Shriners and Social Workers

Things have been rolling along very well in our new family of 7.  Zoe continues to make amazing gains in her physical and language development.  She yells GeGe (brother) when she wants their attention, and she says - very quietly - Night Night and Bye Bye at bedtime.  I swear she understands everything we say.  She can say Nose and Eyes, and point to the appropriate feature, and she says Uh-Oh when she drops something - especially if it makes a big noise.

Zoe loves music, and will wave her hands in the air when she hears a song she likes.  She also likes the piano, and mostly doesn't pound (thank goodness).

We had her first post-adoption visit with her social worker.  China requires multiple reports ranging from 1 month to 5 years after adoptions.  Along with the report we needed some photographs, so we quick got together a family picture:

It turned out pretty well, I think.

Yesterday was Zoe's first visit to Shriners Hospital in Chicago to have her limb length discrepancy addressed.  We didn't even have x-rays, so had very little idea what was going on inside that leg and foot.  It turns out that Zoe has Fibular Hemimelia, aka longitudinal fibular deficiency.  Basically, Zoe has no fibula in her right leg, her right femur is slightly short, and she has a 2-ray foot.  However, her tibia looks strong and straight, if short (about 7 cm short right now, with a projected difference over 6 inches by the time she stops growing).


The doctors and nurses at Shiners were very kind, and spent all the time we needed to answer questions about our options.  We have two.  One is limb lengthening, which would involve two 6 or 7 months sessions of stretching her leg bone, one when she is 7 or 8 years old and one when she is about 13.  The problem with this is that her little foot will probably not be able to support her appropriately as she grows up.  The other option is amputation of her little foot at the ankle and a prosthetic lower limb.  The problem with this one is, well, it's an amputation of a cute little foot that we all rather like - especially Zoe.  Either option will involve hard things, so we are taking some time to pray and consider before we make a choice.

I do know this - Zoe is an ambitious, persistent little girl who REALLY wants to walk, and to run.  One of our goals will be to get her up and walking as soon as possible.  After observing her for a little while yesterday, her social worker suggested the word Driven to describe her personality, and we agreed.

So - after all that heavy info, how about some great cuteness to brighten your day?

Ready for Winter

Scooting around in the great new coat Grandma and Grandpa gave her.

Playing Smash with Daddy

Love how her hair is getting longer!