Lily's 3rd Birthday Party

With all the focus on Anna the last couple of weeks, we wanted to share that Lily's birthday was celebrated.  She and her friends had a fun afternoon at Gymboree.

Update on Anna's Hospital Stay

We had hoped that Anna would have been at home a week ago, but she is still in the hospital. The issue has been her lack of appetite. She has had little interest in food, and has had to be nourished through an IV. The doctors have been quite concerned that she would not heal without enough calories. As one of the surgeons said yesterday, "She had the mother of all urinary surgeries, and she needs all the nutrition she can get in order to heal".
The last couple of days she has started to eat a bit better and, although it's still not enough, she's moving in the right direction. Our hope is that she will be released before the weekend.

Update on Anna- Friday

This past week has had its ups and downs in regards to Anna’s recovery. Monday evening she was doing so well that we thought we were going to sail through her recovery. We should have anticipated some bumps along the way.

On Tuesday Anna started vomiting and refusing any food or liquids. By Wednesday morning the doctors became quite concerned with the lack of nutrients she was getting. After consulting with the doctors, it was decided that Anna would go back under anesthesia to have a PICC line catheter inserted so she can be fed intravenously. This is a delicate procedure as it is placed into her heart and is performed by a certified radiologist.

They had a terrible time getting the central IV line in place and it took several attempts. They ended up using an IV line the size of a human hair and still had trouble getting it to the heart. During the post procedure consultation the doctors shared with me that they’ve never experienced so much scar tissue in the veins of the child this age. This was a similar experience that the IV team had trying to place Anna’s pre-surgery IVs. Hearing this broke my heart as it reminds me that Anna has had so many medical procedures done in the past that we know nothing about.

On Thursday Anna's epideral was removed so we are now trying to keep her pain subsided with oral medications. We had hoped that Anna would be able to come home on Friday (today) but she is still not eating and not even able to keep liquids down at this point. I spoke with the urologist this morning and was told that this is a critical time in her healing and she really needs to eat in order to move forward. My guess is that we’re still days away from bringing Anna home. We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers and the continued support from our family and friends.

Lily's 3rd Birthday

Lily's 3rd birthday was a fun and full day.  Her Mom shared "circle time" at school where each year of Lily's life was celebrated.  Then Lily was thrown a party in Anna's hospital room with Mom, Dad, Nanna, Eric, and Sarah.  She opened her presents and shared birthday cupcakes with Anna.  Then she was surprised when she got home with a play kitchen in her bedroom.

Anna is Moved From ICU

Anna was moved from ICU into a regular room this afternoon.  It's a private room so there will be a lot less activity.  She was allowed some water and ice chips and she really enjoyed that!  She is still fighting a fever, but everything else is going very well.
Here are three pictures, from her two days in ICU and finally in her own room.

Weekend Update from the ICU

Anna had a good day on Friday, sleeping through most the day and the night in spite of her long ordeal yesterday. The doctors and nurses at Children’s Hospital have done a wonderful job of managing her pain. Today she called for Mama and Baba when they were out of site, but was for most of the day quite at peace in spite of the strange situation she awakened to after her surgery…connected to a myriad of tubes and trapped within a hard cast from her waist to her ankles.

The cast is open in the middle so her bandages can be tended. When we first saw her we were overwhelmed with emotion. Rather than her bladder bulging out of her tummy with the mutilated result of her earlier surgery in China, we saw the lower abdomen and vagina of a little girl. It will be so exciting to be with Anna the first time she sees herself and realizes she is no longer different; that she looks like other little girls.

We haven’t seen it yet because of the bandages, but Anna has a new tummy button. Her original one disappeared when her condition developed at birth and during her earlier surgery. Dr. Grady told us (flashing a huge grin) he thinks it’s the best one he’s ever created!

The highlight of Anna’s Friday in the ICU…the thing that brought forth her wide smile…was a phone conversation with her sister Lily.

Today (Saturday) was a bit up and down for Anna. She has had fevers spiking and pain in her tummy. After an increase in some pain medication she felt better and became very talkative for awhile. Later in the day she developed a mild reaction to her latest blood transfusion which was worrisome. For now it seems mild and so we are guardedly relieved.

Sarah and Nana visited today which perked Anna up. She also enjoyed talking to Lily on the phone. Lily is anxious to visit Anna as soon as she is out of ICU.

Thank you for all the positive thoughts and messages that have been sent our way.

