hall. All of a sudden I hear nothing....I think, hum, what are they doing? I go into their room and I do not see them. I think to myself, where could they go, Sophie Wei can not walk and Simone could not carry her????? Then after a few moments of silence I hear them quietly snickering......It is coming from underneath Simone's Bed!! They were under there against the wall!! I asked Simone how did Sophie Wei make it all the way under there?? Simone said, "moved here". I just laughed, some things you just do not need to know.

These moments...miss them...want them back......

While leaving the house we now take turns on who's turn it is to close the garage door. Sophie Wei closes it and Simone opens it when we return home. Well the other day Simone started to fake cry (yes she does a lot of this lately) and Sophie Wei hands her the garage door opener. Simone closes the door and smiles, Sophie Wei then cries because she just figured out what she did. They truly know what makes each other tick.

Bring the Rain Bring Me Peace

Just two photos of Sophie Wei from her hospital stay....

Reminding myself that we are making progress and to be thankful for that.

Small steps.

22 Down, 22 to go!

Every day together is a blessing.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7

Music motivates, inspires and moves me.

Going through my life journey I can think of certain songs that remind me of that time.

For example,
Thunderstruck By AC/DC, Playing With the Boys by Kenny Loggins/Top Gun = Senior Year Volleyball Warm Ups = competition, fun, spikes, blocks, Wendy my best partner/challenger, floater serves, homecoming soon!!

So What by Pink = New Attitude = Sophie Wei's recovery (this deserves it's own post at a later date.)

Here is another one of them that has touched me right now during Sophie Wei's recovery, Bring the Rain! I learned about this song from this web site: Bring the Rain. I have been reading for many months now, can't remember exactly when?? I highly recommend it.

Bring the Rain - Mercy Me
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that
I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You

Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings
You glory And I know there'll
be days When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to
praise You Jesus, bring the rain

I am yours regardless of the clouds that may
loom above because you are much greater than
my pain you who made a way for me suffering
your destiny so tell me whats a little rain

[1st Chorus]

Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
is the lord God almighty
is the lord God almighty
I'm forever singing

[2nd Chorus 2x]

everybody singing
Holy holy holy
you are holy
you are holy

Today we also received a suprise visit from Becca, Emma and Sara.

What a nice time to spend before bed and help pass the cranky time :O)

Thanks, we are glad you guys Just DO IT!

My Mom

I just finished updating the blog below and needed to go down stairs to clean up and get many things done.....

So I sign off blogger.

Go down stairs.

What do I find.

Dishes done!

Table cleared, cleaned.

Laundry done.

My Mom is amazing and I love her so.

I am so blessed.

Update

This is how it goes during the day....Sophie Wei does not sit still for long so that means that I have to pick her up and hold her often which is starting to hurt my right arm and wrist. I don't mind but it is so exhausting. I am borrowing a wrist brace from my friend Sue to help my arm and wrist out.

We use a lot of manipulative for fun and go for a lot of walks!! (Thank goodness it still has been nice here.) She does not prefer any type of movies either in English or Chinese so that does not help, I wish is would. She seems to be falling in love with Elmo!! We hope :O)

I just found a cool new craft/toy at Target called Pop Beads by Parents Magazine. Both girls love them although it is a little hard for Sophie Wei to snap them together because her fine motor development skills are about a year behind. I also get a brake when we drive Simone to preschool.

Why this is so hard is because Sophie Wei's attention span is around 5-10 minutes. She is one busy girl who likes to throw any object (I would be surprised if she does not go out for softball, ha-ha.)

Sophie Wei is still not sleeping well at night and it will be three weeks since the surgery tomorrow!!!!

Rick and I have been talking a lot about what might be going on. I also emailed our social worker for help. (Post to come about that.) Granted we did just adopt her three months ago.....We are thinking that part of her terrors, etc. at night is the adjustment from the surgery/cast and the adoption. She wakes up screaming often and it takes a long time for her to settle down. The episodes are coming farther apart though so that is a blessing. My heart goes out to her.

This is still the hardest thing I have ever done. Still doing a lot of praying, thinking, crying and trying to make sure I keep my head up so Sophie Wei does not sense it but some times I don't mind letting her see me cry, etc.

