When we first saw Carey's picture, she had a diagnosis of spina bifida listed beneath her photo. We had been researching special needs and spina bifida seemed to keep reappearing as a common medical need of children waiting. I kept asking God, "Are you serious?" I was nervous but kept being drawn to hear about yet another child with spina bifida. There are quite a few complications that can and often do develop in kiddos with this special need. Of specific concern for me was that I had seen profiles of some children that suddenly began to have difficulty with walking and continence which meant that this could potentially be a condition that could regress. This seemed really scary to me but for some reason, I was still drawn to research and investigate the varying degrees in which it manifests itself. I gradually was becoming more comfortable with the idea of having a child with hydrocephalus, trouble walking, unable to walk, and/or incontinence. I already recounted the story of how we "knew" she was the one but there were some unknowns. Despite those unknowns we were at peace but started preparing our minds for the worst. Even if she didn't have any trouble currently, we knew that some children will develop problems as they wait for their families to come. We submitted our paperwork requesting Pre-approval from the Chinese government feeling a strong sense of peace that she was to be our daughter. A few weeks later, we received discharge information. Still not as much info as we would have liked but the Dr. in the USA seemed to think she would be able to walk. We wouldn't know whether she had tethered cord until we got her home and evaluated by neurosurgeon.
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| We are happy to report that she is doing great!! |
