Friday, April 8 I sat down and checked my email. I saw the email that CCAI sends out every Friday with children who are on their waiting child list. The first child listed was "Piper." She is two years old with four limb deformity. The picture I saw was this one:
Immediately I took a screen shot on my phone and texted Matthew and texted: Call me.
I then emailed and called CCAI asking if we could view "Piper's" file. They said they could send it right away and that no one else was looking at it however, there was no guarantee that someone else wouldn't look at the file and submit Letter of Intent (LOI) before us.
I looked through the file, and as I did with Emma's file, my eyes could tell that though my heart wanted to say yes I really didn't know what her needs would be long term or how she was doing. Her listed need was limb deformity aka arthrogryposis or AMC.
Matthew and I talked and we agreed that I should begin to gather information and connect to doctors and parents who have parented these amazing kids. God provided a way to connect to mom's of children who have AMC and I learned so much in a short time. I also was able to drop off the documents with our primary care physician, speak with a doctor of physical therapy, and email a doctor who specializes in AMC.
By 9pm we agreed that we would submitted LOI for this little girl. At that point we knew another family was looking at her file and we had no way of knowing if they had already submitted LOI. So we went to bed knowing that we wouldn't know if she was going to be our daughter until sometime Monday when the offices of our agency would open.
Saturday, April 9th I woke up to find an email sent at 1:27 AM saying that our agency had received our LOI and they would begin the process of locking the file for us.
WE HAD A SECOND DAUGHTER!
I found Matthew and said, "They emailed back. She is ours." "Really?!" he said. And it was real. It was a surreal moment. Fear yes, excitement yes, fear....yes! But we had a daughter and we were working toward her!
We brought Edmund into our room to tell him. We cuddled him on the bed and I said, "Edmund, China gave us a file of a sister!" Edmund knew that we would be getting a file from China at some point. Matthew said, "You know that girl Mama was watching videos of yesterday?" Edmund, "Uh huh."
Edmund squealed and said, "Really!?" "You have another sister!" we said. "You know what else?" I said, "She likes trucks" Edmund squeezed his arms by his side and squealed. "she likes to ride a scooter" Edmund squeezed his arms by his side and squealed again. "And she likes the egg, tomato, and noodle soup just like you!" Edmund squealed sat up and bounced in excitement.
Matthew continued, "You know how she walks and uses her arms differently? Well that's her special need." "That's okay," Edmund said matter of fact. And then his excitement ramped back up, "Let's go tell Emma!!"
He ran from our bedroom to where Emma was and said, “China sent us a sister!!”
So begins our adventure.
Here is what we know.
Eden turned two in January. She and Emma will be about 1 year apart.
Eden has AMC. It occurs in 1 out of every 3,000 births. The quoted information is from Nationwide Children website.
What is AMC?
"This is a non-progressive conditions that are characterized by multiple joint contractures (stiffness) and involves muscle weakness found throughout the body at birth."
What causes AMC?
"While there is no single cause for arthrogryposis, one known factor is “fetal akinesia”, which is decreased fetal movement in utero. During the early growth phase, joint development is almost always normal. Motion/movement is essential for joint development and tissue structures. When there is a lack of fetal movement, this can cause extra connective tissue to develop causing a stiff, immobile joint. The longer the immobility, the worse the contracture."
So what is the prognosis for AMC?
"The main point to remember is that AMC is not a progressive disorder. Typically these children have normal speech and learning capabilities and with proper care, vigorous therapy and in some cases, surgical interventions, the potential for them to lead productive, rewarding, independent lives is excellent." Basically, her AMC won't get worse but it doesn't "go away" or "get fixed" even when she comes home. We can help improve her range of motion and ability to do things but AMC is part of who she is and it is a beautiful part of her.
That is a lot of new information for you and us. But here is what we know.
Eden is determined. She is already able to walk and climb stairs.
Eden is loved. Her file has glowing things to say about her and how her ayis (nannies) comment on her and the file seemed to speak to the way her ayis are proud of her. In one of her videos it shows Eden being silly with her ayi. The ayi wants her to stand but she doesn't want to, so she smiles and you can see the happy glimmer in her eyes. She is relaxed with her ayi.
Eden is clever. When CHOP reviewed her file the doctor kept saying over and over again about clever she was and described how impressed she was at what Eden had already learned to do. Eden has adapted and learned how to do things despite her condition. Her file also says that she already can quote some Chinese poetry at 2 years old!
