How true is this psalm. He has surely healed this little girl's lonely, sad heart and now we are on our way to binding her physical wounds.
This week has been such an emotional, humbling week. As I sit and watch our sweet girl play content lay with her toys; smiling, cooing, just as happy as can be, I can't help but think of where she would be, had we not found her..had we not been LEAD to her. Laying in a crib...never knowing the true joy that she is experiencing now. I am reminded of this every time she smiles, looks at something in wonder..even when I glance at her playing with the Boys...She is a SISTER...she BELONGS....she has a PLACE.....a HOME......now tell me God doesn't move Mountains.
HE will be moving another mountain on April 29th. We will check into the Children's Hospital where Mia will undergo surgery to close her open palate. As we have mentioned before, the roof of her mouth and down her throat is completely open (as in...you can see right through it). The Craniofacial Surgeon will close all of the hard palate and most of the soft palate using Cartilage, leaving a small hole in the soft palate for growth. The ENT will also put tubes in both ears to drain the excessive amounts of fluid that she has built up as a result of her palate being open. (Imagine drinking with no roof of your mouth and most of the back of the throat open)....Lots of liquid goes into the nasal cavity and ears. The surgery will take a couple of hours and our Surgeon is telling us to be prepared to stay in the hospital a week. I have talked to many other Cleft Parents who did not have a hospital stay of more than a few nights, but apparently we have a super Conservative Surgeon who does not believe in sending patients home too early. He says the sooner she is able to drink on her own, following the surgery, the sooner she will be allowed to go home...obviously, we will be doing a vodoo drinking dance, in hopes of getting her to be able to take a bottle for him PRONTO!!
In the end, we are just praying that she will see MAJOR improvement from this surgery. Her quality of life will be so much better. We are so fortunate to be able to have the means to be able to provide this surgery to our Daughter. I mean, this is most likely the reason that her Biological parents were unable to keep her as their own. Surgeries are beyond expensive and families just do not have the means to pay for them..and even if they were, the mere scars that the children are left with are considered taboo there, as most abnormalities or deformities are looked down upon. We are so fortunate to live in a Country where she CAN live with this condition. There is much less of a stigma and she can be accepted as part of her community, regardless of any scars she may bear....
This is an example of what he roof of her mouth now looks like..the cleft from her nose to lip, obviously already repaired in China.
Some of you have asked how the sleeping is going...
Well....
Lets just say this little girl has a good set of lungs on her..that she uses during the middle of the night.!
From what we can tell, after nights of running into her room and trying everything under the sun (rocking, night lights, no night lights, radio, noise maker, bottles, standing on our heads)... Just kidding...It seems like she is either having nightmares, or just simply wakes and does not want to be away from us. She is fine when we go in and hold her. She laughs, plays, cooes....but walk towards that crib and try to put her back in it...WAAAaaaahhhh!!!!!! WAAAaaahhhhh!!!!!!
So, after several nights of seeing that she was going to cry regardless of what we did once we left, we have resorted to the much dreaded "scream it out" method. Because I'm a sucker..I will go in once, give her a bottle and rock her for awhile, but once I leave the room, I stay the heck out...because, after all, if you go back in and she sees you..you're trapped!! So, Mommy closes her door (enter judging sighs, I'm sure), puts the pillow over my ears, and prays she settles soon, without waking the Boys with her glass shattering screams....
This week we had a fun play date with 2 other Mommys and their Daughters from China, who just came home a few months ago. I met these Moms during our paper chasing phase, before either of us had been matched with our little girls. We traveled this long adoption road together and were so happy finally have our little girls with us...and for them to get to meet!
It's also been SO incredibly beautiful outside, that we have finally been able to enjoy some playtime outdoors! Spring is HERE!!!
Our favorite Aunt Debbie is here visiting this weekend while Daddy is away on business, so we are all having lots of fun with her. Will post some pictures from her visit during my next post.
I hope wherever you are, that the Weather is starting to warm, the flowers are beginning to bloom and you notice the days lasting a little longer. This Momma definitely has a bad case of SPRING FEVER!!!!!
Blessings,
Angie
