Ok...I know you all have been waiting to get the scoop on our Sweetheart and I think I might have a minute to post the facts:
2/10/10
1st Dr. appointment- Our family Dr. was the first one to see her and the verdict was sad. She had an upper respiratory infection, sinus infection, double chronic ear infections, thrush (yeast infection) and we got set up to do the 3 day poop sample for
giardia (we already knew she was positive but tested to make sure there wasn't any more parasites) and
mulluscum (virus related to small pox). Our Dr. said she was SICK!!!! Poor little
Makayla...even though she was so sick, she still smiled all the time!!! She weighed 26 pounds and was 34 inches tall. She was in the 1st percentile for her weight (Asian Charts not American) and 25
th percentile for her height. We put her on a 10 day
amoxacillian and Nystatin for yeast, then prayed for healing! We will do all we possible can to get her well!!!
2/12/10-Poop samples done (PEEE-UUU) and
FedEx'd to the lab...it takes the lab a week to grow what is in the stool and then they take time to find out what will kill them too, so you aren't experimenting on the child. We really liked that part!!! We just want those creepy, stinky little things GONE!!!
2/16/10-
ENT appointment @10am. Dr. looked in her ears and said she has chronic ear infections and her adenoids are HUGE!!! There is still fluid in her ears and because her adenoids are so big the fluid in the ear and inner ear cannot drain. What would happen is the fluid would just grow bacteria again and the infection would start all over. There is no way to know if she can hear until she has surgery to remove the adenoids, put tubes in her ears to drain the fluid so the inner ear can heal. Yep, you guessed it...we scheduled surgery!
Surgery scheduled for March 1, 2010
2/17/10-Poop samples back and POSITIVE for
Giardia! Yep, we knew it and YEAST! Thankfully though that was it. No other little weird things came with her.
2/19/10 Finished with the 10 day round of antibiotics...she really does take her
meds well! She will be on the
nystatin for 2-3 months, so that one will be a while!
2/22/10-
Pre-Op appointment for surgery. Her ears have healed but the fluid is still there. At least we know, right? Her surgery will cost about $5,000! Did I tell you we have a health savings account...we pay out of pocket for the first $3,600 then the insurance pays 90%...OUCH!!!!
3/01/10-SURGERY (6:30 check in for a 7:30 surgery). We also decided to have our Dr. get as much of the blood work needed while she was under for surgery. The agency and Post Adoption want A LOT of testing done to make sure she is healthy, even if the test were done in China we had to do them over. I think she is traumatized ENOUGH, so we are having most of it done now.
At 8:45 am the Dr. came out and said the surgery went really well and she will need to be on another 10 day round of
amoxacillian to help prevent infection and ear drops for 3 days to help with infection and swelling (we want those tubes to stay in).
I got to go straight back right after that and be with her while she woke up. She looked so sweet!!! The nice part of just getting the adenoids removed and tubes put in is that there are no pain fibers connected to the nerves!!! So, that means post surgery is virtually pain free. She may not even need Tylenol (and she didn't). We do have to stay away from people for 7-10 days to prevent infection from others. Since the adenoids are right behind the nostrils when she breathes it can get right to that raw tissue and she could get sick (back to the cave for the Sweeney's)
Makayla woke up enough in the 1st recovery to be taken to the 2
nd recovery and there it was a little more frustrating. Evidently they gave her an extra shot of Demerol in her leg!!!! For a child that has NEVER even had Tylenol and Demerol being 10X stronger...she woke up to throw up!!!! Even the pediatric nurses were upset! The little ones just don't handle that stuff!!!! In the mean time...I called for the nurse because something was coming out of her ear that looked like rotten gauze and I didn't want to mess with it until she saw it. She assumed that I said wax and assured me it was normal! I asked her to come and look at it and she did. Her face said it all...she didn't know what it was either and thought it looked like rotten gauze too. So, she called the Dr. to make sure he had not packed her ear and he said he had not. That was GUNK from her inner ear that had squeezed through the tubes because of the pressure in her ears. She had to of felt better to get that crap out of her ear!!!! The nurse removed it and nothing else has really come out since then. Anyway, after she threw up they sent us home and we RUSHED!!!! We knew she wasn't finished throwing up! It is a good thing we only live 10 minutes from the hospital! Sure enough we got home and she threw up 2 more times and passed out! I felt so bad for her, but I know from experience that she needed to throw up to get that crap out of her system. I just held her while she slept and after about 2 hours, she woke up and FELT GREAT!!!! You would not have known she had surgery that morning!!! She was eating EVERYTHING and drinking lots of fluid and we played! We read books, played puzzles, had a tea party....seriously she was GREAT! The hearing would take time. The inflammation had to go down and the fluid drain from the inner ear before we might know anything. We also are not sure how long she had chronic ear infections and how much damage it caused the ear...we wait and just enjoy our precious little gift!
