Wordless Wednesday

It's Official--dossier approved

YAY! We got the word this afternoon that our dossier was "perfect" according to the email. WOOHOO! Huge chunk of paperwork done and getting ready to head to Ethiopia.

Feeling relieved and excited. It was nice to get some good news with all the other stuff going on.

So now what? Well, we still need to do our I-600A form and get fingerprinted in Milwaukee. We are likely going to wait until early next year to do this. Why? Well, strangely and stupidly your fingerprints expire after 15 months. You get a one time free extension but it is kind of a hassle. We are hoping to avoid this. Even dumber the actual form expires after 18 months. I know doesn't make sense but such is government paperwork. So we wait. We just need to have it before we can travel.

We are one more step closer to having Little Man in our home. I can hardly believe it. We have lots to keep us busy as we continue to wait.

Update

Just a quick note that I will now post updates about Kiya's scoliosis under the page Kiya's Kare Korner. I want to document this time in our lives so that we can maybe help another family some day like so many of the families that have reached out to us. I also don't want to take away from the original intent of the blog which is to talk adoption and family.

If you click on Kiya's Kare Korner there is just one entry from today. I will post updates at the top of that page.

In other news....still waiting to hear if our dossier for our Little Man has been approved. Hopefully we will hear this week.

Decisions, decisions.....

So I have been back on the Internet researching A LOT about scoliosis. I know I know I have preached that it can be scary but I need info.

We reached out to a family member who is an Ortho doctor and he helped answer a lot of our questions. And I reached out to a friend who is working with a specialist at Shriner's hospital.

In my gut, I am thinking we need a second opinion. One that may take us out of state. We have received info on Gillete Children's Hospital in St. Paul and Shriner's hospital in Chicago. Both have excellent Pediatric Orthopedic services. Specifically, Shriner's hospital does a particular type of body casting that has shown to be very effective. It is called Mehta casting. I don't even know if Kiya would be a candidate for this type of cast but I feel strongly that we need to find out.

I called our doctor's office to ask questions. The nurse answered some and will ask the doctor the rest. She told me the brace they would consider and it isn't horrible but would be one that Kiya would need to wear all day for possible as many as 10 years. Yeah doesn't sound fun and it may not work. It may stop the progression of her curve but wouldn't "fix" it per say. After she stops growing and is no longer a candidate for a brace, her curve could stay the same or it could get worse. If it gets worse she could be looking at surgery.

So while I freaked out when I heard about body casting, I am now encouraged that if Kiya is a candidate for this type of cast that maybe this is the way we need to go. She would have to get multiple casts as she grew but may only be in and out of a cast for up to a year, maybe a little longer and then maybe on to a brace but maybe not. This method has been shown to reduce much more severe curves than Kiya's.

A decade in a brace really doesn't sound like fun. Of course we will do that if we have to but if there is a better option that could significantly reduce the curve and her likelihood of future surgery than out of state or not we need to investigate it.

So this is where we are for now...more research in my future.

Birth to 3, Ortho update and frustrated

Kiya had her Birth to 3 evaluation on Tuesday. It was over nap time but she did great. She was quieter than normal but she did show off a little too. She followed simple directions, like go get your baby or can you bring me the ball, etc. She completed a shape puzzle, she sang the ABC song, kicked a ball, rolled a ball, she pointed to pictures in books, etc. She even used her push walker toy when asked and dumped out the contents of a small bottle and put them all back in.

The Early Ed Teacher was impressed with Kiya's problem solving skills. The physical therapist thought Kiya was making nice progress. She commented on her rolling in on her ankle and gave us some suggestions. She also noted that since Kiya has only been crawling for a few months, she may not be ready to walk just yet. She was excited that Kiya will walk a few steps independently between her chair and another person or between two people.

So now we wait for the report and see if she qualifies for services.

