1 MONTH

Gabriel and Rebekah have been home for 1 month.
Wow, that went by fast !

A moma's girl !

Rebekah loves to be held and is starting to go poop on her own !!

She is also starting to bond with daddy, loves to be around her siblings, 

loves being outside.

Hrutuja is at the top and Gabriel tries to keep up with her, but he did not try to climb this.

It is fun to see him really enjoy playing, his excitement is awesome to see.

His beautiful face after enjoying ice cream.

What an awesome season in our lives!!

ANOTHER DAY

Yes, we went to the GI doctor yesterday.....
I need to up Rebekah's calorie intake.
And she will have a Modified Barium Swallow study
done at MMC soon.

After the GI visit I called the neurologist to check in with
him and he is trying a different seizure medication for her
since she was allergic to the last one.

WOW, sometimes I wonder if her PDA would of been discovered
in China ?  Would she have gotten the medical help she needed ?
What birthday would she have lived to in China?
I really should not wonder I know the answer, it is NO.
Orphanages do not have the resources to get the children the help
they need, they depend on us to give, volunteer, to send medicine or
a Doctor that can volunteer their time. Physical therapist to teach the
helpers.

HELP THE FAMILIES WHO WANT TO ADOPT THEM !!!

Sometimes I am scared, overwhelmed, confused or even say
"why me Lord, why me?"
 But I know in my heart, she is in the family that God wanted her to be in.

FOOT & ANKLE

Today we went to the Foot & Ankle specialist
for Gabriel's feet. He looked a little worried when
I told him that he was going to the doctor today.
So I told him that it is a foot doctor... I get this..
Ah.. ok, then he laughs..
After a lot of walking, jumping, hoping and x-rays he will be
getting  AFO for his feet which really look like he has no arch??

It should get really exciting around here we are under a severe
thunderstorm warning today!

Thunderstorms did not happen until we returned from the mall.
Yes, we took all  the children to the mall.
 
Yesterday, after I laid Rebekah down I was watching Gabe, Rohana
and Hrutuja eating their lunch and laughing, like they have been
siblings forever.    Feeling blessed

WHAT ???

What is Lissencephaly?

Lissencephaly, which literally means "smooth brain," is a rare, gene-linked brain malformation characterized by the absence of normal convolutions (folds) in the cerebral cortex and an abnormally small head (microcephaly). In the usual condition of lissencephaly, children usually have a normal sized head at birth.  In children with reduced head size at birth, the condition microlissencephaly is typically diagnosed.  Lissencephaly is caused by defective neuronal migration during embryonic development,  the process in which nerve cells move from their place of origin to their permanent location within the cerebral cortex gray matter. Symptoms of the disorder may include unusual facial appearance, difficulty swallowing, failure to thrive, muscle spasms, seizures, and severe psychomotor retardation. Hands, fingers, or toes may be deformed. Lissencephaly may be associated with other diseases including isolated lissencephaly sequence, Miller-Dieker syndrome, and Walker-Warburg syndrome.  Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish between these  conditions clinically so consultation with national experts is recommended to help ensure correct diagnosis and possible molecular testing.



TODAY AT THE CARDIOLOGIST WE GOT THIS DIAGNOSIS:

She has a PDA that needs to be repaired.

What Is Patent Ductus Arteriosus?

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a heart problem that affects some babies soon after birth. In PDA, abnormal blood flow occurs between two of the major arteries connected to the heart. These arteries are the aorta and the pulmonary (PULL-mun-ary) artery.
Before birth, these arteries are connected by a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus. This blood vessel is a vital part of fetal blood circulation.
Within minutes or up to a few days after birth, the ductus arteriosus closes. This change is normal in newborns.
In some babies, however, the ductus arteriosus remains open (patent). The opening allows oxygen-rich blood from the aorta to mix with oxygen-poor blood from the pulmonary artery. This can strain the heart and increase blood pressure in the lung arteries.


In a couple day we see a GI doctor .........

HE IS 10

Wow, Gabriel is 10 !!
We know we missed the first 10 years with you.

He loved his Chocolate cake.     Blue is his fav color.

Waiting to open gifts... we kept it simple, to not overwhelm him.

He was jumping in his seat when he opened his big blue drawing pad !!
He said "yes".  The girls each have one and he had one that is very small.
He is doing well with adjusting to American life and his English.

2ND BIRTHDAY

Ai Jia ..aka... Rebekah Ai Jia McChesney
Today is her  Birthday!

I can not tell you at what age these pictures were taken

because we missed almost 2 years with Rebekah.

This is my favorite picture of her.

Yesterdays MRI gave us the diagnosis of lissencephaly.

