Sunday, November 30, 2014

7,925,760 miracles (and counting) since...

My how time flies?!?! We last wrote on Dec 22nd...344 days ago (or so). No excuses as to why, we've obviously devoted time elsewhere over the last year and leaned on other forms of Social media to share pictures and updates.

As we had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate Edyn's first Thanksgiving in the US last week, and in looking back over the memories made this time last year (while in Peru), all the while looking ahead at what is to come- we felt it was time to share more than a quick FB status, note or picture update. Of course, we'll try to keep this as concise as possible, yet fill you in as best we can on what God has done for our family. I promise...it won't take you as long to read this as it did to compose it.

We moved to Little Rock, Ar on Sat, Jan 4th of this year. We were quite busy during the Christmas season with family from Texas & Pennsylvania with us, as well as packing our belongings.) Our last visitors left on Thursday, Jan 2nd & we began loading the moving truck the next day. We spent the first few weeks (which then turned into months) unpacking, getting Edyn registered and set up as a day student at the Arkansas School for the Deaf, & making several trips back to Chattanooga to see through the sale of our home there. It was mid-March before we really began to feel the rhythm of life here in Little Rock.

Along with getting settled as a family in a new place (and with a new member), we began having Edyn's health evaluated. We knew she would need all of her immunizations, but we also wanted to have her hearing tested as well as other precautionary tests. You may recall that in Peru, she was diagnosed as having Cerebral Palsy (CP). Naturally, we wanted to know as much as possible about her health. (More on that in a bit).

Even before we moved, we knew exactly what Church God was leading us to become a part of here in Little Rock. We attended the first 'Next Steps' class that was offered in January and joined a small group as quickly as we could. By God's providence,  the small group we were placed in, is one that  is led by two medical doctors. Matt & Leanne (and their family) have been an indescribable blessing to our family and have quickly become great friends. They aren't just ANY doctors though, they both work for Arkansas Children's Hospital. Oh, and they're an adoptive family as well. Talk. About. God.

I cannot begin to tell you how many doctor's appointments Edyn has had...or how many procedures (I bet Mommy can), but suffice it to say our Insurance out of pocket was met pretty quickly (again, another God thing- thankful for insurance)! So as to not bore you with the details, the Doctors determined rather quickly that she does not have CP, but most likely some form of Ataxia. I say 'most likely' because we are still awaiting some specific blood work results that will (hopefully) pin point exactly what kind of Ataxia she has.

Truthfully, this past year has not been all roses. Adoption. IS. Messy. I repeat, ADOPTION IS MESSY. We've had challenges... we've shed tears... happy ones, sad ones... we've laughed, hugged, kissed & cried some more. Edyn is doing great in many areas, as is our entire family unit. Yet, we've faced some of the most frustrating & challenging times as it relates to her health in just the last 2-3 months. The short of the long is- Edyn has lost a significant amount of her mobility. She began sleeping more & more, often times forgoing dinner after school to go to bed. She stopped using her walker (which we used for distance, at school, etc) and asked to be carried citing she was weak (and pointing to her legs). When she did walk, she was falling quite often- one time hitting her head on a TV stand. It was with much prayer, and with medical consultation that the decision was made for her to begin using a wheelchair. Surprisingly (and thankfully), she welcomed this change. She was very excited to begin using this medium of transportation as soon as we got her loaner chair. She still walks short distances while in our home, but she uses the chair outside the home & while at school. She will have a power chair by the end of the year- hopefully! We are still awaiting insurance to approve this.

So... where does this leave us? Waiting & trusting. We have seen & felt God's hand time and again throughout our lives and even more so as it relates to Edyn. We looked at a wheelchair-accessible van within the last few days that will fit our family perfectly and most importantly- allow us to move about as a family comfortably. The van we have now works... but Edyn has to move from her chair into her seat, and we have to heave-ho the chair into the van. With her 300 pound power chair, that will not be an option. We are trusting that God will provide the financing needed to purchase this accessible van. Will you join us in praying that God will guide us in this process? He has never let us down. After all, He has provided approximately 8 million miracles in the form of breaths taken into our lungs since we last wrote. He has given the means for us to take each breath...surely He will provide the means to continue forward on this journey.

Well... hopefully that gives you a good glimpse of where we are. As always, if you don't see or hear anything from us, don't hesitate to check in along the way. We'll certainly try to do better with this blog.

Blessings!