Back at Home

We have been happy to be out of the hospital.


We have played games,

watched movies,


walked the dog,

but we still miss school

 

We have set up our own school room!

 

We actually went to visit her classroom for Valentines Day.

 

She has such great friends.

 

They were so excited to see her!

 

 

 

They were very gentle with her

when they gave her hugs.

 

 

 

She can't wait until she can go back to school.

 

 

 

 

Bustin Outa Here!

We have the OK to go home!

Wow, what a blessing.  We came in for surgery on Wednesday, thinking that we would be in the hospital for 5 - 6 days.  Even with all that we have been through, we are leaving one day early. 

 Absolutely a praise to God and an answer to prayer.

We had some rough days.

But through those rough times, God has placed some awesome people in our path.

People that made our days more bearable, when I  
didn't think I could take any more.  

People that showered love on us as we were struggling to get through not just days, but minutes.
Like the student anesthesiologist who spoke perfect mandarin and was able to talk with Valerie and calm her nerves right before her surgery.

A wonderful lady that totally placed Valerie at ease and made her feel like a princess as they wheeled her to the operating room.

The nurse on the pediatric floor was the niece of one of my friends who has two daughters adopted from China.

We had church members, who we don't even know, call a friend of theirs to translate for us.
Now we have a dinner invitation to their house to go eat REAL Chinese food once Valerie is able.

Friends called their friends who worked at the hospital and told them we would be there.  We felt like VIP's, because as we would arrive they would ask us if we were "The Meades".   - "Oh, so and so said you were coming and to take good care of you."   

He also placed some people in our path that we were able to talk with about adoption.
There were two people in particular, that will be calling me to ask more questions about the adoption process.  

God is always working even when we can't see it and in ways we will never understand. 

  
We know that God took us down this road for a reason, He never does anything without a purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

 

 

A Brand New Day

That is exactly what it feels like.  

We have been moved from Pediatric ICU, to a pediatric floor of the hospital.  

Valerie ate some of her ramen noodles yesterday and had a couple bites of egg at breakfast this morning.  She was never a really big eater anyway and after all that her stomach has been through the last several days, we are taking it slow.

I am trying to think of her favorite foods so that she will have a little more interest in eating.  I told her we would get her KFC chicken wings this afternoon and daddy would bring her the seaweed snacks that she loves so much, but nothing seems to peak her interest right now.  We are sticking to the bland hospital food for now, and she is barely nibbling on it.  But I will take what I can get.

Last night she really had a lot of pain.  I tried everything to make her feel better, a cold cloth, ice pack, but it wasn't working. Poor little girl, if I could take all that pain away I would do it in an instant.  

I started rubbing her head.  The nurses brought down a movie for her to watch to try to distract her.  So the two of us squished together in the hospital bed and watched "Tangled".  She enjoyed it, although I am not sure how much of it she understood.  Her favorite part is the little green iguana.  We will have to get the movie, so we can watch it again when she is not hurting.  

So as I am laying next to her in the bed, she laid her legs across mine and placed her head on my chest and let me rub her forehead.

For. Two. Hours.

I am soaking it in, the feel of her little hand in mine, her chest moving up and down as she breathes.  Her tiny little body, leaning against mine.  I just hate that it is under these circumstances that I get to experience this.  

The most affection I have ever gotten is a quick hug.  Or when we play around a lot and she will let me "catch" her, then she will smile and run off.  You see, when you have never received any affection, you don't know how to give it and you don't know how to act when someone gives it to you.

I love that she feels safe enough to let me sit in the bed with her and that she is allowing me to comfort her.  

My heart is heavy for the times when she was sick and had no one to comfort her.  Knowing now about some of her medical conditions, I am sure these times were numerous.

I grieve for her for the times she was lonely or scared.  

My heart aches because she had no one to lean on.

Dear child that has all changed now. 

Chaotic events don't suddenly place us out of control, they only make us realize how little control we had all along.  In this fallen world, we just need to acknowledge that there is nothing that we will ever go through that He will not redeem.  The Lord has placed Valerie in our home and He is making Himself known to her.  I wait with anticipation to see what God is going to do in her life.

It's Still Thursday?

What a day!

It seems like a week has passed.  This has been an extremely long day.

First I must apologize for not returning all of the calls and messages that have been coming today.  I am sure you all understand.

I have not had Internet access at the hospital today.  Even so, I do not think I could have replied to all of those who have sent their prayers and wishes our way.  As hard as the day has been, we have felt so wonderfully covered in prayer.

We woke to nausea and it lasted for hours!

Every time Valerie would move, she would get sick.  As quick as I tried to react, there was not enough time to help in some cases.  This resulted in changing the sheets, which caused more movement, resulting in more sickness.  The motion of being sick caused more pain for Valerie in her head and neck.  This was a cycle that continued all day.

To top it off her arms began to hurt.  One arm had an IV and an arterial line.  The nurse noticed her arterial site was leaking.  This is similar to an IV, but it goes into an artery to monitor your pulse, blood pressure, and to draw blood.  The nurse continued to watch it, but more blood work had to be drawn and they were still needing to closely monitor her vitals, so they could not yet remove it.

Her other arm had another IV, which was also hurting.  They began to thin down the morphine with saline, because it was burning so bad.