I hope to post photos at some point but no time for that and I wanted to update everyone. Thanks for checking in.

xoxo US

Surgery Specifics

1. Right peri-acetabular Pemberton osteotomy.
2. Right proximal femur shortening osteotomy.
3. Right hip capsulorrhaphy.
4. Application of right hip spica cast. 6 weeks.
5. Surgery was on 9/10/08

Help From Our Social Worker

Below is the reply from the email that I received from our social worker and my email that I wrote is below that. I thought this would help explain what we are going through and I hope it can help other families. My friend Becca also met a new friend that might have some contact information for us about a local therapist where her children go who are also adopted from China and have similar things "going on" like Sophie Wei. Can't wait to looking into it!

From our social worker who I adore and respect!

"I think she is experiencing the stress of being in new home and also having recent surgery that has traumatized her. She is likely having some nightmares and needs extra assurance. Do not let her "cry it out" she needs to know you are there for assurance. When she wakes up, be there as soon as possible and touch her for comfort. Do not leave her to cry it out when you put her down. That is just interpreted as rejection for a child from an orphanage, and especially one who is experiencing recent medical trauma and change to their bodies. If she has improved, then got worse from surgery, that is likely the latest trauma that has her focus. Crying for that long is a child who is just grieving heavily and does not understand now why she is trapped in a cast.. sleep near her if it helps her, or let her sleep on a mattress in your room. At this point, she needs as much touch and reassurance as possible from the both of you. It will help her move beyond this "stuck" point and attach faster. The extra attention will not interfere with her development, it will actually strengthen her coping skills, and now she needs you more than ever! Remember, at her age, the trauma of adoption and surgery is more pronounced and signficant.We can talk on the phone if needed as well..Zia"

Email from me to our social worker. Subject: Advice

"Just checking in with you to see if you have any advice about Sophie Wei. When she wakes up she cries and is very upset. For example, today she was fighting a nap. Fell asleep in my arms for maybe fifteen minutes. Awoke crying. I tried to settle her back in by rocking, carrying her, etc. Finally I came down stairs to put a movie in and she fell asleep while I was fixing the DVD player. She was asleep for maybe twenty minutes. Awoke crying and then never stopped for 50 minutes. She was hysterical. FYI - She has done this in the past but not enough to warrant some help. She has done this a lot lately. She just had her surgery on Sept. 10th. She is in a full spica cast (just below nipples, all the way down the right leg and to the knee on the other leg.) Any ready material or advise. Is there some techniques we can try? Thanks, Michele and Rick"

Adjustment At Home

Coming home is a blessing but hard all over again. Sophie Wei wants to slide on out of our laps and go play. She is even saying, "walk." It is an adjustment and we are trying to figure out how to work things at home.

My Mother In Law Maureen and Nephew Brandon came up to visit and help on Sunday. That was nice and Simone stuck to Brandon like glue, she adores him.

Today Becca and Sara came over to help and my Mom arrived this evening for two days to help us figure this out.

Sophie Wei is doing well with her medicine. Her speech has regressed and she does a lot of whining, etc. but that is to be expected. She is also having some anxiety when ever Rick or I leave the room.

Rick brought out our baby stroller that we had for Simone and that works well for Sophie Wei to sit in and we are able to put the safety belts around her. We also do a lot of carrying her around and making sure her foot is elevated, etc.

This is very hard, I do a lot of crying.........Well all of the girls in our house are......We are thankful though because this too shall pass in time. It just does not seem like it right now.

We see our surgeon on Friday morning for a check up. We pray that Sophie Wei is healing well. One of the nurses told us that she because she had her bones worked on it takes a little longer for recovery.

I better get some sleep while I can. Sorry there will not be many updates right as of now because we are so busy taking care of our little ones. Sorry this update is so late but that is because I have had no time to do so. We did not mean to worry anyone.

Once again thank you everyone for your emails and prayers. Sorry I have not responded to them all but I am sure you understand.

One thing I know for sure is that this experience has changed me in more ways then one, for the better........that will be another post some day.

We Are Home

We Are Home as of this afternoon!

I was told by the nurse at 5 am this morning that Sophie Wei needed to go to the bathroom and if she did not they would have to give her fluids through her IV again and put her catheter back on. This is standard that after you have the catheter taken out you need to go to the bathroom with with in six hours or so. I told him that she does not normally pee at night and I was hoping she would. Luckily we were given twenty extra minutes and she did!!!!!!! FEWWWW.

