The time since I got back from China has gone by so quickly. I thought I would write a post on each of the new sweeties and how they are adjusting to their new lives in our family. Therese has changed so much since I first met her in Lanzhou. I got a thin, seriously dehydrated child who impressed me even in the first few minutes with how alert and interested she was in everything. She is a quick learner, and can be quite a turkey. I'm sure some of you know that Catherine, who was the only girl in the family, is known as quite a diva. I will admit that before I met Therese I was hoping she would be calmer and quieter than her new big sister. With just one diva in the house, the drama and emotions can be overwhelming. God must have smiled when I said that, because little did I know that we were adding another diva to our family, one that is much more outgoing and almost as talented at being loud as her big sister. This little girl is amazing, to have survived over 4 years in an orphanage where obviously so many basic needs were neglected, and to not only have survived, but to emerge such a confident and spunky and loving life.
Therese was only 20 lbs when I first met her, and I almost cried several times that first day, when I saw the condition she was in. It was a day with so much emotion, seeing how much worse some of her physical needs were, but seeing what an amazing personality she has. I have seen other children from her orphanage, with less severe medical needs, who have been unable to crawl or walk, and having little or no language skills. Therese chattered away in Chinese, and also knew several songs, her colors, at least one nursery rhyme, and could count to 10. She was able to figure out how to get some extra attention from her caregivers, even though physically she was not in very good shape.
Since that day that she met her new mommy, Therese has gained 7 lbs, and her skin is clear and healthy and her hair shines. She is learning new English words all the time and without anyone teaching her, she counted to 6 in English the other day. She loves the alphabet song. The first few days I had her in China, if she fell and hurt herself, she didn't cry. Now she is definitely making up for that, and if she is hurt she lets everyone know it--and even if she isn't hurt but her new big brothers are annoying her, there is no doubt how she feels about it. It is hard to know exactly where she is developmentally, but she is very quick and observant. Unlike all her siblings, she loves to brush her teeth and wash her hands. She likes to help clear the table and fold washcloths.
Physically, we are still working on meeting with the various specialists. We had a checkup with our pediatrician the first week home, and had a full battery of blood tests and every parent's favorite, the stool sample. (They said they wanted it as fresh as possible, so I took a sick pride in getting the sample to the lab when it was still warm.) All her bloodwork was in the normal range, except for anemia, and her stool sample was positive for giardia. We did the giardia treatment and will need to re-test to make sure it was successful. Sometimes it can be hard to get rid of. We had a preliminary visit with the neurosurgeon, but are working on setting up a series of MRIs before we will know what is going on with her spinal cord. We have appointments with the orthopedic specialist and the urologist, and we also need to see an opthalmologist and the dentist.
Her whole torso twists to the side, so I think her scoliosis is more serious than we thought. Her lower legs are like sticks, since she never developed any calf muscles. Her lower legs and feet are very cold and have weaker pulses, and I think she has limited feeling in them. That could explain how she is able to cruise around on her ankle bones. It is painful to watch but doesn't seem to bother her. She is never happier than when she gets ahold of something she can use as a walker. She will wear away her jeans, socks, and soft shoes, and rub off layers of skin, but that doesn't stop her. She wants to be mobile! Usually she walks on her knees, but she loves trying to walk upright like other people.
She has adjusted to life here very well. She adores her Daddy. The first time Mr. B. went back to work, she cried until her little nose was red and her eyes were puffy. She has accepted that he goes to work, now that she is more confident that he will come back. Perhaps because the conditions where she lived weren't very good, she hasn't seemed to grieve or feel homesick. Getting food and love and having a whole house to explore, getting to play outside, and having access to our (too large) toy collection must seem like a pretty good change.
She is definitely a turkey. Once when she was hitting, I held her hand and said, "nice", and she looked me right in the eye and replied sassily, "bu shir nice!" (Bu shir means don't want in Chinese.) Even though she is sassy and mouthy sometimes, if you are firm she usually complies. She loves to snuggle and gives very sweet little hugs. Even when she is giving her evil face or the stink eye, she is somehow still cute and endearing. She is such a daredevil and took off down the block on a trike before I realized what she was doing. When I called out to her to stop, she just cackled with glee over her shoulder! She cannot pedal a trike because of her feet, but she loves to ride them anyway. She even got up on a scooter and was managing to propel herself along. That was no easy feat, when you think about how she had to balance on one ankle bone, and push with the other. She also very quickly learned how to operate the plasmacar, which is great for her since you can move and steer it with just your hands. She always insists on climbing up to slide down the tallest slide at the playground and is so proud of herself when she gets up there.
I am so thankful that we took the time to pray and prepare ourselves to take the leap of faith to submit the paperwork to adopt her. When I first was drawn to her picture, I was overwhelmed by the list of her special needs. If we hadn't been willing to stretch our faith, we would have missed out on knowing this incredible little girl with the most happy and determined spirit I have ever seen in a child. She has a long medical road ahead of her but I am very confident that she will overcome every obstacle and work very hard. This girl gives her all to whatever she tries to do. Mr. B said a few weeks ago that someone forgot to let her know she has problems, because she is just so happy. She laughs with joy and with mischief and she has charmed everyone who has met her.