Anna is out of Surgery! -11:30 pm Update

After 13  and 1/2 hours, Anna is out of surgery and resting quietly in the ICU with Mommy, Baba and her nurse Nicole.  Her doctors felt the surgery went beautifully and without any complications.  It was a long day for everyone and we are all going to try and get some rest. Pamela is going to stay in the ICU with Anna and John  will sleep in the parent sleeping room upstairs. Lily is fast asleep at home with Sarah and hopes to visit her sister this weekend. Good night!

Surgery Update - 6pm

We've been updated throughout the day on Anna's progress and we're now coming into the final stretch of her surgery. Anna's bladder has been successfully augmented and placed into its right position. The orthopedic surgeons have just returned to the operating room and will be performing the bone graft and placing pins in her hips. Once this is completed, Anna will be fitted for a spica cast and sent to the ICU. If all goes well Anna will be resting in her room in a few more hours. Please keep Anna in your thoughts.

Surgery Update - 1pm

It's almost 1 pm here at Children's Hospital and Anna has been in surgery for over 5 hours. We learned this morning that during the day 18 doctors from 6 different surgical teams will be working on her.

The orthopedic team was first, and have completed the first of their two stretches. They have made cuts in her pelvis to reposition the bones. They will be back later to do a graft using donor bone to help keep the pelvic bones from going out of position again.

Now the urology team is taking their turn of doing the very complex work of placing Anna's bladder inside her body and reconstructing her female parts. They discovered early on that her bladder was not large enough to ever allow normal function, and will be  performing a bladder augmentation by taking a portion from her small intestine and her appendix to increase the size of her bladder. In doing this, Anna will have to use a catheter, but she will be able to be dry for the first time in her life!

The other doctors involved at different stages of Anna's proceedure are general, gastrointestinal, gynecological, and plastic surgical teams. We will be getting updates as the day progresses.

During the initial stage of surgery this morning, KIRO News (Channel 7) was here filming for an upcoming documentary. They interviewed us and filmed Anna and Lily several weeks ago, and will be following Anna’s recuperation throughout the following months.

We must say something about how well Anna has done over the past two days. She was very excited when she entered the hospital; she was very clear why she was here. Anna's been waiting for this day for a long time. Throughout yesterday and last night, as she endured the poking, proding, throwing up, pooping, and needles, she did it with patience,dignity and grace. When she pooped on a nurse who was changing her diaper, she giggled with glee. She’s a brave little girl…and quite a character!

Anna Goes to the Hospital

After a false start on Tuesday, Anna’s trip to Children’s Hospital has finally happened. Baba dropped Anna and Mommy off at Children’s Hospital on Wednesday morning. Anna was both excited and nervous that she is finally having her “big” surgery.

Once admitted, Anna was given an IV with antibiotics and anti-fungal medicine. She has so much scar tissue on her hands from previous medical treatments that the nurses had a terrible time with her IV. Two different nursing teams tried four times before they were successful. She was then given a liquid solution to promote bowel  movements and an anti-nausea medicine to help the medication go through her system faster. Because Anna needed to drink so much liquid, they decided to put a tube through her nose and down her throat. Her body didn’t handle the medicine very well and she rejected most of medicine.

After several attempts at keeping the medicine down, the doctors decided to go to plan B. Every 2 hours Anna was given an enema. The nurses and Pamela worked throughout the night trying to get Anna’s bowels cleared. When John arrived at 6am this morning, the doctors had still not given the go ahead to proceed with the surgery. Finally, at 7:30 we got the call and headed down to the surgery center.

Preparing for Surgery

In the past few days the reality of Anna’s upcoming surgery has begun to sink in. On Thursday I took Anna to tour Children’s Hospital with a child life specialist and an interpreter. Anna was given a cloth doll dressed in a hospital gown with an IV, bandages, and other medical paraphernalia. She was asked to draw her herself on the doll. We then spent some time role-playing the events of next week. The nurse took notes on what Anna likes to do and helped me complete a coping plan for the staff to follow during her stay.

We then toured the pre-surgery center, the operating room, and the floor where she will be staying. We also spent some time playing in the sibling play area. Anna seems to understand that she is finally going to have her “ouchy” fixed; but I am fearful that she doesn’t understand the lengthy and painful recovery process. With the help of the interpreter, I tried to get that across along with the fact that we will be with her the whole time. I wanted Anna to be assured that she will be coming back home with us; that we are not going to leave her.