Ortho update and frustration are tied together. We had Kiya's ortho appointment yesterday and if the doctor was in the room for more than 5 minutes that would shock me. He called her Anna and was VERY brief. He said he was pessimistic that her curve would get better. He mentioned body casting and back braces and asked what we thought. I immediately asked what body casting would entail and got no answer. The doctor responded with well we can wait 3 or 4 months, repeat x-rays and make a decision then.

I expressed my concern that Kiya is making progress on walking and catching up to her peers and asked how either of these treatments would affect her mobility etc. Again no response. We got the wait and see, a handshake and he left. That was it. Nothing else. I was really frustrated. I had more questions than answers at that point.

Why is it that specialists have to be pompous jerks? Seriously, this is the second specialist we have seen that has ZERO bedside manner. No wonder Kiya wound up screaming at him.

I do believe we were the doctor's last appointment after a VERY long day and with Kiya screaming it was probably just enough to make him want to run fast out of that room.

We did discuss Kiya's right foot also. He wasn't concerned. Yes she rolls in on her ankles but he doesn't think it is that bad. The physical therapist disagrees and recommends an ankle brace or having Kiya wear her walking shoes in the house. So we are going with that. She has been wearing her shoes more in the house as she is less likely to roll in on her ankles with the extra support.

Once we got home, I did some research online about types of braces, etc. I know typically not a good idea but in this case it made me feel better. The braces aren't nearly as scary as they sound and some even are designed to only be worn at night. Most modern braces will allow her to have full range of motion and just be a kid. This was reassuring. There is one scary looking old school brace that I want nothing to do with but if that is what is best we will cross that bridge when we get there. I am seriously hoping her type of curve will work with one of the night time braces but we shall see.

Sigh. Really that is all I can say at this point. Sigh.

Little Man Update

I haven't talked much about our journey to our Little Man as they just hasn't been much to say until now. We are DONE with the paperchase. Dossier went out in the mail today. It took me so much longer to complete the paperchase this time but I have a little more on my plate than I did 2 1/2 years ago when I did this last time :)

So as I wrote out more checks than I write in 6 months today, photocopied a bazillion pieces of paper twice and tried to figure out how to fit all of this paper in an envelope, I got a little misty eyed. The journey seems more real now. Before it was just kind of out there like yeah we are adopting and we are officially waiting etc. But today it kind of sunk in. This is real. We just mailed off our entire life to bring our son home. We still have lots of waiting left to do but today I feel like our Little Man's space in my heart got a little bit bigger.

We are still at least 1 year away from seeing his face for the first time. Next summer. We could see his face in our email next summer. Wow. As to when he will be with us forever. Tough to say. The process is taking a lot longer with the two trip rule. Based on current estimated wait times which I am well aware may change but it appears we will wait around 20/21 months for our referral which puts us in July/August of next year.

We would then need to travel for court. However we will very likely hit court closure again next year. This year courts in Ethiopia are closed from August 6 (or so) until the end of September with the reality that it will likely be weeks into October before things are fully up and running. So if that stays true for next year, the earliest we would travel for the first time is next fall sometime. We had hoped our son would be home for Christmas 2011 but reality is setting in that he will likely not be home until 2012. I hope I am wrong but I am trying to not be overly optimistic only to be disappointed when things change. Been there done that and it is a nasty roller coaster ride that I am trying to avoid this time around.

I know the wait is long but really I am okay with it. First, I have Kiya to keep me plenty busy. It gives us time to work on her needs and medical stuff. It gives us a chance to hopefully get her out of diapers before baby brother comes home. Second, we stuck with the same agency even given the long waits because getting a son fast is not our goal. Sure we could have switched to some agency that would have produced a son for us in no time at all but at what cost???

So we hit 8 months of officially waiting this coming Sunday. Little Man, just know that Mom, Dad and your Big Sister are waiting for you. We will wait as long as it takes. We are praying for you, your first family and all those that will be taking care of you along the way.

Video of Kiya walking

As promised a while ago, here is some video of Kiya walking. I know it is dark video but you get the idea. See how my lovely little one, wants everyone to clap for her? Oh boy are we in for it with her :)