Yesterday was our medical appointment for Katie and everything went really well. I haven't talked a lot about Katie's physical differences because they don't real matter much to us. Typically, in the international adoption world, parents get a referral and then have 72 hours to have the file evaluated by an physician to see if they are willing to accept whatever physical issues the child has. Tim and I pretty well ignored that tradition. Of course it helps that the medical information isn't Greek to us but the bigger issue is that by identifying our kids first, it didn't really matter to us what the health issues were, they were already, in our hearts, our kids. All that being said, Katie's health issues are potentially the most involved.
At the medical appointment, the doctor told us that she has 3 issues:
Katie has ABS (amniotic band syndrome) affecting both her hands and her feet. ABS is a condition when a pregnant woman almost loses a pregnancy and her body creates long, tough string-like fibers in the amniotic fluid. These strings wrap around little parts in utero and can amputate any body part. In Katie's case, it caused her right fingers some problems. She will never 10 finger type or play flute but other than that, there is very little that she will not be able to do. There is an organization called the Lucky Fin Project (as in Nemo, the lucky fin fish) and their catch phrase is "ten fingers are overrated." When you watch Katie, you believe it. She may need some additional surgery but we'll deal with that when the time comes.
Katie is small for her age (SFA) Umm, really? I hadn't noticed. Actually, he said, "She is small for her age, don't you think?" She is 6 weeks shy of her 2nd birthday and weighed 18 lbs when we got her. Yep, that's a little small. She has already gained a full pound! Whoot, whoot! I admit to feeding her frequently but I think that kisses have calories. :) Ok, maybe not, but I think the kisses are helping to fatten her up somehow. :)
Katie also has a heart condition. That is much harder for me to type. Had you asked me before Katie, I would have told you that heart babies were about the only files I tried not to look at when I was looking at children without parents. With Katie, it didn't matter. Although Jaden knew before we did, once we saw her and knew that she was ours, her file didn't matter anymore. She has a ventricular septal defect or VSD. It means that she has an opening in the muscular wall between the two big chambers of the heart. It may need surgery at some point to be corrected but as long as she is doing well, we will delay to let her get bigger. The kind she has rarely closes on its own but sometimes is not enough of an issue that it has to be repaired.
We didn't bring any medical equipment with us and so we have not listened to her heart or lungs. When we were at the medical appointment the doctor listened and listened and listened to her heart. Wow, what a way to stop MY heart. Then he got up and said he needed another doc to come in and listen to her heart. Then another doctor came in and listened (forever) to Katie's heart. She shook her head no, said something on Chinese and left. Ugh, parents here, could you include us please? The first doctor explained through our guide, that Katie didn't have a murmur and with her file, he expected one and that was why he got the second opinion. Her "no" was that she didn't hear a murmur either! Again, Whoot, whoot!
So, what does all of that mean, ABS, SFA, VSD? Nothing. Just a bunch of letters and God is so much bigger than our alphabet. On this day, of all days, we know that He rose from the grave. He can heal my Katie. I know that it doesn't always happen the way we want or when we want. If we get home and find out that these doctors just have bad hearing and she still has an awful murmur, I won't have less faith. God doesn't choose to heal (in my opinion) based on the amount of faith that we have. He doesn't promise us "easy." He promises us He will be with us through whatever we have to deal with. I can definitely say that He loves my child and only wants the best for her. That is enough.
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