One Year With Claire

One year ago today I experienced one of the most amazing moments of my life. James and I were leaving Beijing and flying to Guangzhou. We were told that as soon as we touched down that we would be heading to the Civil Affairs office to met our little girls. There were six non special needs families and ourselves who were all going to meet our daughters for the first time. All the excitement of being on our way to our children made the bus nearly float down the roads.

Once we were at the Civil Affairs office we learned that the babies were not there yet. Soon may nannies began to take six little girls into the room across the hall. James began to get video of all that he could see across the way. One little girl was in a walker, the other pulling herself up to the walker. They were all SO cute. One by one they were each brought into the room and one by one they melted our hearts. Soon each of the other waiting families had a little girl in their arms. They each signed papers, had their pictures taken and began their bonding process. One little girl was on the phone to her mommy who could not travel, another was crying every time she turned to look at her new mommy. It was amazing to watch, but I was ready to experience it!

James began to ask about Claire. They simply said she was not here yet. Of course minutes took forever and James began to loose hope. He said, "maybe today is just not our day." After that comment, I saw walk around the corner a freshly shaved little girl wearing a "famous MaoNan dress" and little sweater. They took her into the playroom across the hall. We were told that they took their temperatures before they brought them to us. I gave them adequate time to take care of that (in my mind) then let our guide know that she needed to go and get her!!!! Minutes later I could not contain my emotion but I sucked it up in order to not frighten our new little girl.

Elisabeth Claire Lou Mei walked into the room with bold confidence. She questioned the looks on our faces and I tried to give James a chance to hold her first. He was being a gentleman and trying to let her come to him. When that did not happen I just scooped her into my arms. She did not try to lift herself and she sat as a log in my arms. I remember the feeling of her little hand on my shoulder. She never cried but looked around to take it all in. I gave her a headband and her doll. There were many goodies packed into her little backpack but we did not have much time to go through them. The nannies took a minute to show us how to care for her special need, them it was off to the motel.

It was our first glance at the motel. We were given a large apartment with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a den. The kitchen was small but had everything we would need for the next two weeks. Claire stuck close to the front room until we gave her permission to explore. I changed her into a different dress so I could keep her dress from the orphanage as a keepsake. As I took off her shoes, she had a fit. It took me a minute or two to calm her down. I washed her body with a washcloth and replaced the sandals that she had on with a pair of socks and shoes. Then life was good once again!!

We realized that we were starving! We had seen a McDonald's across the street so we took off to there. Other families were waking out with their little girls and the place was packed. We passed on the green pea pies and stuck with chicken nuggets and fries. The fries were gone in a heart beat and Claire's personality began to shine through as we fed her. We were able to snap a few photos and finish our meal then it was back to the motel room.

We decided to give Claire a bath. We had been warned that the Chinese children are not put into water until they are much older and that she may be afraid of being in a bath. Nothing could have been further from the truth! She did not dance around playing but she relished each moment that she was in the water. She tested how her hand went from above the water to below. She moved the water around the tub and relaxed unlike I had ever witnessed a two year old relax.

I remember how I had taken for granite the children the Lord had already blessed me with. How I had not taken the time to enjoy these moments with them the way should. How blessed I was to be given this opportunity to enjoy being a mother to this amazing little girl and how excited I was to be back together with all our children to enjoy them even more from this moment forward.

The year has been intense. Surgeries and military deployments were our mountains to climb, but Claire faced each one with courage. Her confidence in who she is and where she fits in our family leaves me standing in awe. Oh, Lord how I prayed for this child that you have entrusted me with. Thank you for preparing her for us. I could not feel more blessed.

Thank You

Thank you all for your prayers and concern for Claire. Now that she is "out of the woods" and working towards a "normal" existence, we are going to stop blogging for her. The next few months will be "private" and too hard to explain. Please feel free to email me at xocll@verizon.net to get access to our family's private blog. We would love to share our entire family's comings and goings there ... with each of you!!! I will only need to send you a quick invite.