We’ve also been working with Anna at home to make her feel secure. Last week we turned the guest bedroom room into her room by painting it pink, her favorite color. It was then off to Pottery Barn Kids for the quilt she chose from the catalog. I’m framing some cute “paper cut” art we bought in Guangzhou to hang on her walls. Anna helped put her clothes in the closet and her toys in her room. Since moving into her room, she’s slept through the night both nights. She even invited Lily to sleep with her last night!

The girls started their morning with a concert for Mama and Baba and then Nana and I took the girls to Seattle Center for the day. Lily and Anna spent the afternoon going on rides and playing outside. We wanted Anna to be able run and play as much as possible before the body cast makes her immobile for the next few months. Tired after a long day, the girls are snuggling together on our bed watching Little Bear fighting to stay awake.

Playing in the Back Yard

新年快乐！- Happy New Year!

We enjoyed spending the day with Lily and Anna and introducing our friends, Scott, Kelly and Justin to the Chinese New Year celebration in Seattle.  Sarah and her friend Matt joined us as well. We spent some time at the cultural pavilion waiting for the parade to begin. Lily wasn't afraid of the dragon this year so we were able to get up close. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant in the international district. During lunch, the lions and dragons entertained us with a dance while the fireworks went off.  We wish everyone a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Lily and Anna Start to Bond

We have had Anna home for only 4 weeks and already she and Lily are beginning to bond. Although they have moments competing for attention and playthings, for the most part they get along very well. Lily imitates Ann's songs in Chinese and Anna imitates Lily's songs in English. They love to dance around the house singing away and then rolling on the floor giggling uncontrollably. In spite of their different languages, they seem to totally understand each other.

Settling In

We have had so many people call and email wondering how we are doing since our arrival home with Anna. Thank you for all your messages of interest and concern.
To be honest we have been too busy and tired to think about updating the blog. If getting back to our jobs and all the demands with that was not enough, on top of that we have been busy with the team at Children's Hospital to prepare for Anna's surgery, helping Anna adjust to her new home, and helping Lily adjust to sharing her Mom and Dad and having a new classroom at school.

Anna is making great progress adjusting to a whole new world. Her nighttime routine (thanks to Pamela's dedication) has improved tremendously. It is still challenging getting her to sleep, but it is getting much better. She is eating well and enjoys her play time with Nana Barbara.

Lily is in a new classroom at school, having graduated from the toddler room into an early childhood class. The first couple of days she had trouble transitioning from Mom or Dad into the classroom, but the last few days she has bounced into the room, not even looking back to say a goodbye!

Lily has regressed a bit with her manners after the long trip to China. Sarah, our nanny, asked her one day last week what had happened to her manners. Lily explained, "I lost them in China."

Anna's surgery was originally scheduled for early February, which had us so excited. However, it has slipped into March due to one of the surgeons having a scheduling conflict. We are very disappointed, but have to remind ourselves how fortunate we are to have world-renowned surgeons working on Anna.

Barbara and Sarah have been a godsend, helping us with the girls every day. Barbara will be able to stay for another couple of months before moving into her own home, and Sarah will be here to help us through Anna's surgery and recuperation.

Now that things are settling down a bit, we will try and update the blog more often.

Making cookies with Nana Barbara

 

We Are Finally Home

Saying goodbye to China                                           

Becoming an American

First Bath at Home

We are finally home with Anna. It is 2:15 AM on Sunday morning and the girls are up and wired…and not the slightest bit interested in sleep. They are still on China time. Mom and Dad are hanging on by a thread. Sleep deprivation over the last three weeks is taking its toll.

It was a grueling trip home starting at 4:30 AM on Friday in China, and then traveling for over 20 hours. The flights were very easy for Lily as she slept most of the way. Anna, on the other hand, struggled with her inability to sleep the entire trip. John and Pamela have achieved a level of exhaustion that is hard to describe.

Along the way we fought with the airline to allow us to go home earlier than originally planned, due to Anna’s delicate condition, and with security to allow us to take Anna’s medicines on the planes. Pamela took the lead and fought for us so valiantly every step of the way …using her persuasive skills and the emotional tears flowing down her cheeks in desperate attempts to protect her darling daughters. Due to Pamela’s efforts we were treated like VIPS at some points during the trip, especially in Guangzhou where airline employees helped us through the ticketing process, got us through security and onto our plane…even putting us in First Class to Beijing. They seemed to understand and value the fact that we were helping these little girls.

