Surgery Again!

LET IT SNOW!! The girls enjoyed our 1st snow of the season. And Sarah Mei loved sledding!!

After the snow melted, we had an appointment with Sarah Mei's pediatric cardiologist. He gave us the news that Sarah Mei will need another open heart surgery. Her heart still has moderate to severe regurgitation which is causing the left side of her heart to enlarge. At this point it is double the size of her right chambers (they should be equal in size.) We will be making the trip to MUSC, in Charleston, shortly after Phil's return from Ethiopia. MUSC has a 3-D echo machine which employs state of the art technology. The surgeon will use these images to "plot a course" for the next surgery. Please pray with us that Sarah Mei's valve will be able to be repaired. If it is inoperable, the surgeon will be forced to replace the valve with a metal heart valve. This option is a last resort as a metal valve, at this age, causes many health related complications.

We praise God that we live in a place and era where we have access to such amazing medical technology. We're reminded how blessed we are, as we think about parents and children in underdeveloped countries, that don't have medical options at their fingertips. Phil will witness this first hand as he will land in Ethiopia tomorrow morning.

Sarah Mei continues to keep us all laughing with her infectious grin and her sunny personality. Her heart condition is causing no noticeable ill effects other than slight fatigue. Here she is helping Torie bake a cake.

While in China, Torie and I purchased Chinese traditional outfits for Sarah Mei and AnnaGrace. The girls enjoyed wearing them during the Christmas season.

Check the blog, daily, as Phil plans to update it with images and impressions of the people and country of Ethiopia. Pray for his safety and for God's direction as Phil prays about God's leading, for our family, in helping the orphans of this world. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

The Hunt for the Perfect Christmas Tree & ETHIOPIA

One of our long-standing family traditions is cutting down a fresh Christmas tree each year. Here the girls are searching for the "perfect" tree...

When we finally found our tree, each girl had an opportunity to try their hand at the saw. Sarah Mei thought the entire tradition was a blast!

Her favorite part was taking the last sip of Torie's specialty coffee

The crew proudly displays the tree "bagged" in the back of the truck. Now it's time for the trek home and the lights...

Now if you're wondering what cutting a tree and Ethiopia have in common....the Acacia tree. The Acacia tree is a tree in Ethiopia which offers shelter and protection from the elements. Like the Acacia tree, Christian World Adoption and Christian World Foundation, (sister organizations) are offering protection and shelter to many of Ethiopia's orphans. Phil and I have been praying about ways to champion the cause of the 143 million orphans in the world, and recently Phil was given an opportunity to make a difference in Ethiopia. Phil and a professional photographer, Ken, along with the founder and co-founder of Christian World Adoption and Christian World Foundation, Bob and Tomilee Harding, will be traveling to Ethiopia in mid-January. CWA (the adoption agency we used for both of our adoptions) in conjunction with CWF have been given an opportunity to build an orphanage and medical center 20 minutes outside the Ethiopian capitol city of Addis Ababa. CWF has the land but now must raise $3 million dollars to proceed with the building of the facility. While fundraising is in progress, CWA is caring for literally hundreds of Ethiopian orphans ready for adoption. They have several temporary rental homes where the children are being housed. Phil and Ken's "mission" is to travel to Addis Ababa and to a town 7 hours south of the capitol city. They will be shooting footage for a promotional DVD to be used for project fundraising. They will also be shooting footage and taking photographs of the waiting children in hopes of using the material to help place them in loving homes here in the United States. We are so excited about this open door and ask for prayers for safety and health for the traveling crew and, most importantly, for many homes to be found for the sweet waiting children of Ethiopia.

(If you'd like more information on Christian World Adoption's waiting children or the Acacia tree project, you can visit the website http://www.cwa.org/ and click on the right Acacia tree button.)

