Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thomas Getting Ready For Surgery
Thomas came to Starfish in October of last year. I found out after a echo, that he had the most severe heart case I have ever had. It took Dr. Li months to figure out what to do with his TOF and he also had to consult with some doctors from Canada before he started.
With everything arranged, Gigi takes him to Hangzhou and the morning the surgery is scheduled he gets chicken pox, so back to Xian for a few weeks. As soon as the chicken pox are finished, he gets really sick again, cough and has diarrhea, so they did not leave last Sunday. We have another date. Gigi and Thomas will be leaving Xian on Sunday (China time) for surgery on Tuesday in Hangzhou. This is going to be a very delicate surgery and the risks are very high. We would ask that you join us in praying for Thomas, that his little body will handle the big change that is coming and it will heal. I also ask that you pray for Dr. Li as he performs this surgery and that he will do that to the best of his ability.
I feel that he is a miracle baby because he has lived so long. For being as sick as he has been so good. He is just the cutest little thing. Gigi has been the one that has taken care of him for the time he has been at Starfish and his basically his mom. This is going to be a very emotional time for everyone here at Starfish and we all understand the consequences of taking a chance. Thank you so very much to the who was involved with the Carpets and Cocktails fundraiser, Eastern Carpets from Singapore and the ladies from the AWCS in Shanghai for providing Thomas the chance at a healthy life. We all appreciate it so very much.
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
With everything arranged, Gigi takes him to Hangzhou and the morning the surgery is scheduled he gets chicken pox, so back to Xian for a few weeks. As soon as the chicken pox are finished, he gets really sick again, cough and has diarrhea, so they did not leave last Sunday. We have another date. Gigi and Thomas will be leaving Xian on Sunday (China time) for surgery on Tuesday in Hangzhou. This is going to be a very delicate surgery and the risks are very high. We would ask that you join us in praying for Thomas, that his little body will handle the big change that is coming and it will heal. I also ask that you pray for Dr. Li as he performs this surgery and that he will do that to the best of his ability.
I feel that he is a miracle baby because he has lived so long. For being as sick as he has been so good. He is just the cutest little thing. Gigi has been the one that has taken care of him for the time he has been at Starfish and his basically his mom. This is going to be a very emotional time for everyone here at Starfish and we all understand the consequences of taking a chance. Thank you so very much to the who was involved with the Carpets and Cocktails fundraiser, Eastern Carpets from Singapore and the ladies from the AWCS in Shanghai for providing Thomas the chance at a healthy life. We all appreciate it so very much.
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Anthony (Benjamin) was adopted almost a year ago. Anthony has three brothers and went through a really difficult heart surgery after he came home. The amazing thing about that was his Chinese Pediatric thoracic surgeon studied with the American surgeon who did his second surgery. That famous red thread. I just love the picture of him sleeping on his brother and the picture where he is decorating the pretzels. The concentration is just too precious and the chocolate on his face tells you he has been sampling. This is Carrie his mom's letter:
Long overdue update on Anthony...I guess things have gone sooooo incredibly well, that an update didn't seem to matter! I guess we tend to focus on the bad, but not in the case!!! So much is good that I can't complain :)
All of the boys here have bonded with Anthony so well and are so happy. Anthony is a remarkable boy with a heart of gold. He loves people, running and playing like any other toddler. He has more energy than most kids and even with a brand new heart, he is just anther boy...no deficits or limitations. He has recovered completely since his open heart surgery in Oct 2008. He is taking some meds but its a small price.
His speech is coming along great and has completed almost 7 months of Speech classes here at his preschool. He will continue preschool in the fall as well.
I am behind in photos too...here are a few of Christmas his 3rd birthday.
All our love
Carrie
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
Long overdue update on Anthony...I guess things have gone sooooo incredibly well, that an update didn't seem to matter! I guess we tend to focus on the bad, but not in the case!!! So much is good that I can't complain :)
All of the boys here have bonded with Anthony so well and are so happy. Anthony is a remarkable boy with a heart of gold. He loves people, running and playing like any other toddler. He has more energy than most kids and even with a brand new heart, he is just anther boy...no deficits or limitations. He has recovered completely since his open heart surgery in Oct 2008. He is taking some meds but its a small price.
His speech is coming along great and has completed almost 7 months of Speech classes here at his preschool. He will continue preschool in the fall as well.
I am behind in photos too...here are a few of Christmas his 3rd birthday.
All our love
Carrie
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Flower TurnsFOUR!
For those who do not know about Flower, she was one of the original six babies I started with in September 2004 then called Nina. She was adopted in January 2007, our third adoption. Flower now lives with her family in Boise, Idaho and just celebrated her fourth birthday. She is the oldest baby we have had at Starfish, but there will be a few birthdays coming up soon. So this is what Angee had so write about her.
