Not much to report since my last post . . .
The enemas are going fine, and she's only had one accident since we started. Heath took her for her x-ray this morning, so that will show if she's really cleaning out all the way or not. She also had some blood work this morning and a renal ultasound, which took about an hour. Believe it or not, she cooperated for all of that!
Meanwhile, the rest of us went to the Museum of Natural History and Science. We got to see some bats up close and also walk through an underground (man-made) cave. It was pretty cool!
Heath's going to take the boys to EnterTrainment Junction now, while Tab takes her nap. So it's a pretty easy day!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Saturday Fun
Well, the enema kind of worked last night. Tabitha filled her diaper overnight, but today she was clean all day. The goal is completely clean for 24 hours, so we'll keep trying.
Today we didn't have any appointments so we just had fun! We spent most of the day at the Creation Museum. It was really cool! It is a really neat museum for the purpose of teaching creation science and the truth of the Biblical accounts. They had really neat exhibits on creation, the flood, dinosaurs, and more. Here is a picture of Tabitha and Heath in front of the dinosaurs.
And here are a zorse and a zonkey. Yep, they do exist. (If you can't tell in the picture, they actually have zebra stripes. Their father was a zebra, and their mothers were a horse and a donkey.)
Today we didn't have any appointments so we just had fun! We spent most of the day at the Creation Museum. It was really cool! It is a really neat museum for the purpose of teaching creation science and the truth of the Biblical accounts. They had really neat exhibits on creation, the flood, dinosaurs, and more. Here is a picture of Tabitha and Heath in front of the dinosaurs.
And here are a zorse and a zonkey. Yep, they do exist. (If you can't tell in the picture, they actually have zebra stripes. Their father was a zebra, and their mothers were a horse and a donkey.)
We had a pretty fun day. Then we came back to the hotel for dinner. The enema went better tonight for me. Last night I was really overwhelmed and just let Heath do everything. Tonight I'm feeling much better and more hopeful. Tabitha has handled it very well both times.
Oh, and here's a picture from Jungle Jim's grocery store yesterday. It was a very strange place.
Robin Hood's tree, the pig head, and the T-shirt hanging in the meat deparment were the highlights of the store. The T-shirt said PETA: People for the Eating of Tasty Animals. =)
All in all, the trip is going well so far. Thanks for checking up on us!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Freaky Friday
OK, so it's not really all that freaky but today we learned all about enemas, and it's not exactly a comforting bunch of information.
Heath and I attended the bowel management lecture this morning, while my mom had the boys, and Tabitha played in the kids room. I'm very thankful that they had that available because it would've been VERY hard to listen if we had her with us. We learned a lot, and we were reassured that this is the best place for Tabitha to be. We're very grateful to have found out about Cincinnati's Colorectal Center, and that our insurance company agreed to cover it!
After the lecture Tabitha had an abdominal x-ray, and then we met with the doctors. Dr. Breech and Dr. Levitt and a few nurses came and taught us all about Tabitha's insides and outsides what to do about everything. Tonight we start the enemas, and for the next week we'll do an enema every night, followed by an x-ray every morning to see if it's working to fully empty her colon. If not, the enema "recipe" will be tweaked. The goal is by next Friday to have it working perfectly so she's completely clean for 24 hours. I'm not very excited about this enema thing (I'll spare you all the nasty details), but I AM excited to have her out of diapers by the end of the week!
The greatest thing about being at this clinic as opposed to another hospital is the way the doctors work together. We still have to do the urology stuff next week, but today the colorectal and gynecological issues were all explained to us. Several things in those areas, and probably some in urology, will all have to be taken care of. So they'll plan a surgery that takes care of everything at once, with all of them working together. Even beyond surgery, just having the 3 types of doctors all working on the interrelated issues and knowing how they all interact is very reassuring. I feel like we're finally getting our questions answered and making progress on Tabitha's issues.
Dr. Levitt said that the rectum (created by the doctors in China) is not perfectly located, which means right now she has no chance of bowel control. However, after the surgeries are done everything will be re-evaluated and we'll see. Sometimes, even with correct surgery, these children have no continence; other times they do. So we won't know until later. But for now they just want to get her socially acceptable and out of diapers, and I couldn't be happier about accomplishing that!
Please pray for us tonight and the coming days though. I'm a bit terrified of this enema business. Not only do I find things like this really gross, but it'll take an HOUR every single day! Pray that my attitude will be positive, that Tabitha will be cooperative, and that Heath does all the work! (ha ha ha...just kidding Honey).
On the non-medical side of things, the little ones are napping now, and then we're going on a grocery shopping adventure at Jungle Jim's. Should be fun!
