Update from earlier note:
Today I got a call from a church member who had read the note I had put in the church bulletin about a host family for the little one coming from Africa.And talk about the perfect family, all their kids are older so they have lots of time to hang out at the hospital and focus on her once she gets home; they are a former foster family and actually adopted three kids, and the mom has a close family friend who works at the hospital where the baby will be!!!I'm waiting to hear if Tami got the email with all her info.......
As soon as I hear back, I'll post the update :)
As Christians, we need to see these things come together and so perfectly.
Well, I do anyway - it strengthens our faith.

Tuesday

Tuesday Fabi will be having her feet operated on :)
If you think about it, please include her in your prayers - I can only imagine how sore she'll be.
Tami said now they are working on finding a Dr. for her hips.
Also,
Tami has a little one coming from Africa the beginning of November for heart surgery. If you know of anyone in IL, please let me know.......

GREAT NEWS!

Tami sent me a note last night saying that the Dr. feels Fabi WILL be able to walk!!!!
They will 'cut her tendons' (ouch!) and cast her for six weeks.
Tami indicated she will now look for a Dr. to address her hips.
Great news baby girl!!

Big Changes

For our Baby Girl.
Today we will be going to Dr. Ruge for a visit to check on her back and then we will head over to O'Hare.
Fabi will be heading to Ohio today and will be staying with Tami at CMM-West (see right).
Mike's mom has been admitted to a hospice care facility and is not doing well.
I wanted to mention that the prayers worked beautifully.
Her back is doing much better although I'm still worried about it. Her skin is very thin and tight in the area that had opened back up. I have a feeling that it may need further treatment.
Tami has assured me that she will send email updates and I will post them as I know there are many of you praying for her next step (literally).
Thank you so much everyone. Thank you for the diapers and wipes, the baby 'stuff', the advice, the donations, and encouragement.
Fabi is a very, very special little girl and our family was changed in ways that will be felt for many years to come by having her here.

Prayer Needed

Today when I was getting Fabi dressed, I noticed there is a spot on her back that has opened up and it's oozing a little.
Tami and I are a little nervous about it so I'm going to call Dr. Ruge to see if he can move up her appointment. Her original appointment was scheduled for Thursday.
Please keep Fabi in your prayers for complete healing. She needs to be healed and ready to board a plane for Ohio on the 25th.
Thank you!

Dolly

We ordered a Cabbage Patch Preemie doll for Fabi (thanks Tanya for all the info - we used it!!!) and here she is being introduced to it.
She loves it and gives her dolly hugs all the time :)
She'll have her last Dr. appointment next Wednesday the 17th and we're expecting her to be cleared to go to Ohio. Tami has Doctors and hospitals lined up - I'll update the blog when I hear news.
We will miss Fabi dearly, but are so hopeful and praying for this next very important stage in her healing.

Pretty Girl....

 

 

...cut a tooth!!!!
Bottom right :)

Happy.....and Sad......

We had Fabi's follow up today with Dr. Ruge. The good news is her back looks 'great' in his words....the sad news is we'll only have her for the next 2-3 weeks.

Tami (CMM-West) has doctors/hospitals that will evaluate her in Ohio and see if she will ever be able to walk. They will then determine if she is surgery/casting - able.

They have to be very mindful of her home in Haiti. She will not have access to braces, etc as she grows so intervention may not be her best option.

I know, this is very sad. But this is reality.

It seems unfair and it is.

Please join me in praying for this dear, little one that the absolute BEST decision will be made by the doctors caring for her.

Just for the record....

It appears Dark Corn Syrup works wonders for constipation!!!!!

She still cries sometimes when she poops, but not sure if she's upset at getting dressed or pooping hurts.

Sorry for all the poop talk, but this is important 'stuff' when dealing with spina bifida :)

Good News.....

Fabi clearly moved her big toe on her right foot!!!!!!

Some Pics

 

Such a stinker! She smiles the second the camera clicks. She really is a huge smiler though!!!!!

 

She also LOVES her bottle! I have found that she actually drinks it better when she holds it herself rather than me giving it to her. Sad for me, but good independence for her :)

Some Observations

Yesterday Fabi woke up from her nap screaming. I could tell she was in some serious pain. The good news is all the crying produced a good BM, the bad news is sometimes it seems this is the only time she'll actually have a BM (when she's crying, which causes straining).

I sent out a plea for help to a local group of awesome moms and got some great suggestions for getting those bowels moving. One suggestion I particularly like is Lactoluse - it's a laxative, but also has a probiotic quality to it. Sometimes Fabi's breath is stinky so I'm thinking it all ties together. No poop, stinky intestines and therefore breath.
I'll ask her Dr on Thursday for an RX for the Lactoluse.

Also, I've noticed that when I lay Fabi on her back sometimes she cries in pain. I"m not sure if it's the incision or her back. She's kinda twisted, which reminds me, I need to ask the Dr. what he got CAT scans of. I would like to know if he got a picture of her back and hips, specifically.

Also, they did ultrasounds on her kidneys and bladder - wonder what those pictures looked like.

So here is my working list of things to ask Dr. Ruge:

Weight
Head circumference
What the ultrasound showed of her kidney/bladder function/size
Any pictures of her back
What his prognosis is for her to walk
RX for Lactulose
RX for Flu Shot

Please feel free to add anything.

Feetsies.....

