I know many of you joined me here when I left for China to adopt Maddi and may be wondering why my updates on her have been few and far between.
My blog started out as a resource for parents and it kind of lost it’s way for a while, but these days I’m really working hard to put the “Play to Learn” back into Play 2 Learn with Sarah.
I do not want this to be an adoption blog. The posts I put here are to share our one particular journey. I do hope that they help others, but that is not the real point of this blog. I share these stories so that I can share our journey with my friends (you) and show you what life is like along the adoption road.
With that said, I will continue to update our story here, from time to time, but it will become more and more infrequent…especially after her next (and hopefully final) surgery which has been scheduled for April 30.
Maddi had her first surgery on January 22, 2014 (two months ago today). That surgery was 11 hours long and reconstructed all of her “plumbing”, but did not close her colostomy.
We have spent the last two months working on her recovery and getting her ready for this next surgery, colostomy closure.
The “ready-ing” process has been rough on both of us. It is twice daily invasive “therapy” that has definitely left emotional scars on both of us. It is the first thing we do in the morning and the last thing we do at the end of each and every day…and we both dread it.
I have found that I put off getting her out of bed in the morning because I just don’t want to have that first fight….and all the other normal 2 year old fights through out the day…and then end with another epic one before bed.
I actually live to make it to nap time…thinking “I survived until nap time!” and then again after putting her to bed “I survived until bedtime!”
Life is hard. I knew it would be…and I am so hoping that this next surgery will show us what we’ve been hoping for…that she can be continent. Or else…that light at the end of the tunnel will get MUCH further away. (Honestly, I don’t think about this too much right now. Just one step at a time, but that shadow is always there…what if she has to struggle with this small thing that we all take for granted…every.single.day.of.her.life? Just too much to think about.)
Overall, she is doing well. Her brothers love her…she’ll sit with Dave on the couch…if I’m not around. She says “Hi!” to everyone…just trying to get their attention. She eats…like a 2 yr old…still not a fan of milk. She can say “I know Kung Fu” (click here to watch the video of her saying it) and scream “APPLE JUICE” at the top of her lungs. She probably has at least 30 words (click here to watch her try a few words) that she attempts…still slipping back in to the grunting phase a little too often for my preference.
She loves pretty clothes, shoes and hair bows, Mickey Mouse and Goldfish. She lives to explore the back yard and screams when ever the dogs even look at her when she has food in her hands…which is constantly.
She listens fairly well, but likes to say “Why?” any time you say anything to her (maddening!). She saves up all of her meanness for me…which, I guess, is pretty normal too.
So we’ll just keep keepin’ on. She’ll go into the hospital for prepping on April 29th. She will more than likely be in there for a full week (they won’t feed her for most of that…it should be TONS of fun). And then we’ll have a whole new life to adjust to.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