The nurse said that it looked like both of her IV sites were failing.  They would probably have to find another IV site.  

Not good.

I have not posted about all the times she has had to have blood drawn.  Her veins don't hold up well.

After a couple hours and we had the blood drawn and the results, they said they could remove the arterial line.  While doing this the nurse said she would go ahead and remove the IV on the other hand.  

Lots of tears.

We really hoped the IV that was left would hold out so that they would not have to start another one.

After another hour, the pain of the medication going into the IV was too much.  They had to remove that one as well and start an entirely new IV site.

Poor little girl.

Three failed Sites.

We tried to eat, but each attempt resulted in being sick.

At 5:00, Robbie called to talk to Valerie.  She was excited to hear him.  She asked "you come here?"

"Yes, I am coming to see you. I love you." Robbie told her.

"I lub you" she said.

Oh my, I am crying again just writing this.  My baby girl actually said those words.  We were not sure how long it would take or if she ever would say she loved us.

Valerie smiled as she told him good bye. She talked with Rachel and got excited when she found out that they were ten minutes away.  When Elise got on the phone, tears started to roll down Valerie's cheeks.  She absolutely can not wait until they get here.

The visit was short, but wonderful.  Valerie sat up and played with her sisters for a few minutes.  

She ate a few chips and some dried seaweed, her favorite snack.  She drank a few sips of coke and some ice chips.

They said good night and headed home.

She has not thrown up since.  She has had all of her medicine, her new IV site is working well and she is sound asleep at 11:15pm.

Thank you LORD for the love of her sisters.  Thank you for her love for them.

Thank you God, for everyone who has been praying us through this.

Thank you God for the strength you have given me.

Thank you for Your healing hand on my daughter.

Sleeping Peacefully

I am thanking God for today!

All that we have been through, in every situation we could see God at work.

This morning Pastor Scott came to be with us as Valerie had surgery.

Robbie didn't get to the hospital until later this morning because he was getting the other girls to school.

It was wonderful to have him there, to have another set of ears to listen as the doctor came in and explained what would happen today.

Pastor Caeser and his wife Mary were also there.  We have a special bond with him - the girls LOVE him.  And Mary is such a special woman, I was so comforted by her presence.

To have Traci, a student anesthesiologist in the next room, was amazing.  She spoke fluent mandarin and was able to talk with Valerie prior to surgery and calm her down.  Only God!

The doctors and nurses have been absolutely wonderful.  We have been given VIP treatment.  Everyone seems to know that we are coming, before we arrive.  I think the language barrier of a ten year old on their floor is a bit intimidating.  They have done an amazing job at making sure that we have everything that we need.

When we arrive at the ICU room, our charge nurse tells us that she actually had a similar procedure when she was 13 years old.  She totally knows what Valerie is going through right now.  (Without Valerie even having to tell her!). Only God!

So we are resting peacefully now, until the next hour, when vitals will be checked again.

Thank you all for your prayers!

We can absolutely give praise to God today!

So Many Emotions

Valerie was fine the entire way to the hospital this morning.  She was singing with Jamie Grace and Toby Mac!  gotta love it.

They took us back to right away.  They got us a pretty blue "gown" that Valerie was not impressed with.

We got changed. 
Valerie texted her sisters.
We called Aunt Lynn.

She was doing great.
When it was time to go, I told her she needed to get on the bed so they could take her to her room to sleep.
She started to cry and got very upset.

Just in the next room there was a student anesthesiologist who asked if she could help.  She spoke fluent mandarin! 
Traci came in and talked with Valerie.  
Praise God!
Valerie calmed down.
We also have a wonderful child care specialist with us, named Mary, who let Valerie play Fruit Ninja on the way to the operating room.

Thank you Pastor Scott, for praying over us and staying with us.

After a little over 5 hours, she is out of surgery and we spoke with Dr. Thompson.  He said that she tolerated the procedure well.

We move on to recovery.

Oh my heart aches for her.
She looks so small, so pale.
As she opens her eyes, she looks around.
She is in pain.
She is crying.
She is throwing up.  

Surgery

 As most of you may know, we have been extremely busy since we came home.  Most of our time has been filled with doctor appointments.  We have been on a roller coaster of ups and downs.  We have seen doctors of almost every specialty.  Some of them have given us good news and a clear report, others have not.

Here is where we stand right now.  Valerie will be undergoing surgery this Wednesday, February 5th.  I do not know exactly what time, we will find out tomorrow.  Tomorrow we go for Pre-op which will be MORE blood work, a CT scan, and repeat MRI of the head, neck and spine.   Valerie was born with a malformation of the base of her brain which makes her brain dip down into her spinal chord.  There are already some medical problems resulting from her not having this repair done sooner.  This is why she developed hydrocephalus as a baby.  This is also the reason that she has scoliosis.  The neurosurgeon said that her spinal chord is severely blocked and will only continue to get worse.  The neurosurgeon said that the operation will take 4 to 5 hours.  We will be in the pediatric Intensive care unit for 2 to 3 days.  If all goes as planned we will be moved to a room where we will stay for an additional 3 to 4 days.  Please pray for us this week.  Valerie is not wanting to spend the night at the hospital and she wants Elise and Rachel to be there with her.  I will be staying with her, but the girls will not be allowed in the ICU area as they are under the age of 12.

I will keep everyone updated as we know more,