We feel blessed that we are going home together as a family.

Day Three Surgery Update

I really should NOT be posting because I need the sleep. I think after I posted last night we only had an hour and a half more of sleep???? The Nurse just came in to check vitals and I said, oh, awe....She said, you can tell me you don't want me to. I said really, well then please don't do it now because she needs to sleep and just explained what we just went through with the new iv having to be put in by the Panda Team.

I am back. Sophie Wei was just fussing again so this will be very short.

We have had some good times and ruff times today.

I will update this post later to give more details.

Her epidural was taken out this evening, spica cast had to be cut and put pack together to get it out. She FREAKED out, started to revert to the first day/night/morning behavior that made me start to remember it and I cried, had to sk the nurse to get another nurse to help becuase I had to leave the room. SOphie Wei's doctors were here to do that. Her doctor could not get the epidural out and did not want to pull it so they had to get the saw to open it and then repair it. THEY ARE AMAZING and so caring.....A blessing to us all. The nurses and support staff are amazing as well. What a great team here.

Then this evening around ten when it was time for the meds through the IV we learned that it had many kinks in it and could not be saved. It was saved once today and another time already. So our RN, Jason, called in the Panda Team. Michelle and Josh from the panda team were wearing Red shirts with Pandas on them and black pants. Our other RN, Beth, said that they are so amazing. They sit here at the hospital and when needed go pick up critical babies and children when called. they leave by helicopter or ambulance. Since Sophie Weis arms are both "done" they had to use her left leg. The IV has been in her right but the left is bruised from surgery.

The Panda Team was amazing!!!! They even gave Sophie Wei a panda!! They used small warm pads to help her veins appear. What a blessing but it was tuff on "Sophie Wei.

Simone is here tonight. Wanted to be with us so she is. Scoot, Becca, Sara, Emma, Jeni and Reagan came to visit us tonight so that was nice and a blessing.

No time for spell check again. I need my sleep, even if it is for ten minutes or an hour.

There is a slight chance we will go home tomorrow evening but if we have another night again like last night or the others we WILL NOT be going home until every thing is manageable.

Today we made very special bracelets. I will cherish them forever. Simone had to finish mine because Sophie Wei needed out of the art room and put a very special blue bead on the end for me along with Becca's help.

I am praying that Robbi's advice will come true tomorrow and tomorrow will be the day. The best one yet :O) So I will pray.

I also want to pray for all of the other children and families here. We could have it much harder than what it is. One Mom told me today that she has been coming her since her son was two weeks old and he is now a teenager. He has been riding his wheel chair around here since we have been here. Today he was coming full steam ahead and one of the doctors got down like a football linemen. The young boy said, "I WILL RUN YOU OVER!" And kept on going, the doctor safely got out of the way and smiled. So did we as the boy peels away down the hall continuing on his mission.

Quick Update

Sophie went to sleep around 8:30.

It has been a much, Much better afternoon.

We went to sleep at 9:15 after she had falling into a deeper sleep, waiting just to make sure she was ok.

Rick woke up with her around eleven. Vital check around midnight, Sophie Wei still up.

I take over at 1am so Rick can sleep a little, Sophie Wei still awake. I have been here with her watching Singing and Dancing with Mei Mei....over and over again but that is fine with me because she is sleeping. It is now 4 am. I went out to get some hot tea around thirty minutes ago and the nurse asked about her and I told her she was still awake. She came in to give her some strong teylenol and the other nurse checked her vitals again. She has been fussing, around a three on a scale of ten. Yesterday, last night and this morning was around a 100 on a scale of 10....I did just almost ask them to push the button for the extra meds but she just went back to sleep....Oh, I hope she can sleep, she needs it so much!!!!!!

There is talk of possible going home on Saturday? Her Doctor came by this afternoon and said he will take her epidural out tomorrow some time because someone else said it would be hard and they might need to split the cast to do it. He said that he will take care of it so that was comforting.

The truth is this has been the hardest thing in my life. Robbie has assured me that it will get better. This is just my opinion but if I could help any other family that is going to go through this same thing is just to hang in there and pray.

Having our daughter that we love so much bite, hit, pintch, scratch, scream even though her voice is gone and watch little eyes look at us saying please help me is so painful. It is so hard to even write about. Watching her itch her self like crazy made is hard too. Especially with her right hand that has her iv going into it. She does have engough room to suck her favorite fingers though! The itching is a side affect from the meds.