3/08/10- POST-OP appointment. She is doing great! The ears are healing beautifully and we are seeing some signs of hearing. She covers her ears at times, points to her ears, and makes more vocal noises!!! We also did a hearing test while in the office with the audiologist and that came back inconclusive! SO, we are scheduled for an
ABR (sedated hearing test) It will be at the children's hospital and the test is for 2 hours (she will be sleeping for this one). They are testing the nerves to make sure they work and to see the degree of loss we are working with. Then we will know what to do and what she will need as far as hearing aides or whatever!
3/09/10-Infant Toddler Assessment. Emily came today to do some assessments on
Makayla to see where she is cognitively and test her small & large muscle skills. We knew
Makayla was smart!!! She is between 3 & 4 years old for her cognitive abilities and her small motor skills are fantastic. Her large motor skills are almost where they should be (because of lots of work on our part! She has changed so much since the day we got her)!!! Emily will come back next week to visit again and by the third visit be able to do a family plan for us and to help
Makayla get all that she needs to be the BEST little girl she can be!
I think
Makayla is doing a little grieving, finally. I am so happy! I know it sounds weird to be happy, but tears make room for growth and she need to mourn the loss of her previous life so she can fully
embrace her new one! There have been about 3 times in the last 3 days that her cry has been very sad (out of the blue) and the tears fall pretty hard!!! She curls up in my arms and we rock until she is
OK. I cannot even begin to know her loss. Those children were her brothers and sisters and those nannies were like her mommies. She knew nothing else and even though her life is so much better know...she mourns her loss. I am grieving with her and she is letting me.
Makayla needed a Forever Mommy and I am so blessed to be chosen for that. The tears only last about 3-5 minutes and then she is
OK and wants to play again. I LOVE this little girl so much!!!
3/11/10 BLOOD WORK back- Well everything looks GREAT!!! She is a little anemic and has low thyroid function and vitamin D, but there would have been no way for her to retain any nutrients with
giardia. We have 5 more things they need that the hospital couldn't do, so we have that request ready for her next sedation on April 5
th. I still don't want her to have anymore trauma, so they can draw the blood when she is asleep.
In the mean time we have been brushing her teeth and noticed why she doesn't like hot or cold food...she has a broken molar in the back of her mouth and a few
cavities. Yep, you guessed it...we have a
dentist appointment on 3/16/10 and she will most likely need to have her tooth capped and some fillings!!! This little girl NEEDED a forever family!!! I cannot even imagine ALL the pain she has
endured!!! This little girl is no sissy!!!
We have also kept her on her Chinese diet of
congee and/or noodles because of her teeth. And now that she is finished with her second round of
amoxacillian she is on
probiotics to put some good stuff back in her little tummy!!!
This was a very long post and I am glad it is over!!! We are all doing great! She is still very bonded to me and also loves her Daddy and siblings!!! We don't have any problems with her wanting strangers (she won't leave our arms)...she is attached to ME!!!
YAYAYAY Thank you Lord!
Since China...
Makayla is:
Walking, running, lifting her arms over her head, throwing a ball overhand, feeding herself, off of bottles, signing, babbling, drinking from a cup, climbing stairs, playing pretend, learning to like grass (
LOL), sleeping all night and almost fully potty trained!!!
OPPORTUNITY, that is all a child needs and I am more than happy to give her all she needs!
You are officially updated!
Hugs,
Fonnetta
Happy 4
T
