We've been together four months now. For real!
Four months of loving this little monkey has rewarded itself in ways that stagger me. She is such a sweet lovable girl. She is the first to come running to me and wrap her little arms around my legs for a hug. I doubt if there is a better feeling in the whole world, than that. And then there's the snuggling into my neck when I carry her up to the crib for her midday nap, along with the tiny little pursed lips, waiting for that kiss when I lay her in the crib... Of course, I always have to kiss Tigger first, but I'll take what I get!
She's a happy go lucky girl, she always has a bit of fun up her sleeve and she lives her happiness out loud. It's one of my absolute favourite things about her. She also has a mind of her own, selective hearing and can be all out stubborn - if she so pleases. But I wouldn't change a thing about her. Well, most days! Ha!
I absolutely love her in bunches.
Today we heard back from the head of Cardio, Dr Wong. Have I mentioned he is amazing? Honestly, he just has this way about him that calms me in the best ways possibe. Anyway, he called to tell me that the 6 Cardiologists in today's meeting, all agree that Phebe's heart has been under strain for long enough and they want to close the hole in the next 4-6 months.
I am so VERY thankful the Lord has given us time between bringing her home and before this surgery. Time to show Phebe she is loved, time for us to bond together, time for her to trust us, time for her to realize we are a family and none of us are going anywhere, time for her to understand us English speaking folks, time so she can communicate with us. Thank you Lord.
I know Phebe's strength, her happiness and her gregarious easy going personality is the perfect fit for a patient. And my sweet little sensitive Lilah will be on the sidelines doing all the worrying for her - Lilah sure fits the caring big sister role, perfectly!
Every now and then, reality hits, and my Mama emotions get the best of me. It's just the love I have for this child - I don't ever want her to hurt. But I am focusing on the positive - God gave her to us because, well, most of all, she's our daughter. And she and her Baba will be able to exchange heart surgery stories and compare their scars! Not to mention, we have the best healthcare possible, we have some of the best Cardiologists, we even live 5 minutes away from the Children's Hospital! And the best part, this surgery is going to give her the best quality of life.
God is so good.
Phebe had her first appointment with the Cardiologist at CHEO today. She had three tests - a chest x-ray, an ECG and an Echocardiogram.
The somewhat short version is that Phebe has a 5mm (medium sized) hole (vsd - ventricular septal defect) in the lower chamber between the left and right ventricle of her heart. Unfortunately, the blood escaping through this hole is causing her heart to be enlarged.
Right now, it is hard to gage these results, because we have no medical history or past tests to compare these results to. Was the heart originally larger and is it decreasing in size as she grows? Or is it the opposite, is her heart becoming more enlarged as she grows? Those are the questions right now. If we knew the answers, the course of action would be a lot more straight forward.
There is a test they could do, an MRI of the heart, to figure out the amount of blood escaping through the hole, however, that would mean our little girly would have to go under a general anesthetic... and the Dr said, even though this would help him figure out what was going on, there is a high possibility that (after that test) she will need the open heart surgery anyway. So he is hesitant to know if this is the best option. He doesn't want to have to put her through any more extra procedures, especially ones that involve a general anesthetic. And especially since, as of right now, the open heart surgery is a high possibility.
Anyway, all that said, he feels Phebe's case is a little tricky and has decided to take her file and present it at a board meeting on Friday. This meeting includes 5 other cardiologists and 2 cardio surgeons. He wants input from other cardiologists in order to make the right decision. I am thankful that he is a smart man and wants the best for our girl, enough to get other educated opinions before making a decision. And I know that God is in control and Phebe is in the best hands and care possible.
For a 2 year old with a vsd, Phebe is growing very well. She is in the 75th percentile for height, she went from the 5th percentile to the 25th percentile for weight, in just 7 weeks! However, unfortunately with her sickness over the holidays she lost a fair amount of that weight gain. But the good news is, she can put on weight and it's only because of her two years spent in the orphanage that she was 'under target' for weight. The other good news is that she has no outward effects of this vsd at all, no blueness, no loss of breath, etc. and for that we are very thankful. However, there are issues that will transpire if her heart continues to enlarge - these issues would manifest themselves more when she becomes a young adult.
The Dr also mentioned that having the surgery at an early age would be better - she wouldn't remember much, recovery and healing would be easier and her scar would disappear before she becomes a self-conscious teen! Not that I can ever imagine Phebe being self-conscious, she has such a beautiful happy easygoing spirit. At the end of the day, we want Phebe to have the fullest life possible and if that means having surgery, well we are at peace knowing we will have done everything to give her that.
Anyway, that's as much as we know right now. Dr Wong will be calling us on Friday to let us know what conclusion he and the board members have come to and we will move forward from there.
Phebe had her second appointment at CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) last Tuesday, exactly 7 weeks from our first appointment. Her bloodwork came back looking beautiful! Her lead levels are a tiny bit high and her Vitamin D is a tiny bit low... very normal considering the environment she lived in for the first 2 years of her life. Her chest x-ray results, again, came back showing everything in keeping with a child who has lived with a VSD for 2 years. There's a little blood on the lungs which is normal for this condition.
And here's the good news... her weight, in 7 weeks Phebe went from 10th percentile to 25th percentile! Wow! Now this shouldn't have come as a surprise to me... because this girl can eat!! In fact, right now she can eat as much as me, and that's sayin' somethin'! Her height moved up a little too, but not much. She's already in the 50th percentile for height, so I'm not too worried. Plus height is normally a slower catch-up.
Seriously though, we are so pleased and thankful that she's a happy healthy girl. Her Cardiology appointment is scheduled for January 9th. It will be nice to know what's going on with that little heart of hers.
I also took her for her first Timmies last week! She and I shared a donut - split evenly, I might add!
When she'd eat her share, she request "more"!
Yes, I ended up buying her two more timbits...which she gobbled down!
Today was Phebe's first appointment at the Adoption Clinic in CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario).
Phebe did great. As far as cognitively, this girl is way ahead of the game! Gross motor skills, fine motor skills, developmentally - everything seems great.
Her height and head circumference is around the 50th percentile. Her weight is low, something like 10th percentile. We're not 100% sure, but that could be to do with her heart condition, because believe me, our Phebe girl can eat! There is a chance that her heart is working harder because of the VSD, which is keeping her weight low. Her VSD is definitely there - as we were told by the Doctor in Beijing. In fact, we are still waiting for a referral for a cardiologist at CHEO, but after Dr. MacDonnell listened to her heart today, she said she would take a walk over to the Cardiology Department and have a chat with them to see if she could hurry things along a little.
Phebe is not 'at risk' and outwardly she has no signs of having a heart condition, but you can feel the rasping when you put your hand on her chest and there is a swooshing noise (blood flowing through the chamber of her heart, where the hole is) when listening with the stethoscope. She will probably need surgery - although we will have to consult with the Cardiologist to know for sure. We are hoping that the surgery and patching of the hole can be done via keyhole surgery.
Just thinking about my little girl undergoing surgery drains me a little, I feel anxious about the idea of it. But I knew when we accepted Phebe's referral that I would do anything for her. I remember our co-ordinator asking us if we needed time to consult with a doctor to find our how bad her heart condition was. I just remember thinking that it didn't matter, we'd do anything for this child... we were totally smitten and our love was unconditional from the moment we saw her little face.
And here we are. We are MORE than smitten. We are truly in love! She has a way about her that I can't exactly say what, but it just makes you fall in love with her, over and over again, in so many different little ways.