We have been meeting so many wonderful families here and learning about their stories. Each one is unique and special. Looking into other families eyes there becomes this unspeakable bond, understanding and love for a stranger that I never have known before. Rickey left today as he bounced back from his surgery fast and his Mom Katie came over to give me her contact information and I can't wait to catch up after all of this is over.

I need to get to sleep now. It has been almost fifteen minutes. I think I am safe to get a little bit more sleep.

We are starting to also get more confident in moving Sophie Wei. Both Rick and I are more affraid of messing up all of the wires that are attached to her, still.

Please pray that her bone graft continues to stay connected, hip stays in place and her femur grows together with out problems and that the plate does not bother her.

We received this email from our friend Sue and it brought tears to my eyes as they all do when we read the emails or comments. Thank you all so very much. We will be saving them for Sophie Wei to read when she is older so she knows how much she is loved. For my new blogger friends that have posted for the first time, thank you too and can't wait to read your blogs when Sophie Wei is doing much better.

Here is Sue's email:
"God tells us "be still and know that I am God". He is in control and created and loved Sophie from the very start. He has a plan for her life and has promised to be with her every step of the way. Wow, and then she has all of you that love her to pieces! She will be in a cloud of love throughout this whole process and what more could one ask for. Praying you all have moments of peace today and that you are comforted by little acts of love"

Enough said.

I miss our little Simone. She has been such a big trooper through all of this. My heart aches as I look at her confused face and then at the same time see her playing happily in the outside play court yard. We are so thankful that our girls have each other. Simone has been so good and so flexible, more than we could ask for.
No time for spell check, I need my sleep. Once again thank you everyone. The love and prayers are felt......It has been twenty one minutes of sleep for Sophie Wei so I think I am in the clear to go to bed. better take time for it what the opportunity arises.

Time to go say my prayers and be thankful.

Turning the Corner?

We may be turning a corner.

We were at a loss because Sophie Wei is maxed out with her meds. but there are other options now that it has been 24 hours past surgery and other meds/drugs will not interfere with bone growth now.

Around one they put me in a wheel chair, Sophie Wei on me, brought the IV/Med. Cart and went for a walk. I think my Mom or Becca had to hold that thing.....it seems to be keeping her busy and Has HELPED.

This is so hard.

Occupational therapist came in this afternoon and taught us many things like diapering, picking up, car seat. We have a Britax Marathon and Britax Redgant and that would work possible put because Sophie Wei is in a more laying down position we will borrow the Spica Car Seat from the hospital. We will sign papers promissing that we will return it....No problem there :O)

Things are looking up.. Sophie is smiling, talking and telling us what to do.

Trusting in God. Being together as a family helps.

Simone stayed with my Mom at our house last night and they took care of our dog for us. Tonight Simone with go to Scott and Beccas, My Mom will go to our house, take care of Lew for us and then leave very early in the morning so she can get up and drive back to the beach by the time her works starts at 7:15.

Need to go, Sophie Wei needs us. Just wanted to give an update and say thank you for praying.

This has been an experience!

No time for spell check.

Pain

We had a ruff night last night. The hardest night ever. This will be quick. This is my first time out of the room. SOphie Wei is resting on Rick for the first time and fell asleep.

They had a ruff time getting Sophie Wei's pain under control after the surgery along with we are pretty sure that she was upset about the cast, every thing.

I think everyone was stumped and I could tell they were concerned.

Lots of tears.

Lots of deep breaths.

Lots of prayers.

lots of frustration

Lots of tears.

We, along with the pain specialist and anesthesiologist decided to wait and not push the pain med. button until she fusses. Which is hard because of yesterday and last night. When we waited too long it got out of control. BY doing this they will be able to reevaluate, adjust, etc.

Everyone here is professional, caring and amazing. We are in such a great hospital.

Simone is outside playing with my Mom. Becca helping Rick. Sara Anne just pushed some buttons on the other computer and it is beeping. I should probably go tell someone. Oo's.

Just did asking for prayers for us to get SOphie Wei's pain under control.