 

 

Fabi's Back

 

 

 

Here is a picture of Fabi's scar. It seems to be healing nicely.
Also, Sarah, I wanted to show you how Fabi's legs favor turning to the right. I work on stretching her out in the mornings - do you have any physical therapy type exercises I could also do???

 

I wanted to show how well Fabi is sitting in her chair now - nice and straight!

 

Fabi and S hangin' out :)

Just Because

Fabi is soooo smart. I showed her how to put the balls in the top of the toy to make noise and she picked up on it so fast.
She's really doing well and getting stronger every day.

Sitting in Her High Chair....

and feeding herself!

Fabi flipping....

The List

Fabi has soooo much in the last couple of days it's hard to keep track - here's some highlights:

She is definitely moving her legs and more so every day.

She isn't dribbling urine constantly. Her urine output is pretty normal.

She does pretty much poop every time she cries though. And when you wipe her bottom.

Sher incision looks great. The stiches are nice and 'tight.' Will try to get a picture tonight after bath.

Yesterday she rolled over from her tummy to her back. I had put her down on the floor and gone into the kitchen for something, came back and she was on her back! I put her on her tummy again and watched her as she flipped. She was so proud and laughing! I have pix and will post.

Today she sat on my lap by my knees, facing me while I held her hands and clapped.

And she is SMART!!!!! She already is saying "dah" for the dogs and today she said "kah" for the kitty cat!!

She sat on my lap sideways almost unassisted while I cut her hair. Yes, you read that right, I cut her hair. I probably committed the biggest faux pas in the African American community, but she now has a nice, even 'fro. She was all uneven and patchy so wanted to give her a nice, even base to grow from. I think she looks even more adorable, if that's even possible.

She has a really wonderful relationship with each boy. With J: she babbles constantly and lets him hold her; with B, she laughs (he was the first to get her to laugh) and was such a comfort for her when we came home to see her face; S and her hang out in the mornings while I'm getting dressed before he goes to Kindergarten. (wwwhhhaaayyy, my baby is in school!!!!!). Poor Mike, she bawls whenever she sees him. He says she's on his 'list' and will only be removed upon full acceptance of his presence :)

Her new nickname is groceries. She absolutely LOVES food. Right now, I have her on a lot of baby food with some finger food mixed in. Today I introduced her to Yo Baby yogurt - it really helps with fighting infection (I think anyway).

Please continue to pray for her health and healing. Also, pray for her family. I'm sure they are missing her sooooo much.

Happy Birthday Big Girl

Fabi turned one on August 21st!
We kept it low-key as she is still pretty overwhelmed with 'stuff.' But we did get out for a nice walk in the stroller and she got to enjoy a sucker! She kinda liked it. I don't think she liked getting all sticky!
She enjoyed the walk and fresh air and the extra extra love.

Just In

Fabi was sitting on my lap this morning and she kicked her legs! This is huge and there is definitely no doubt that she is not paralyzed!

Home

We are home and Fabi is sleeping now.
She had an awesome albeit full day. She's spending most of her time on her back in a bouncy and Dr. says to have her sleep on her tummy.
She's on a profactic antibiotic to stave off kidney/bladder infections and she's eating really well.
Here's hoping for a peaceful night :)

Day Three

Look at Miss Big Girl!!!!!
The nurse said the Dr. gave the ok to get her in a supine position today, so B and I got brave and put her in the car seat!
This worked out so well, we were able to get her breakfast (formula, cereal and a whole jar of applesauce) and her lunch (sweet potatoes, cereal and pears) in this position. She was so much more comfortable and loved seeing the world from this position.
For her nap, we put her back on her tummy and she slept so hard she didn't hear the nurse come in.
Today was another great day of bonding. She talks so much to us and let us love, love, love on her. I can't help but thank God she hasn't had any secondary infections and is truly doing so well.
The nurses have indicated she should get the go-ahead to be discharged tomorrow morning hopefully.
Vanessa and Tami, it looks like she is going to have some potty 'issues.' She will poop pretty much on contact so diaper changes will be frequent. I"m thinking once her back is a little better, I'll bring her legs up to her belly to 'help' her eliminate better and more thoroughly.
Everyone, please pray for this little darling, pray for no bladder/kidney or urinary infections.

Day Two

Day two was a big one! Fabi was able to lay on her back for an hour while they did an ultrasound on her back. She loved it!!! The look on her face when she saw the world from a whole new angle was PRICELESS!
After the ultrasound tech left we rubbed her chest and she fell asleep, so was so comfortable.
Day two was also big in that she had a BM. As we all know, that is huge in the hospital :)
This is also the day she started refusing the bottle :(
We are resourceful though and using the straw, which works just fine.
It was a great day spent bonding with little Fabi.
Let me just do a huge shout out to my B. He has been with me this whole time and has NEVER complained about being bored or anything. He has been a huge help and so far has been the only one to get her to laugh! She also thinks Cheerios from him are better!

Meet Fabi!!!!
This is our first 'official' blog post to introduce our friends and family to her!
B and I had the awesome opportunity to meet her today in the hospital. She is adorable and soooo alert and loves to babble. She is on the same hospital/floor as Ruthlande was.
B and I will head back tomorrow and I promise to take pictures!
This is Vanessa with Fabi. She is who I am working with to coordinate her care while she is in our home. Please feel free to check out all Angel Missions is doing by visiting: http://angelmissionshaiti.blogspot.com/.
More soon, I promise!!!!