I will update this blog on September 18. This will be the one year anniversary of our "gotcha day" with Claire and the final post of this blog. I will be updating still a few pages from Claire's old website from November until we started this one. Feel free to look back and see how things were for Claire during those months if you were not able to share with us on her old site :)

Claire is GREAT!!!

Claire is doing VERY well. Susan came to visit her last night and they went on a very long walk. Claire directed her to the play area and even convinced her to take her outside in our heat wave. Did I mention that Aunt Susan was in long sleeves, and black? Pour Susan, but she was a trooper and Claire had a great time. She started having bowel movements yesterday and today we have started liquids!!! James and I are so pleased for her. She is doing remarkably well.

GREAT News!!!

Claire slept SO well last night. I think that having her daddy home may have helped!! James arrived last night from Iraq to help with her recovery process. It is going to be severe enough a tole, that I would have needed a nurse to help care for her. That was a viable option for me, but our insurance would not cover that. We sent out a Red Cross message last Friday, but I did not want to say anything until he was actually safe on American soil. Thank you all for your prayers. You will never know how much we appreciate each of you.

Children's Hospital

Claire's surgery went very well today!!! She went in around 12:45pm and was out about 3:30pm. Michelle is here with me and Claire is fast asleep with the aid of morphine. Thank you all for your prayers.

Last Surgery Date

Claire went to Children's today for her follow up appointment. We were given a surgery date that was rather surprising ... Tuesday!!!! I was in shock. Her illiostomy is just not functioning the way that it should and I am having to change a bag EVERY DAY!! They should last an average of three days. It is effecting the skin around her stoma, plus the illiostomy just does not allow her the same nutrient absorption as a colostomy does.

Please be praying for her as we prepare for this next step. All Claire has ever known is her ostomy being a part of her. As much as we are VERY excited for her and we know that this change is what is best for her, it will still be a loss to her. I know that the Lord can prepare her heart for this just as He prepared her for us.

Claire's post care is also not going to be easy. It is going to require time for us to learn what it will take to "regulate" her bowels. Plus her skin has not had stool on it and in the beginning it could react as if it is a fountain, which means CONSTANT changing. Who ever is able to be with me to help, is going to be on shifts with me until we get things under control.

I have also been warned that once you get it "under control" it can get TOO under control and need help exiting. NOT fun with a three year old. It is already interesting enough to perform the homework that we have had to do, let alone what is coming up.

So, please PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!!! Thank you!

First 4th of July!!!!

Claire had a wonderful time at her first 4th of July celebration. We started out at the parade where Claire rode in a wagon for our church. Half way thorugh mom accidentally got her foot ran over by the trailer that our church was pulling!

We took a break, Claire got a nap, I got x rays (nothing was broke! Prasie God!) then we went down to the beach. We hung out there and BBQed with Uncle Curt, Anut Susan, JJ, MiMi and all the other kids. We stayed until it was freezing outside and we had to bundle in many blankets. The fireworks are ALWAYS worth the cold.

Children's Again

We went to Children's again today but only for an office visit. Dr. Goldin says that everything sounds perfect and we should be back in two weeks for our next check up. It was a very nice day to be driving and I had come from Deana's house instead of home. I had been down there to authenticate Cade's paperwork in Olympia. On the way home Jordon, Claire and I went to PF Changs for lunch. I suppose that is my way of stepping out in faith that we will be getting some China news really soon :)

Just What the Doctor Wanted

Claire went in for another attempt at training today and it went great! We will begin the training at home starting this evening and pray that all continues to go well. I will have to come back in a lot more often and sooner than I had once thought, but as soon as the doctor sees what he needs to, we will be scheduling surgery.

A Day at Children's

Well, our examination and training went well today. Things are not quite what the surgeon was planning on seeing, but nothing major. It is just going to require us to go back and have her put back under in two weeks to make sure that everything has healed the way that he would like to see. Once that is done, we will be on the countdown for the final step of our process. They may have to do the next part sooner than later. Claire has lost some weight and is not puting it back on as of yet. I did buy protein powder and other great fruits and veggies to start blending for her. We are praying that she will be able to obsorb more nutrience out of blended drinks than she is from food.

We're Going HOME!!!!