They did cut her femur and have a plate to hold it together. The bone graff on the pelvis area looks good. Hip in place

Love Us

Sophie Wei is in Surgery

We have been here at Dornbeckers since around 7:10 am. Rick, Sophie Wei, My Mom and I arrived. Sophie Wei bonked her head on the ceramic floor after trying to fall down on her folded blanket for fun. She now has a big shiner on her forehead.

Simone went to Rachel and Brian's house to be with Holt. Rachel then took her to preschool. She was such a good, sweet girl when we brought her to their house. I was ready for her to fuss and cry but she was excited to be there which made it easier. On the way to their house Simone said, "This is a Great Story. I love Julia (Julia is a friend from preschool who also is adopted from China.)"

Becca arrived just before Sophie Wei went in and shortly after she had her sip of comfort medicine. Becca will be going to pick Simone up from preschool when Sophie Wei is ready.

Everyone here is WONDERFUL! When the surgical nurse started to explain how we would be able to walk her to the Surgery Room I started to cry and worked so hard to stop by taking deep breaths because I did not want to upset Sophie Wei. I also was pushing on my eyes, by doing so I messed up my right contact. So when the Medical Student Resident came in he probably was thinking and wondering what I was doing to my eye. The Surgery Nurse Danielle was holding Sophie We as she visited with us.

Sophie Wei started to scream and cry as they walked her away. The nurse reminds me nicely to not let her seem me upset because it will make it worse for her.

We visited with two families. They are so kind and friendly. One is here for their 4 year old son to have his cleft palate fixed, hopefully for the last time and the other has a sweet little girl who is 2 that is allergic to food, eats by a feeding tub and is having more testing done (they just left and the Mom was crying as she is walking out. I just want to go and give her a BIG HUG!!!)

Sophie Wei went in around 10:15 am. We received a phone call update from the Surgical Nurse at Noon that they started the surgery part around twenty minutes ago. She is doing ok. I might post more later tonight?

Keep the prayers going.

Love Michele and Rick

Please Pray for Sophie Wei's Surgery Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Sophie Wei's surgery.
Please pray for her, anesthesiologist and her doctors.

We will arrive around 7 am. Surgery is scheduled to start at 9am but there is an older little boy that needs to go first due to an stress fracture protrusion and the doctor has another surgery later(hope I got that right, praying for him too.)This afternoon we put pre-wrap on Simone and Sophie Wei's dollies.
(I found this idea from Bobbies blog.) It was good because it brought up a lot of good conversation. Sophie Wei kept saying "O" after I would tell her very simple words about her surgery and cast.

Tonight while talking to the anesthesiologist I had to take deep breaths and write down my notes so I could remember every thing to tell Rick. He had to be at school tonight for an open house. I am so glad that my Mom is here because I had the girls in the bath so she took over.

I feel such at peace with how things are going. The anesthesiologist was so easy to talk to. She did do most of the talking tonight but I did ask a few questions. She did her research and looked at all of Sophie Wei's medical information before she called. She took her time with me and was very sensitive. She was in no hurry to get off of the phone. When she told me about when it is time for Sophie Wei to go into surgery they can take her from the prep-room and roll her bed down or I could walk her down the hallway to the doors and kiss her good by? I just started crying as I visualized that in my head and then I thought to my self pull it together because there is more to talk about.

Sophie Wei you are such a sweet, silly, fun, lovable,
resilient little girl and we love you very much.
We are so blessed to be your Mommy and Daddy.
Every day with you is a blessing.

Wa I Nee.

One of the last things the anesthesiologist said to me was,
"We know she is a survivor."

Thank you Jesus.

The Ache In Your Heart

I received this from my friend Roxx and wanted to post it here so it does not get lost in the comment section:

"The ache in your heart is the ache of a mother. Powerlessness when we cant just make the problem go away with a snap. The journey you are experiencing is STRESSFUL for sure, but you are going through it with your daughter. I am so grateful she has your arms to hold her as she goes through this healing process, and look forward to the say it is a story in the past as we all watch her run through fields and kick soccer balls like nobody's business (her mama is a pe teacher after all! :0).

On another note, I heard this best upcoming artist this weekend… our church hosted Jason Gray… he was incredible (!!!)… he deals with a stuttering handicap, but sings better than anyone… if you link below & click on the left where it says “Launch Juke Box” you can hear one of my favorite songs he sang called, “Losers”… it’s whimsical and incredibly meaningful all at the same time… happy Monday!!!