October Update

It's been six weeks since Sarah Mei's surgery and life is getting back to normal (whatever that is??) Her recovery has been amazing despite several setbacks (a cold, turning into a respiratory infection, a visit to the ER, steroids (boy do those make a girl moody!!!), antibiotics and breathing treatments...phew.) However, Thursday was the follow-up appointment to the cardiologist, and we got the "all clear" to take her out in public...yippee! Her cardiac regurgitation is still moderate, so we'll visit the cardiologist again in 4 months. A 2nd surgery is a possibility but it could be in months, years or never. We're so thankful that we serve a God who knows every hair on our head and is in charge of it all!! We find great peace in this and know Sarah Mei is firmly in His hand. We are continually reminded of the verse He gave to us when we 1st began the adoption process for our little Hunan doll..."You hem (her) in-behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon (her)." Ps. 139:5 The Psalmist goes on to say, in the next verse, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain." Ps. 139:6. This is definitely how Phil and I feel as we watch God's hand of protection and provision in Sarah Mei's life.
Last week Phil's school had a week off, for their traditional fall break. We capitalized on this time and went to the beach. We decided, "how many germs could Sarah Mei be exposed to in the wide open sand??" It was a great time of fun, laughter and relaxation. My parents were able to travel with us which was an extra special bonus! The following pictures are a "snapshot" of our trip. Enjoy and praise God for His beautiful creation.

Sarah Mei...5 weeks after open heart surgery!

This is the child who screamed at bath time when we 1st brought her home. I think she's getting used to the water!

Michaela plays with Sarah Mei in the surf.

AnnaGrace beginning a sand castle creation.

Sarah Mei even had to have her "blankie" (yes, we know it's a washcloth but somehow saying where's your "washcloth" just sounds strange??) on the beach.

Sarah Mei, asleep in Elaine's arms, after a full morning of playing in the sand and surf.

Torie knows how to enjoy an afternoon...floating down the Lazy River and reading a good book.

Torie introduces Sarah Mei to the joys of whipped creme on top of your hot chocolate. What are big sisters for but to teach you the finer things in life!

We continue our annual tradition of playing putt-putt golf on the day we leave the beach. This was the fanciest course we've been to...complete with an indoor fountain.

Elaine and Torie try not to look too triumphant as they put an end to Phil's long winning streak. Elaine won in 2006 and Torie was the victor this year. (Phil had been the victor in all previous years.) Now the women have to prepare for 2008 and defend their title!

This was the 1st year AnnaGrace was old enough to "really" play with us. She even got a "hole in one." You go girl!

Sarah Mei is sure she'll be ready for competition next year.

2007 at the beach.

(Thanks Bryant's for this great beach photo idea. It will be our new beach photo tradition.)


"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1

Positive Medical Update

Oh my, it's good to be home!!

Thankfully we received a positive report today from Sarah Mei's pediatric cardiologist Dr. Craig Greene. Last week was a week of ups and downs as Sarah Mei battled a fever of unknown origin. Dr. Greene did an outstanding job of troubleshooting the problem...not only did he have blood drawn for blood cultures, but he also contacted the infectious disease physician (who had been treating Sarah Mei for her staph infection prior to surgery), Sarah Mei's pediatrician and the physician staff at MUSC. We were so appreciative that he was willing to collaborate with so many "minds" to decide on a treatment course. Thankfully the fever ended up breaking after 48 hours and then today we received the blood cultures back. They were negative...Praise God!! Her echo looks great, so we won't go back for a follow-up appointment for three weeks. We continue to be in "solitary confinement" until her next appointment, but we're beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Sarah Mei is returning to her bright, cheerful self. As the picture below demonstrates...she was not thrilled with her hospital stay (who would be??) But now that she is home, the fun-loving little girl is returning. My dad (who had open-heart surgery 10 years ago) is amazed at how quickly she has healed and recovered!!

These pictures were taken in Charleston... while Sarah Mei was in the hospital recovering from surgery, Phil and the girls went to a Citadel football game (Phil's undergraduate alma mater.) It was a wonderful respite, from what was a somewhat grueling ordeal, for our other girls.