Today is the day! We have just found out that we can head home this afternoon. They have removed Claire's PIC line and we are waiting for the final orders! Praise be to God for being with Claire during this time. It is so good to see her "near" normal!

"Pee Pee in the Diaper"

YES oh YES!!!! I was calling "Queen Mum", complaining to the nurses ... what ever we had to do to prolong Claire getting a catheter again. Then almost two hours after they were to put it in ... she went!

Jenny and my mom had come with Kenny to visit for the day. It was our job to get Claire to go potty. It was quite obvious that she really needed to go and was afraid. When they said at 6:30 pm that they were going to have to put the catheter back in we begged the nurse for more time. She sent us on a walk. (After all, how are they going to put a catheter in a patient who is not there?)

We went on a LONG walk and ended up at bathrooms with low sinks for kids. We washed our hands for quite a while, then visited the fish tank. Sure enough ... that was what she needed!! I am so thankful to the Lord that He touched this little girl and helped her to go! We may be able to head home tomorrow!!!!! Thank you for your prayers!!!!

Did I Mention ... We Have Food

I think that I forgot to mention that Claire was able to start eating yesterday. It was a great break through and we were in hope that we would be heading home today. Unfortunately we will not. Claire has been unable to pass urine without the catheter. Jenny and I assisted the nurse with holding Claire as she had to go through the "not fun at all" task of putting the catheter back in. They said that it could have been too soon after removing the epidural, but they are also concerned about the nerve endings of her bladder. The work that they did to repair her fistula was very close to them. We are going to try and remove the catheter this evening and see if her bladder begins to function again before morning. If so we will be home by Friday. If not we will be meeting with urology and working on the next step.

James' eye seems to be doing better! He called this morning and seemed much more like himself. He likes to keep busy and that eye was just standing in his way!

Jenny came and spent the night with us last night. It was great therapy for me! We ate chocolate, watched the dancing with the starts season finale and chatted with Claire's surgeon. He is such a great guy, he was going to join our little party, but he looks a bit tired from a surgery he had just come out of. By the way, my kids we asking how many stitches Claire has, he said that there is over 100 on the inside, between 35-40 in the newly formed area plus the ones down her front and up her back. he finally said "WELL over 100!" Thanks again for all the visits, gifts, calls, emails and comments.

Nearly Tube Free

Well, we are catheter and epidural free. It has been a challenge to manage Claire's pain even with the epidural, so as you can imagine it has not been easy since they removed it. She is without nourishment for four hours so she is with me as I write this!!!! No tubes connected to anything!! She is really doing well considering the amount of pain she has been in. Thank you all for your love and prayers. It really does mean so much. Jenny is coming down to spend the night with us tonight. Our roommate has moved out, so we are praying for a very quiet night!

We have a New Little Girl

I am amazed each day at Claire's progress. She was able to get into a wagon yesterday to hand out with Jace, Jordon, Tori, Tacia, my mom, Curt & Susan. It was so good to see her out of her room and about. It did wear her out, so when she went back to bed to take a nap, I took the four other children to lunch and the book store. It was much needed time with them and a great break from the hospital. Curt, Susan and my mom hung out with Claire who slept the entire two hours I was gone!

She slept well last night and had her suction tube removed from her stomach this morning, which meant .... BROTH!!!!!! she got it just as Deana walked in the door and it was some much needed "by way of mouth" nourishment. She looks fabulous and as soon as she can tolerate the solids she will be allowed to eat, we will begin oral pain medications. Once the pain is maintained orally, we will be able to go home!!!! Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging words. I have had good sleep and company visit just when I needed! You are all a blessing to us!

Please as you are praying, keep James in mind. He threw a box away and the flap popped up and cut his eyeball. He is in much pain. I remember how he was after his lasiks surgery and it was not good. It also makes his time rather boring and his job is almost all done by reading and computer, neither of which he can do for a while. Maybe he will find some scrap wood and build something? :)

God bless, Lisa

Each Day A Little Better

Each day we see Claire getting a little better. She is sitting up very well today. She made a fabulous effort of trying to play with Nana and Aunt Kathy yesterday, but she was up and ready for Mimi (Michelle) to be here today. The doctors are seeing signs that her tummy is waking up!!!! That means that MAYBE by tomorrow she can eat. This is very good news. As soon as she is eating and has her pain managed, we can go home until the 30th. We have to be back then for an "up to" over night visit. They will try to get us in and out in one day, but that will depend on how she does during the procedure.