But in Beijing we were totally stymied by airline and security employees who, in spite of our pleas for understanding, Pamela’s sobbing, and doctor’s reports on Anna’s condition, held firm that we would not take the liquid medicine aboard. They seeming cared less about this little Chinese girl who needed help as soon as possible.

In a final desperate act, John laid Anna on the floor and pulled down her diaper and showed the airline and security employees the seriousness of Anna’s condition…an exposed bladder surrounded with red and infected tissue. As Pamela sobbed uncontrollable, one of the security people let out a screamed gasp and nearly fainted. Almost immediately the others thrust the medicine into our hands and gestured for us to go through to the plane as soon as possible.

Upon our arrival in Seattle we took a taxi straight to Children's hospital where Anna was thoroughly checked out. She was seen by an internationally known surgeon who will reconstruct her bladder and her female organs, and the orthopedic surgeon who will reconstruct her pelvic bones. We were provided with a much better understanding of the difficult months ahead for Anna and for us. But we were also given a great deal of hope by these dedicated professionals who are committed to giving Anna as normal a life as possible.

Just as Lily’s life has been saved, Anna’s will be dramatically improved. Just as Lily has blossomed into an extraordinary person, so too does Anna have that same opportunity.

Today Anna suffered another setback as she became ill and dehydrated. It turned into another trip to Children’s Hospital and 3 hours of evaluation and treatment. She was successfully hydrated and we were able to get her back home tonight. She is feeling much better tonight…almost too good. It will be difficult getting our Chinese girls settled down tonight. They will probably end up in our bed, snoring and kicking and tossing to and fro. But they will be close to Momma and Baba, and feel safe and at home. Our loss of sleep is a small price to pay as we bond with our precious little daughters.

Here is a Link to Our Pictures

Please enjoy the photos of our journey to China to bring home Anna Lin:   http://ourjourneytoannalin.shutterfly.com/ Enjoy!

A Quiet Day on Shamiam Island

Families that endure the long process of adopting children from China end their adoption journey in a place called Shamian Island.  It's a small island in Guangzhou, a city of around 11 million.  It is the location of numerous consulates in beautiful old historic buildings.  The island feels like a blend of Washington, DC and Charlotte, NC.  The stone pedestrian streets are tree-lined and contain many sculptures.  After experiencing Beijing, Nanjing, and similar cities it is an oasis in which to bond with your child before finally receiving a travel visa and heading home. Okay…it's January 2010.  Shamian Island is being prepared by the Chinese government for the upcoming Guangzhou Asian Games later this year.  The oasis has been turned into a construction and noise nightmare.  Buildings (including our hotel) are covered with scaffolding and tarps, and sealed in by rusty metal barriers.  Our windows are covered with tarps that block any view and almost all sunlight.  The streets are being dug up to bury pipes; walking areas are clogged with piles of debris; water is cascading down from the sides of buildings from power sprays removing dirt from the stone edifices.  Jack hammers pound into the evening as our babies try to fall to sleep.  As we pass by, shop vendors work extra hard to lure us into their shops to spend a few yuans; seemingly being starved as their shops are hidden from view by the construction activity and debris. Pamela has been looking forward to enjoying dinner at a Thai restaurant that we frequented the last time we were here in Guangzhou.  Last night I found what I thought was that same restaurant and went in to order take-out.  The girls were already asleep in the room, having enjoyed a dinner of Subway tuna sandwiches.  It turns out I was in the same location, but the restaurant had changed hands and names.  But Pamela was looking forward to Thai and so I was determined to provide a good Thai dinner. As I scanned the menu, I realized that this would be more challenging than I had supposed.  The menu was many pages long and contained many strange offerings… six different pigeon dishes, three ways to enjoy ostrich kidneys, seven dishes centered on a fish head; fins; a variety of organs.  What was I to do?  Pamela was back in the room, salivating for a tasty meal after working so hard to get the girls fed and asleep. As the two young Chinese restaurant hostesses (all dressed up in Thai costumes) stared at me, wondering what the hell was taking me so long, I went through the menu again and again..backwards and forwards.  Finally I identified 3-4 items.  As I went back and forth I stuck a finger into the page.  Sometimes when I went back, I wasn't sure what I had selected.  Did I really think Pamela would like that? I returned to the room with great trepidation.  But I did good!  My selections turned out to be very tasty, and Pam was happy with her dinner.  And after enjoying our meal together, we tucked the blankets a bit tighter around our two little daughters and drifted off to sleep.  One night closer to getting home. We've uploaded pictures to Shutterfly.  Check them out at http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=c48fa2440d0130626d9889752d9a603cGood night!