Yes Flower, you are 4. "Yay!, River did you hear that? I am 4!" I have heard this several times today. Happy birthday to my best 4 year old girl. Over the past year she's continued gymnastics until this month, when she switched to karate. She started preschool. She is smart and outgoing...she loves people and has some very favorite people in her life...she loves her friends and cousins...steals the show wherever she goes...became a big sister...shares a room with her sister...has her first boyfriend...graduated from nursery and is now in Sunbeams at church...is amazing at memorizing songs...has grown two inches...is independent and sassy...is compassionate...traveled along the Oregon Coast as well as Portland and Eugene in the VW Bus...went to Lagoon for the first time...saw her foster mom from China. She's had a full year and grown in so many ways. These are just a few reasons we love this girl and are grateful she's a part of our family.
Flower got a camera for her birthday because she loves taking pictures. Angee started a site and you can see her first attempts with her own camera: http://floweropal.blogspot.com/
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
Yes Flower, you are 4. "Yay!, River did you hear that? I am 4!" I have heard this several times today. Happy birthday to my best 4 year old girl. Over the past year she's continued gymnastics until this month, when she switched to karate. She started preschool. She is smart and outgoing...she loves people and has some very favorite people in her life...she loves her friends and cousins...steals the show wherever she goes...became a big sister...shares a room with her sister...has her first boyfriend...graduated from nursery and is now in Sunbeams at church...is amazing at memorizing songs...has grown two inches...is independent and sassy...is compassionate...traveled along the Oregon Coast as well as Portland and Eugene in the VW Bus...went to Lagoon for the first time...saw her foster mom from China. She's had a full year and grown in so many ways. These are just a few reasons we love this girl and are grateful she's a part of our family.
Flower got a camera for her birthday because she loves taking pictures. Angee started a site and you can see her first attempts with her own camera: http://floweropal.blogspot.com/
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
Thursday, April 16, 2009
What a BIG Surprise!!
If you had told me yesterday morning that by evening Hosea AND Antonia were going to have their cleft lips repaired I would have laughed in your face. It is just amazing how life goes.
I have been trying to get Hosea's lip repaired for more than five months. He missed three foreign missions because he got sick. I have been fighting his infections for months now. He seemed to be okay and then he would land up in the hospital again. I had seen a highly recommended local plastic surgeon three times and he said to wait. Hosea was released from the hospital last week and was on some serious antibiotics. I thought this was a good time to try again. So we made an appointment to see Dr Lu yesterday and try and arrange a time. I thought I should send another baby also so he can start on the seven that we have ready for surgery. Well, Mickey (my assistant) called and said Hosea, Antonia and Tim had to fast and that they needed a blood test. No big deal. Well, when she gets home, she tells that they are fasting to do surgery. I could not have been more shocked, I thought I misunderstood her. Sure enough, after the blood tests were done, the surgery was scheduled for last night. Tim was not healthy enough and so he came home. They went to the hospital at 5pm and Antonia was up first at 7pm and at 9pm Hosea had his turn. I really like Dr Lu's style. The other surgeons want them in hospital for two weeks, but this is going to be 5 days only.
I have a very special place in my heart for surgeons who repair cleft lips and palates. I got to watch Dr Lisa Buckmiller in action once and I was speechless. (She even asked me during the surgery why I was so quiet). I am so in awe of the skills that it takes to give a child a new face and as I watched her, I coveted that skill. Forget about the years of medical school it took to get there and all the years of practice. On a daily basis I live with the wonder work that cleft surgeons do and I see the amazing results. How grateful I am to have a part to play. I might not be doing surgery, but I will leave that to the professionals and continue to greatly admire them.
A day later.........and I have been to visit the two of them in the hospital and briefly saw Antonia's lip with out the bandages. I had never had a lip surgery with a Chinese doctor and so I was not prepared for the all the bandages. The both looked like they had been in a car accident. They will in the hospital for another 3 days. We had a nurse visit from Chicago and she brought us a special syringe with a feeding tube and it made a HUGE difference to the feeding. The nurses and doctors were very impressed. Thank you Donna!!!! To add insult to injury I had to shave Antonia's head. The nurses were complaining because they could not do IV's. In truth, I loved her bald head.
I cannot wait to see what is happening under those bandages.