Claire has very much enjoyed her visitors the last few days. I think that it helps to break up the beeps and pokes. I know that things will be much easier once she can just put some food in her sweet little mouth!

Friday after Surgery

Claire is doing better today. She still wants food, but has not had a major fit over it yet. She slept until 10:00 am and then went straight in to get a main IV placed that can withstand feedings that they would like to start giving to her this evening. I assumed she was receiving nourishment intravenously until now, but I guess she was only receiving liquids. we are praying that as her body gets the nourishment it needs, it will make the extreme desire for food less. As soon as her intestines begin to work, they will start her on a liquid diet. They have also decreased her pain medication. She is moving around a lot more independently and that was a good sign! I must get back to her but wanted to give you all a quick update. Your prayers are being heard, please continue to pray.

Two Days After Surgery

Claire is continuing to struggle with pain. I feel so bad for her because she tries to be very brave. They let her sit in my arms this afternoon. It was so nice to hold her but she got very tired and needed to go back into the bed. Jenny is here and gave me a chance to get a shower and eat some hot food. Our night was hard until about 2:00 am. Claire had to cough to get everything out of her lungs and it hurt her SO badly to do so. She finally did. We held a teddy bear on her tummy incisions while she did so she would not be so scared. We really needed another stuffed animal though to hold up her other arm as we did this. Claire was also having a hard time feeling successful blowing bubbles, so she had given up. Her oxygen saturation was quickly going down. We were at the low eighties when the Lord is so good to provide. The CPO mess sent Claire a package, in it was a book and teddy bear, ever so soft and just the right size! If that was not enough there was also a pinwheel!!!!! YES! She began blowing for us and her oxygen has been 100 ever since!!!! I am so grateful for this provision. I am a little nervous about the possibility of them taking out her spinal tomorrow where she is receiving her pain meds right now. It feels like we just got her "near" comfortable and that it could be a struggle for her to get back to where she is now. I know that the Lord will comfort and provide. Please be praying for her comfort as her sweet little body tries to heal.

In Our Room

We are back in our room this evening. We actually got there about two hours ago but they were switching nurses and Claire was trying to settle in from the move with her pain levels. They moved us to a room down the hall with a teenage girl. It does not sound like she will be here more than a few days, so maybe we will have a few days alone after that? I will keep this short as I need to eat and get back to her but thank you all for your prayers. She is doing remarkably well considering what she has just undergone.

Afternoon after Surgery

We are still in ICU. It does mean that Claire's pain is not yet under control, but I am grateful that they are keeping her there until they have a way to manage it. She is very swollen from the extra fluids she was given during the surgery. They said that she will get more swollen before the day is over. The nurse in her ICU room is Teaesse. She is such a sweet lady. I am praising the Lord for His provision with her. She has assured me that when they send her to the floor that she will talk with Claire's nurse to ensure that they know how to care for her. The spinal seems to be a little complicated.

I will update again once we finally get to the floor, I just didn't want to keep everyone wondering what was going on.

Morning after Surgery #2

Claire is still resting well in ICU. They were able to take out her internal blood pressure monitor. She has been experiencing some discomfort, but they finally reached the pain management people and got her more medicine. She has been a little alert. At least enough to express her discomfort in having a heart rate band on her sucking thumb! They moved it to her other hand and she is still having trouble sucking on it because of all the IVs.

It sounds like it will be two weeks before they even start the dilation process. They have decided to definitely do the first one in the operating room. How they progress after that is left to be determined. I will try to update again once they move us out of ICU.

Morning after Surgery

Claire slept SO well last night. They have put her in ICU to help her to rest. She woke up right away as they began the "wake up" process. The nurses were very surprised to see her so alert. It was obvious that she was in pain and they tried to take care of that pain through her epidural. Once the pain was gone she began to get ticked that she #1 could not suck her thumb and finger because of a major IV and #2 that we were not giving her a drink.

