Hi Everyone--
Yesterday was a really rough day... We took Ellie-Kate up to Nationwide Children's Hospital's International Adoption Clinic for the first in a series of comprehensive examinations. The staff was great--very professional and caring. However, Ellie DID NOT like being picked and prodded by complete strangers. On the "good news" front, the doctors observed that Ellie's reactions really attested to the strength of her bond with us. Yet, the poor child was just miserable as they did a general exam and as we visited with the nutritionist and physical therapist and then went for x-rays and blood work. We were just drained by the time that we crawled out of the door.
We need to go back up on Monday morning to get the results of the tests and to meet with the audiologist and developmental psychologist. We have appointments set up with the opthamologist, cardiologist, and orthopedic specialist for other dates. Based on what we heard on Friday, Ellie-Kate's hips will not likely require surgery, but the indentation for her spinal biffida may indicate some stretching of the spinal cord which might necessitate surgical repair. The doctor also *thought* that she heard a heart murmur, but, to be honest, Ellie was screaming so loudly that we could all barely hear ourselves think.
When we got back to Athens, we discovered that my grandma (who came over to Ohio with my mom to visit on Thursday) wasn't feeling well at all. She's 92 and pretty frail so it was a big concern that she refused to eat all day.
Please be in prayer about Ellie's test results and for my grandma. The x-ray report will indicate how much that the poor baby will have to endure with future medical treatments.
We're still going to get pictures up soon from our time in St. Louis as well as pics of Ellie's room here. Sorry for the delay, but Britti's been busy with catching up on grad school stuff, and we've been scrambling to get our house back in order and ready for for visitors. We'll get there.
Also, if you're one of the many people to send e-mails or Facebook messages, please know that I truly, truly appreciate all of the kind words. I promise to get caught up on responding ASAP!!!
Thanks for all of the love and support, and we wish everyone a very happy Easter!!
Christie