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
I have been trying to get Hosea's lip repaired for more than five months. He missed three foreign missions because he got sick. I have been fighting his infections for months now. He seemed to be okay and then he would land up in the hospital again. I had seen a highly recommended local plastic surgeon three times and he said to wait. Hosea was released from the hospital last week and was on some serious antibiotics. I thought this was a good time to try again. So we made an appointment to see Dr Lu yesterday and try and arrange a time. I thought I should send another baby also so he can start on the seven that we have ready for surgery. Well, Mickey (my assistant) called and said Hosea, Antonia and Tim had to fast and that they needed a blood test. No big deal. Well, when she gets home, she tells that they are fasting to do surgery. I could not have been more shocked, I thought I misunderstood her. Sure enough, after the blood tests were done, the surgery was scheduled for last night. Tim was not healthy enough and so he came home. They went to the hospital at 5pm and Antonia was up first at 7pm and at 9pm Hosea had his turn. I really like Dr Lu's style. The other surgeons want them in hospital for two weeks, but this is going to be 5 days only.
I have a very special place in my heart for surgeons who repair cleft lips and palates. I got to watch Dr Lisa Buckmiller in action once and I was speechless. (She even asked me during the surgery why I was so quiet). I am so in awe of the skills that it takes to give a child a new face and as I watched her, I coveted that skill. Forget about the years of medical school it took to get there and all the years of practice. On a daily basis I live with the wonder work that cleft surgeons do and I see the amazing results. How grateful I am to have a part to play. I might not be doing surgery, but I will leave that to the professionals and continue to greatly admire them.
A day later.........and I have been to visit the two of them in the hospital and briefly saw Antonia's lip with out the bandages. I had never had a lip surgery with a Chinese doctor and so I was not prepared for the all the bandages. The both looked like they had been in a car accident. They will in the hospital for another 3 days. We had a nurse visit from Chicago and she brought us a special syringe with a feeding tube and it made a HUGE difference to the feeding. The nurses and doctors were very impressed. Thank you Donna!!!! To add insult to injury I had to shave Antonia's head. The nurses were complaining because they could not do IV's. In truth, I loved her bald head.
I cannot wait to see what is happening under those bandages.
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Rebecca Horsin' Around in Oklahoma
Here is a letter from Rebecca's mom explaining their recent trip. I just loved looking at the pleasure on Rebecca's face. Thanks for sharing Carolin.
I took the kiddos to Oklahoma so that Rebecca could meet her extended family. She just fell in love w/ her grandma and her uncle Landon. Cuter than that though, she LOVED riding the horses!
Take care,
Carolin
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
Starfish Children's Services
US Tax Number: 20-4682916
Xian China
At Starfish, we have taken care of 75 children to date, arranged almost 50 surgeries and had 20 international adoptions, so our little starfishes live all over the globe: the US (latest adoption to North Carolina), Netherlands, Norway and Spain. We currently have 36 babies under the age of 3 at two foster homes.
www.thestarfishfosterhome.org
http://chinesestarfish.blogspot.com
http://chinesestarfishcleft.blogspot.com
chinese.starfishthrower@gmail.com
I took the kiddos to Oklahoma so that Rebecca could meet her extended family. She just fell in love w/ her grandma and her uncle Landon. Cuter than that though, she LOVED riding the horses!
Take care,
Carolin
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
Starfish Children's Services
US Tax Number: 20-4682916
Xian China
At Starfish, we have taken care of 75 children to date, arranged almost 50 surgeries and had 20 international adoptions, so our little starfishes live all over the globe: the US (latest adoption to North Carolina), Netherlands, Norway and Spain. We currently have 36 babies under the age of 3 at two foster homes.
www.thestarfishfosterhome.org
http://chinesestarfish.blogspot.com
http://chinesestarfishcleft.blogspot.com
chinese.starfishthrower@gmail.com
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Easter From Starfish!
At this special time of year, all of us at Starfish wish you Happy Easter.
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
Starfish Children's Services
US Tax Number: 20-4682916
Xian China
At Starfish, we have taken care of 75 children to date, arranged almost 50 surgeries and had a 20 international adoptions, so our little starfishes live all over the globe: the US (latest adoption to North Carolina), Netherlands, Norway and Spain. We currently have 36 babies under the age of 3 at two foster homes.
www.thestarfishfosterhome.org
http://chinesestarfish.blogspot.com
http://chinesestarfishcleft.blogspot.com
chinese.starfishthrower@gmail.com
Cell: 86.1348.812.4847
Life, Love and Laughter,
Amanda
Starfish Children's Services
US Tax Number: 20-4682916
Xian China
At Starfish, we have taken care of 75 children to date, arranged almost 50 surgeries and had a 20 international adoptions, so our little starfishes live all over the globe: the US (latest adoption to North Carolina), Netherlands, Norway and Spain. We currently have 36 babies under the age of 3 at two foster homes.
www.thestarfishfosterhome.org
http://chinesestarfish.blogspot.com
http://chinesestarfishcleft.blogspot.com
chinese.starfishthrower@gmail.com
Cell: 86.1348.812.4847
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