We're all thankful to be home and back to a routine of sorts. We're back to Torie's senior year at SouthLake Christian Academy, homeschooling Michaela and AnnaGrace, volleyball, riding horses, chores on the farm...the rhythm of each predictable day is a blessing!!

Sarah Mei is Home!!

Just a quick update....Sarah Mei and I returned home today. She was actually discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon; however, after a 2 hour drive she was getting tired and cranky. She has been through so much in the last week that I decided to stop at a hotel to break up the trip. We drove the last 2 hours today and then went to an appointment with her pediatrician. (MUSC requires a pediatrician visit immediately after discharge.) As far as the results of the surgery...Sarah Mei had an echo on Monday, and it showed that there is still regurgitation in the heart. This is not surprising due to the specific heart condition that she had. It means that she may require a 2nd surgery sometime, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Now we are just praising God for His hand of protection and thanking Him that we are home. I'll update the blog with more details/pictures tomorrow, Lord-willing, after her pediatric cardiologist appointment. (Yet another Dr.'s appointment....Sarah Mei will be thrilled. She starts crying now if she sees anyone in scrubs or with a stethoscope around their neck.)

Sarah Mei is in Pediatric Cardiac ICU

Sarah Mei has been in PCICU since surgery on Wednesday. We have so much to be thankful for...a great nursing staff, a skilled surgeon and a supportive physician team in ICU!! Sarah Mei's surgery went very well. As shown on the echo, Sarah Mei had an extra flap of tissue, that is not usually present, that partially blocked the hole in her lower heart chamber. This flap of tissue protected her lungs, from the increased pressure, and literally saved her life during her 1st 19 months. The surgeon was able to just stitch her VSD opening in her heart (due to the extra tissue), and he also patched the ASD (hole in her upper chamber) and rebuilt her valves as planned. A 2nd surgery may be required but that can't be determined for months. We're just so thankful for a successful outcome for this surgery.
Sarah Mei has lost a lot of blood and required a unit of platelets and a unit of blood yesterday. She had a very vascular area in her heart, and we're praying that this is the cause of the bleeding....not another source. Her hematocrit is stable today!! She also has a low-grade fever. At this point they are doing no further testing to determine the cause. Some children run a low-grade fever for a few days after surgery. However, if it continues, they will have to investigate a possible infection. Please pray for God's healing in this area.
Despite these few set-backs, she is scheduled to move to a regular room today. She will monitored by telemetry (a heart monitor that is linked to the nurse's station.) She'll be relieved to be moved because then we will be able to hold her. She cries and says "pa" (her word for please) frequently because she wants us to hold her, but the monitors, IV's, chest tube, etc. have prevented that so far.
God's peace has been with us on a moment by moment basis. And Phil and the other 3 girls have even had some fun times walking around Charleston and seeing the sights.
We can't thank you enough for your love, encouragement and especially your prayers!!

Surgery Continues

We just received a surgical update (11:30 a.m.). Sarah Mei is off of the heart/lung machine and the surgeon is closing. We should talk with the surgeon in about an hour when Sarah Mei goes to ICU. Thanks for the prayers and continue to pray for a smooth finish to the procedure and for a quick recovery from anesthesia so Sarah Mei can get off of the ventilator tonight.

Surgery In Progress

We just received our 1st update from the surgical team. It's 9:30 a.m. and Sarah Mei is on the heart/lung machine. The surgeon has begun work on her heart. Please continue to pray for God's guidance for the surgeon especially as he repairs Sarah Mei's valves. (She is also having 2 holes in her heart patched, but in the words of the surgeon "the tricky part is the valve repair) We'll update you as soon as we hear more. We feel such peace from the Lord!! And are thankful for His promise from Psalm 139...(He) hems (Sarah Mei) in behind and before, He has placed His hand upon her.