She will be unable to drink for at least two days and it will be at least four days after that point before she can begin to "eat". As loosely as the word eat is considering the doctor said that we were going to have to switch her to a "liquid" type diet because of how he had to form her hew colostomy. (It does not sound like this little girl will be getting her cheese any time soon.)

Thank you for your prayers. Please keep them coming. Once they move her to the floor, things are not going to be as pleasant as they are in the dreamland of ICU.

ICU

Claire is out of surgery now! She is doing just fine and will be recovering in ICU for the time being!

Evening of Surgery Report

Claire is doing well. They have finished most of their work. They are anticipating about two more hours. We could be looking at the short side of the time frame though. I will update as soon as she is settled and back in her room. The nurse said that things have been going very well so I am praying that means that Dr. Goldin is finding all the "I hopes" as he is in there! Thank you for your prayers!

Afternoon of Surgery Day

Claire's surgery was delayed because of an emergency surgery that went before her. She was finally taken back about 10:45 am. Pastor came to spend the morning with me, praise be to God. He was a lifesaver. He entertained Claire VERY well. They played with bubbles, potato heads and even stuck tissues into their ears and noses. That was all great until the woman who's son is next to us decided to bring her breakfast tray into the room and explain to Claire that she is sorry but that Claire just can't eat right now. Of course this brought on quite a FIT! Pastor and I took her to the playroom where she reenacted the previous night by hitting me, screaming at me and head banging me.

Finally they came to say it was time to go! That was all Claire wanted to hear, that she could "GO!" So we walked with her to the recovery area where they prepped her a bit. They gave her "norsvec(?)" in her IV. What a dream child! She smiled sweetly at me, leaned forward to give me a kiss. She was floating high! We laid her in her crib and I slid off her shoes. One at a time she gave a big surprised look and giggled beyond belief. You would have thought I had just pulled a rabbit out of my hat!

So, outside of a bruise upside my cheek from Claire beating the tar out of me, I have been prayed for, nourished and well prepped with magazines!!!! Pastor left as Jenny and my mom got here and Tamara will be coming here in a little bit to be handed the "baton." I am not sure how long Tamara will be staying but it is nice to have people here as I wait.

I have a beeper and we have been contacted twice since Claire went into surgery. The first time they let us know that the surgery started at 12:00 pm. The second one was at 1:45 pm to let us know that they were still doing some exploratory work and that we should expect it to take another 8 to 12 hours from that point.

What a Night

Well, I can officially say that I have awoken with bags under my eyes. I am not sure if it is a sign of age, or the night I had but I am guessing both. Claire decided at 7:00 pm yesterday that she wanted cheese. She began demanding it by 8:00 pm and at 9:00 pm we just decided to go to bed. She woke at midnight after she had ripped her fluids cord out of her IV and drenched her bed. Since she was no longer having fun and we still would not give her cheese, she decided it was time to go. We compromised on her sleeping with me, but the hospital did not want that. So, we went to the playroom. When she discovered that the playroom was not out of the building, we spent the next hour in a fit that matched and surpassed the ones in China. It was worse to be hit and screamed at after building a relationship for eight months. It was also harder because she now speaks some English so she was able to tell me off and have me understand it! The next few weeks should be fun. Please continue to pray!!!

Children's Day 1

Claire and I are at Children's and things are going well. Claire has had some issues with pulling the feeding tube out of her nose. It is not fun to get back in, but she is tolerating it better this evening. Surgery is still a go for 9:00 am.

My friend Deana and her daughter Lucie came to visit Claire today. I got some great photos, I will post them later! Thank you for your continued prayers!

Off to Children's

Tomorrow morning Claire and I will head out to Children's hospital for her surgery on Tuesday. I will be updating the blog to communicate with everyone how she is. Feel free to look around the blog. Please note that I have only been able to move over about half of Claire's previous site. It is an ongoing project for me :)

Journey to Claire

I just finished puting together a video for a Women's Ministry evening I will be speaking at on June 1st. It was great to look through all of the photos we have of Claire to pick out those that represented what I was trying to convey.