Heath and I attended the bowel management lecture this morning, while my mom had the boys, and Tabitha played in the kids room. I'm very thankful that they had that available because it would've been VERY hard to listen if we had her with us. We learned a lot, and we were reassured that this is the best place for Tabitha to be. We're very grateful to have found out about Cincinnati's Colorectal Center, and that our insurance company agreed to cover it!
After the lecture Tabitha had an abdominal x-ray, and then we met with the doctors. Dr. Breech and Dr. Levitt and a few nurses came and taught us all about Tabitha's insides and outsides what to do about everything. Tonight we start the enemas, and for the next week we'll do an enema every night, followed by an x-ray every morning to see if it's working to fully empty her colon. If not, the enema "recipe" will be tweaked. The goal is by next Friday to have it working perfectly so she's completely clean for 24 hours. I'm not very excited about this enema thing (I'll spare you all the nasty details), but I AM excited to have her out of diapers by the end of the week!
The greatest thing about being at this clinic as opposed to another hospital is the way the doctors work together. We still have to do the urology stuff next week, but today the colorectal and gynecological issues were all explained to us. Several things in those areas, and probably some in urology, will all have to be taken care of. So they'll plan a surgery that takes care of everything at once, with all of them working together. Even beyond surgery, just having the 3 types of doctors all working on the interrelated issues and knowing how they all interact is very reassuring. I feel like we're finally getting our questions answered and making progress on Tabitha's issues.
Dr. Levitt said that the rectum (created by the doctors in China) is not perfectly located, which means right now she has no chance of bowel control. However, after the surgeries are done everything will be re-evaluated and we'll see. Sometimes, even with correct surgery, these children have no continence; other times they do. So we won't know until later. But for now they just want to get her socially acceptable and out of diapers, and I couldn't be happier about accomplishing that!
Please pray for us tonight and the coming days though. I'm a bit terrified of this enema business. Not only do I find things like this really gross, but it'll take an HOUR every single day! Pray that my attitude will be positive, that Tabitha will be cooperative, and that Heath does all the work! (ha ha ha...just kidding Honey).
On the non-medical side of things, the little ones are napping now, and then we're going on a grocery shopping adventure at Jungle Jim's. Should be fun!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Loooong Thursday
We left Josh & Liz's house about 9:30 this morning and returned to Cincinnati. I was very thankful for Tabitha's later appoitnment time which allowed us all to go together at a reasonable time! We were also very thankful that the hotel let us check in early. We got here about 11:30 and unpacked. Then we dropped off Heath and Tabitha at the hospital.
The boys and I were too tired to do anything exciting. So we came back and had some lunch; then they watched TV, and I took a little nap. We found a nearby Walmart so we could go grocery shopping and get Tabitha's prescription that I had forgotten at home in my hasteful packing. By this time we were expecting Heath's phone call to say they were done, and the phone did indeed ring. BUT...he called to say that THEY WERE STILL WAITING IN PRE-OP! This was 3 hours after she was supposed to go in! So the boys and I came back, unpacked the groceries, had dinner, went swimming, took showers, and THEN Heath finally called to say they were ready. Good thing we had dropped them off instead of being carless the whole time!
So, here's what was going on at the hospital. . . The O.R. was overbooked, so despite the fact that Tabitha's doctors were both ready to go there was nowhere to do the procedure. Everyone was very apologetic, and Heath said they were all really nice. Child Life services brought crafts for Tabitha to work on, and she had a lot of fun with that. Heath said she did pretty well for having nothing to eat besides jello at 8 this morning and a sip of water at 9:30! The poor little thing must've been starving! Heath was none too full himself since he hadn't had lunch and couldn't eat while they were waiting. (Good thing it wasn't me in there....I am NOT a pleasant person when I'm hungry, and I'd probably have gotten us kicked out! But my husband is quite the long-sufferer and did very well.)
The exam went great. Tabitha didn't put up much of a fight, and she actually woke up happy afterwards instead of screaming her head off like she did the last time. She told me afterwards, "Mommy, I not cry." She's such a brave little girl, and really trusts her daddy. I think it made a huge difference that he explained to her ahead of time that he'd stay with her and keep her safe.
Heath got to talk a little with Dr. Breech, the pediatric gynecologist, afterwards. She said things look really good as far as her future with those issues. Everything should be able to be repaired, and she should be able to have normal pregnancies someday. He didn't get to talk to Dr. Levitt (the colorectal specialist) yet, but we have an appointment with him tomorrow.
So, the kids are all sleeping soundly now. Mom and my brothers just arrived, and the day has been a success. Off to bed now!