Sunday in Guangzhou

It's Sunday evening here in China; it's warm on Shamian Island and a bit humid.  Today we visited The Six Banyan Buddhist Temple, offered incense, and prayed for the health of our children.  After our tour, we opted to strike out on our own and crossed the river from Shamian Island to the streets across the Pearl River lined with shops. This was an immersion into the "real" China on a Sunday afternoon crowded with shoppers.  The first street was lined with shop after shop of dried herbs, animals, fungi, roots, and many things that we didn't recognize.  The locals stared at us with curiosity, wondering why we would be there with two Chinese children in tow.  The next street offered displays of snakes, frogs, eels, turtles, scorpions, and all other sorts of other treats waiting for a favorite recipe.  Next we entered an area filled with pet supplies and pets of all sorts, including kittens, puppies, birds, and hundreds of different fish.  That was actually hard to see, as the animals were not seemingly well. Finally we entered an area reserved for live and dried animals, from chickens and pigeons to muscles, turtles, skins, organs, bones and feet. At the end of the last street we suddenly encountered a pedestrian street crammed with shoppers and an endless line of retail shops.  Overwhelmed with this mass of people, we retreated into a Holiday Inn (of all places) and had lunch.  We then made our way back to the island winding through streets clogged with families enjoying the Sunday afternoon free time; cards games, repairing "ancient" bicycles, and snacking from white Styrofoam containers. Tonight Anna joined Mommy and Lily in reading books for the first time.  She even amazed us by joining Lily in counting to ten in English.  And what was really wonderful is that Anna went to sleep without crying for the first time.  We were offered so much wonderful advice after last night's blog post, and tonight some of that advice worked like a charm!  Both girls are snug and asleep and Mommy and Daddy have some time to ourselves. John and Lily are both feeling better and we owe it to the Chinese medicines from the White Swan clinic and the wonderful Wong family from the bay area who shared their US meds with John. How can we thank you?! Tomorrow we go back to the medical clinic to read Anna's TB test. We are hoping for good news. Thanks to all of you for keeping us in your thoughts. Eric, we love you and miss you very much.

We are in Guangzhou

As we approach the 9th day of our China journey to bring Anna home, some of the sobering realities have set in.  The dreary rain here in Guangzhou symbolizes our mood tonight as we try and ease Anna into sleep just as we have each night.  She is seemingly very relaxed and happy all day, but as bedtime arrives the nightly agony begins.  It is as if a river of pent up emotion is suddenly released, and for 60 to 90 minutes the screaming, crying, and angry behaviors emerge.  As hard as we have tried, we've not figured a way to sooth her.  It's not until she reaches an extreme level of absolute exhaustion does she finally succumb to sleep. We will never know what is going on inside that little head; what fears and demons haunt her from past experiences.  We've been told so little about what she has been through, and don't really know how much of that is even accurate.  So we imagine the worst, and feel so ill-prepared to help this little soul through this scary and confusing time.  We are doing our best and are trying to allow some self-forgiveness.  In the darkest moments when we feel so helpless we remind each other that, after all, we stepped forward to save this little girl when no one else did.  We know in our hearts that as overwhelmed as we feel at this moment will get through this as a family.  And we will do all we can to release Anna from her fears, her demons, and the horrors that have been imposed upon her. On to our progress through Anna's adoption….today Anna went through her Hague medical exam, and was required to have seven shots.  That was a lot for anyone much less a child!  But in spite of that she handled it very well.  She was proud to show Baba her seven butterfly bandages when she returned.  After that, Lily and Daddy visited the White Swan medical clinic to get medicine for Lily's bronchitis and Daddy's sinus infection.  They hope this will help them feel better soon. Our Chinese friend Ann delivered diapers and snacks today… thank you, Trena! This was so helpful as we have not had the energy for a trip to the local Wal-Mart. We're once again regulars at Lucy's Restaurant… but miss the gang from our 2008 trip.  Tomorrow it's off for some sightseeing and more bonding time as a family. Sue,  Elvin is our guide and he is wonderful. He says "Hi"!  Thanks to all of you for keeping us in your thoughts.