Eden is longed for by her siblings. We told Edmund and Emma that we would probably go in November or December at the soonest. Edmund threw himself on the love seat and cried, "Why do we have to wait that long?! I want to go now!"
Emma tells everyone, "We are going to China to adopt another baby from China!" She said just recently, "I will share my room with Eden. I can share with my sister." Yesterday during quiet time Emma told me, "I am drawing a picture for my sister."
Edmund and Emma are both so excited. Edmund loves to tell others about how his new sister likes, "Trucks, cars, riding a scooter, and tomato/egg/noodle soup JUST LIKE ME!" He gets very excited!
Almost exactly two years after Eden was in needof a family she has one.
Eden turned two in January. She and Emma will be about 1 year apart.
Eden has AMC. It occurs in 1 out of every 3,000 births. The quoted information is from Nationwide Children website.
What is AMC?
"This is a non-progressive conditions that are characterized by multiple joint contractures (stiffness) and involves muscle weakness found throughout the body at birth."
What causes AMC?
"While there is no single cause for arthrogryposis, one known factor is “fetal akinesia”, which is decreased fetal movement in utero. During the early growth phase, joint development is almost always normal. Motion/movement is essential for joint development and tissue structures. When there is a lack of fetal movement, this can cause extra connective tissue to develop causing a stiff, immobile joint. The longer the immobility, the worse the contracture."
So what is the prognosis for AMC?
"The main point to remember is that AMC is not a progressive disorder. Typically these children have normal speech and learning capabilities and with proper care, vigorous therapy and in some cases, surgical interventions, the potential for them to lead productive, rewarding, independent lives is excellent." Basically, her AMC won't get worse but it doesn't "go away" or "get fixed" even when she comes home. We can help improve her range of motion and ability to do things but AMC is part of who she is and it is a beautiful part of her.
That is a lot of new information for you and us. But here is what we know.
Eden is determined. She is already able to walk and climb stairs.
Eden is loved. Her file has glowing things to say about her and how her ayis (nannies) comment on her and the file seemed to speak to the way her ayis are proud of her. In one of her videos it shows Eden being silly with her ayi. The ayi wants her to stand but she doesn't want to, so she smiles and you can see the happy glimmer in her eyes. She is relaxed with her ayi.
Eden is clever. When CHOP reviewed her file the doctor kept saying over and over again about clever she was and described how impressed she was at what Eden had already learned to do. Eden has adapted and learned how to do things despite her condition. Her file also says that she already can quote some Chinese poetry at 2 years old!
Eden is longed for by her siblings. We told Edmund and Emma that we would probably go in November or December at the soonest. Edmund threw himself on the love seat and cried, "Why do we have to wait that long?! I want to go now!"
Emma tells everyone, "We are going to China to adopt another baby from China!" She said just recently, "I will share my room with Eden. I can share with my sister." Yesterday during quiet time Emma told me, "I am drawing a picture for my sister."
Edmund and Emma are both so excited. Edmund loves to tell others about how his new sister likes, "Trucks, cars, riding a scooter, and tomato/egg/noodle soup JUST LIKE ME!" He gets very excited!
Almost exactly two years after Eden was in needof a family she has one.
We are currently fundraising so check out the precious blog post! We so so appreciate your help.
This is our timeline so far!
- Applied to CCAI: 12/21/18
- Medical checklist submitted: 12/27/18
- Approved to adopt: 1/7/19
- Dossier instructions received: 2/1/19
- Home study in home visit: 2/11/19
- Finished collecting paper for home study process: 2/14/19
- Home study draft sent to CCAI 2/27/19
- Home study approved from CCAI 3/19/19
- Picked up notorized home study at Pinebrook Family Answers 3/25/19
- Homes study and I800A application sent to USCIS 3/26/19
- I800A application delivered at USCIS 3/29/19
- I800A application file received at USCIS 4/4/19
- Saw Eden's file the afternoon of 4/8/19
- Spoke with medical professionals and submitted LOI evening of 4/8/19
- Got confirmation email that the LOI was received and they would begin the process 4/9/19
- File locked 4/10/19
- All but I800A documents notorized 4/11/19
- I800A fingerprint appointment received 4/11/19
- All but I800A documents certified 4/12/19
- Pre-approval for Eden 4/16/19
- I800A fingerprint appointment 4/19/19
- Sent all but I800A documents to a courier to be authenticated 4/19/19
- Received email that all sent documents had been authenticated and were mailed to our agency 4/26/19