 

LITTLE TROUPER

With a lot of doctor appointments, etc we have
not gone swimming much.  And today was another hot day,
so after dinner we packed the kids up and went to the beach.
To discover it was really windy and cold at the beach ?!
So we took them to the park.

 Gabriel does not have a lot of confidence with his balance.

 Hrutuja is a  tomboy

He goes down slides sooo sloooow but is excited when he gets
to the end ! He tires very easily and prefers to sit and watch excitement.

 Rohana sat on a big girl swing !!
She did not have her brace on because we were going swimming.

Dirty is fun...

This little one enjoys all sights and sounds.

Rebekah kinda had a rash yesterday and I thought maybe the dog has fleas ?
But no one else had flea bites ?  So last night she pretty much did not sleep
at all and her rash has tripled by morning !!! So I took her to the doctors office.
It seams that she is allergic to her seizure meds.  So we stopped her seizure meds and
gave her something for the allergic reaction.  And something for constipation.

We have a appointment with a cardiologist, neurologist, eye specialist, MRI visit,
a 24 hour EEG reading, nutritionist, gastrologist, I hope I have all these doctors
specialties correct.
I keep hearing that sleep is over rated !?
I keep reminding myself  that it will all get better soon !!

2 WEEKS HOME

Thinking about how NICE it is to be home.
To have our whole family together......

We learned on Friday that Rebekah does not have a
blood disorder as was written in her file !
And she also does not have hip displacer !! She just has no
muscle tone in her whole body.
But she does have a heat murmur that she will need to see
a cardiologist for.  Please pray for her because she has a MRI
scheduled for this Thursday.
I have been praying for answers and miracles for this little girl.

Gabriel has been doing awesome.  He will see a podiatrist for his feet
and a optometrist for new glasses, and a neurologist for his cerebral palsy.
He is learning English words a couple at a time because when he
answers us in Mandarin we tell him the English word and have him repeat it.

Hopefully I will be able to finish and post pictures later

1 WEEK HOME

We are soo blessed to be given the chance to be
mom & dad to this beautiful baby girl, Rebekah.

With everything that is wrong her little body. 
She can still smile like this.

 She loves to snuggle.

And Gabriel is doing awesome, very little grieving so far.

 We tried getting him to ride the big bike, but he chose a smaller one

 So Hrutuja decided she will try the big bike.

 He loves playing outside.

Even Rohana chose a smaller bike. They have a great time playing together.

JULY 5

On Thursday I took Rebekah to the neurologist
while Dave took the other kids to the library.

The neurologist did a EEG immediately after looking
her over. He called me later and has put her on seizure meds.
And wants to see us again next week.

It is a  little overwhelming to hear everything I am finding out
about Rebekah.....Keep calm and pray on...

Next week we will also be going back a couple more times for blood
draws for Rebekah since she only weighs 14 lbs (23 months old)

Fourth of July parade was rescheduled for Saturday  because of heavy
rain that was for casted.   But it was dry in the morning so we took
the kids to the beach, they had a great time... water was cold!

Today, I took the kids over to see my mom before we took
them to Chuck E cheese.  Seeing the excitement in Gabriel's face
was priceless.     SOOO Blessed !!

JULY 3

We have been home for 3 days.
Day 1:  We did nothing and just hugged ALL our children.
Day 2:  Doctors office for 1 1/2 hours
Day 3:  Blood test another 2+ hours
Day 3:  X-ray for baby, dad took the other children to the park
Day 4:  Today, baby has more blood test then a neurologist appointment
Day 5:  HAPPY JULY 4TH !!!   parade and fire works !!

Keeping this real:
By night 2 all children are sleeping thru the night, we just wake
up at 4:30. :(
Rebekah is doing better at eating, sleeping and just seams HAPPY.
Her 2nd birthday is in 15 days .
Gabriel tries new foods (we have his favs on hand) loves going outside,
honeymoon period ?      I think God has blessed us again !
His 10th birthday is 17 days away.

I dislike the fact that the children have to have a TB test in China
(which now is a blood draw without parents present)
before they can come to the USA and then they have to do it again
at the doctors office in the USA ???   I am sure this upset me when
we brought Hrutuja home.

A very HOT day at the police station trying to apply Gabe's passport.

Yes, we rode the trains ... very relaxing.

He is a very smart boy... loves to build

HOME

WE are back in the USA.

Gabriel is a happy go with the flow boy unless he has
to wait for anything.... He told our guide that he does not like waiting!
And he can not wait to get to AMERICA.

This was his  foster mother

This is Rebekah, who I scooped up as soon as she walked thru the door.

Sitting in the walker in the playroom at The Garden Hotel.
This precious little girl has a very long road ahead of her.