The boys and I were too tired to do anything exciting. So we came back and had some lunch; then they watched TV, and I took a little nap. We found a nearby Walmart so we could go grocery shopping and get Tabitha's prescription that I had forgotten at home in my hasteful packing. By this time we were expecting Heath's phone call to say they were done, and the phone did indeed ring. BUT...he called to say that THEY WERE STILL WAITING IN PRE-OP! This was 3 hours after she was supposed to go in! So the boys and I came back, unpacked the groceries, had dinner, went swimming, took showers, and THEN Heath finally called to say they were ready. Good thing we had dropped them off instead of being carless the whole time!
So, here's what was going on at the hospital. . . The O.R. was overbooked, so despite the fact that Tabitha's doctors were both ready to go there was nowhere to do the procedure. Everyone was very apologetic, and Heath said they were all really nice. Child Life services brought crafts for Tabitha to work on, and she had a lot of fun with that. Heath said she did pretty well for having nothing to eat besides jello at 8 this morning and a sip of water at 9:30! The poor little thing must've been starving! Heath was none too full himself since he hadn't had lunch and couldn't eat while they were waiting. (Good thing it wasn't me in there....I am NOT a pleasant person when I'm hungry, and I'd probably have gotten us kicked out! But my husband is quite the long-sufferer and did very well.)
The exam went great. Tabitha didn't put up much of a fight, and she actually woke up happy afterwards instead of screaming her head off like she did the last time. She told me afterwards, "Mommy, I not cry." She's such a brave little girl, and really trusts her daddy. I think it made a huge difference that he explained to her ahead of time that he'd stay with her and keep her safe.
Heath got to talk a little with Dr. Breech, the pediatric gynecologist, afterwards. She said things look really good as far as her future with those issues. Everything should be able to be repaired, and she should be able to have normal pregnancies someday. He didn't get to talk to Dr. Levitt (the colorectal specialist) yet, but we have an appointment with him tomorrow.
So, the kids are all sleeping soundly now. Mom and my brothers just arrived, and the day has been a success. Off to bed now!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
First Day
Well, we've survived our first day of hospital visits!
Yesterday we drove from home to near Columbus, to stay with our good friends Josh & Liz. The trip was uneventful, and we had a very nice dinner and evening with them.
This morning, Heath & Tabitha & I left at 6am for Cincinnati Children's Hospital. We got there just after 8:30, in time for her radiology appointment. She was all happy and fine until they wanted her to put on the hospital gown. That has great depth of meaning to her, and she wasn't about to cooperate! We finally persuaded her, and she was OK. The child life specialist had lots of toys for her, and everyone was really friendly and helpful.
Then came the time to lay her down on the table for the x-ray. She wasn't having any of that business! Not even a Dora DVD would convince her that the table wasn't the gates of Hades. I know it was out of fear, but she just screamed angrily and fought with all her might to get off that table. And when told to lay flat she gave her version of "No" that's usually reserved for her most defiant moments. Finally we were able to pin her down and snap the picture. Heath just kept his arms around her head and talked soothingly to her until she finally calmed down. The next step was the contrast enema. Since this involves inserting a tube into her rectum we were all fully prepared for an even worse fight! But she had finally realized the table and camera were not going to hurt her and that Dora was actually pretty interesting! She must not have any feeling in that area because she didn't even flinch when the tube went in. And there wasn't a single tear or yell or fight for the rest of the time! The rest of the x-rays were easy, and there were no more problems. Then we drove back home to Josh & Liz's, and we're done for today.
Meanwhile we found out the hospital had given us a wrong date on our itinerary. Her exam under anesthesia was supposed to be on the 17th, but it turns out it's actually on the 10th (tomorrow). We thought tomorrow was a free day, so we've had to adjust our plans quite a bit. It took several phone calls and finally talking in person to someone at the hospital to get it figured out. Then about 10 minutes ago they called us to say they've changed the time! GGRRRRRR! Actually, the later time will work better for our travel schedule, but now she can't eat after 5:45 in the morning, and won't have the exam until 1:45. That should be fun. >:-[
Ethan and Jesse stayed with our friends this morning, and all the kids have had a blast playing together. Liz and I took them sledding today, and we made soft pretzels, and we're having a good time. We're so thankful for Josh & Liz's hospitality and friendship!
Tomorrow my mom's coming to meet us, and we'll be staying at a hotel the rest of the time. Lots more procedures and events to do, but we're off to a good (if a little rocky) start.
BTW, it is absolutely beyond FREEZING here! I forgot how brutal midwest winters are!
Yesterday we drove from home to near Columbus, to stay with our good friends Josh & Liz. The trip was uneventful, and we had a very nice dinner and evening with them.
This morning, Heath & Tabitha & I left at 6am for Cincinnati Children's Hospital. We got there just after 8:30, in time for her radiology appointment. She was all happy and fine until they wanted her to put on the hospital gown. That has great depth of meaning to her, and she wasn't about to cooperate! We finally persuaded her, and she was OK. The child life specialist had lots of toys for her, and everyone was really friendly and helpful.