Link: http://www.jasongraymusic.com/site.php

Roxx"

How lucky are Rick and I to have so many WONDERFUL, LOYAL friends! We appreciate the comments and emails. We might not be able to respond to all of them in the next few days but we will try.

I will also try to update photos from the hospital.

Hip Baby Yahoo Group

(Sophie Wei on August 30th, 2008 playing at her Cousin's Birthday Party.)

I have been thankful to find a very supportive Hip Baby Yahoo Group. I have learned a wealth of knowledge from these parents and people who have been through hip issues. Through this group I am able to receive emails of support, ideas and information. They even have tons of files that I have been able to read through and gain information from. I have also been able to see many photos of children in a Spica cast so that helps makes it more familiar and not so scary.

After recieving many emails today I sent this email out to everyone in the group:
"thanks again everyone for sharing... I am reading these posts with tears as we wait and anticipate Sophie Wei's surgery on wed. This does help reading this. I appreciate you all!"
~Michele Sophie Wei (surgery on Wed.)

This is an email I received from Bobi in reply to the above email that really touched my heart and brough lots of tears. I need to keep it:
"For me the time up to surgery was BY FAR the worst part for me. I was sick to my stomach, tearful and felt anguish inside- I couldn't imagine all this happening to my sweet daughter, let alone after waiting so long to finally get her home! There have been tough moment, just like life in general, but it has NOT been anywhere as bad as I had feared. I worried about diapering, holding her, picking her up etc. I can say all that is easier than I had thought. Not that my body doesn't hurt from picking her up and holding her and caring her, but it is doable.

My approach has been like another mommy mentioned about how she helps her child during this: love, attention, affection, holding, playing, and time together! Boy am I glad you all cant' see how goofy I am with her, and how much I enjoy it and adore her humor, fun and creativity! I do believe there are blessings that have come out of this hip journey, and I would not have imagined that before the start of everything.

I felt like she/we'd be missing out on so much, but I have found ways to do nearly everything and we've found things that i would not have had she not been in the Spica. I am sill amazed and in awe of how this hip journey has not had a negative affect on my daughters personality, lovingness or disposition- not that there are not moments (like there would be if she wasn't in the Spica) but I must say the hip journey is survivable, doable, and Gracie is still thriving, not just surviving, while in the Spica.

We're 10 weeks into a 6 1/2 month Spica time frame and today I can say though I don't like it for her, or for us, I know that we can make it and I believe this is in her best interest and we do this out of love. I can't wait to tell her all about how amazing she is during this, along with so much more I can't wait to tell her all about!

Sending warmest thoughts and prayers for things to go the very best they can as you prepare for surgery Wed! Please know that any questions you have, concerns or frustrations are always welcome here- there are so many who have helped me so much when I needed them- I can't imagine this without everyone here!

I am so grateful for the hope, support, information, encouragement and warm wishes---- they have meant the world to me and have helped me so much!"

Bobi- proud mommy to hip baby Grace, 16 months (Dia. @ 11 mo.)
Congenital Dislocation and Developmental Dysplasia (L): AI 44 degrees
Closed Reduction with Adductor Tenotomy 6-23-08 @ 14 mo., dislocated-
Closed Reduction 7-8-08. Cast changes: 6-21-08 (too tight/ridges), re-do 6-28-08. Rx Spica cast for 6 months.

After reading her above email I felt to my self, WOW I needed that and she has so many of the same feelings I am having before the surgery. Here is the email Bobi sent me after I asked her permission to post her above email on my blog:

"Hi Michele,
That is fine with me, I too hang on to special posts from others that really helped me and touched my heart, they still bring hope and tears when I reread them. I know it was hard for me to believe when others shared that the wait before hand was the hardest part, but I have come to know it was true for me too- and I hope for you and your sweet little Sophie Wei. Please let me know how you guys are doing afterwords, when you have time. Know that you are not alone. Always with hope,"

Bobi-

AHHH

Last night Sophie Wei had been fussing uncontrollably so many times through out the night that we both agreed to take her dennis brown bar off!! We both felt that we all need to have sleep before the surgery and there has been too many days in a row with her having a ruff time at night. This is the first time we decided to do this since we have had it but her surgery is getting so close that we want her to be rested.

After we took it off she went to sleep and so far tonight she is doing good.