Then came the time to lay her down on the table for the x-ray. She wasn't having any of that business! Not even a Dora DVD would convince her that the table wasn't the gates of Hades. I know it was out of fear, but she just screamed angrily and fought with all her might to get off that table. And when told to lay flat she gave her version of "No" that's usually reserved for her most defiant moments. Finally we were able to pin her down and snap the picture. Heath just kept his arms around her head and talked soothingly to her until she finally calmed down. The next step was the contrast enema. Since this involves inserting a tube into her rectum we were all fully prepared for an even worse fight! But she had finally realized the table and camera were not going to hurt her and that Dora was actually pretty interesting! She must not have any feeling in that area because she didn't even flinch when the tube went in. And there wasn't a single tear or yell or fight for the rest of the time! The rest of the x-rays were easy, and there were no more problems. Then we drove back home to Josh & Liz's, and we're done for today.
Meanwhile we found out the hospital had given us a wrong date on our itinerary. Her exam under anesthesia was supposed to be on the 17th, but it turns out it's actually on the 10th (tomorrow). We thought tomorrow was a free day, so we've had to adjust our plans quite a bit. It took several phone calls and finally talking in person to someone at the hospital to get it figured out. Then about 10 minutes ago they called us to say they've changed the time! GGRRRRRR! Actually, the later time will work better for our travel schedule, but now she can't eat after 5:45 in the morning, and won't have the exam until 1:45. That should be fun. >:-[
Ethan and Jesse stayed with our friends this morning, and all the kids have had a blast playing together. Liz and I took them sledding today, and we made soft pretzels, and we're having a good time. We're so thankful for Josh & Liz's hospitality and friendship!
Tomorrow my mom's coming to meet us, and we'll be staying at a hotel the rest of the time. Lots more procedures and events to do, but we're off to a good (if a little rocky) start.
BTW, it is absolutely beyond FREEZING here! I forgot how brutal midwest winters are!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Shouting Joyfully!
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
Sing the glory of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
Say to God, "How awesome are Your works!"
Psalm 66:1-3
It's not very often that I shout joyfully to God, but a little while ago I literally shouted "Hallelujah!"
Lately I've been a little concerned . . . OK maybe a lot concerned . . . OK actually fairly stressed, about how on earth we're going to afford this adoption! It just seems like such a big amount of money to come up with and no great ideas of where it's going to come from.
But last night God blessed me with a big batch of encouragement. Just a couple days ago I sent an email out letting friends and family know that our "money savings cards" had arrived, and we were ready to start selling them. We had to pre-purchase them, so it was a bit of a risk knowing that we need to sell 50 just to recap our investment. WELL...within about 12 hours of that email I had 43 cards spoken for already! And several of those people are planning to spread the news for us!
Then last night, I worked on our taxes. I'd really been dreading it because we were expecting to owe money this year. BUT....(thanks to the left-over adoption tax credit that we couldn't use last year) we're actually getting a pretty significant refund!
I don't know why I get so discouraged and worried. Just because I don't know the answer doesn't mean God doesn't have one! We still have a long way to go, but I'm feeling excited about it. It'll be an adventure to see how God provides!
Sing the glory of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
Say to God, "How awesome are Your works!"
Psalm 66:1-3
It's not very often that I shout joyfully to God, but a little while ago I literally shouted "Hallelujah!"
Lately I've been a little concerned . . . OK maybe a lot concerned . . . OK actually fairly stressed, about how on earth we're going to afford this adoption! It just seems like such a big amount of money to come up with and no great ideas of where it's going to come from.
But last night God blessed me with a big batch of encouragement. Just a couple days ago I sent an email out letting friends and family know that our "money savings cards" had arrived, and we were ready to start selling them. We had to pre-purchase them, so it was a bit of a risk knowing that we need to sell 50 just to recap our investment. WELL...within about 12 hours of that email I had 43 cards spoken for already! And several of those people are planning to spread the news for us!
Then last night, I worked on our taxes. I'd really been dreading it because we were expecting to owe money this year. BUT....(thanks to the left-over adoption tax credit that we couldn't use last year) we're actually getting a pretty significant refund!
I don't know why I get so discouraged and worried. Just because I don't know the answer doesn't mean God doesn't have one! We still have a long way to go, but I'm feeling excited about it. It'll be an adventure to see how God provides!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
My Little Bro
Today we had the special treat of having my brother Michael come to our house! He's stationed in Alaska (EOD for the Air Force), but right now he's working the White House detail. So on his days off he can visit us! The kids were thrilled to see him, and I'm pretty sure they wore him out more than a full day at work! It was great to see him, and we're glad to have him nearby for a little while!
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