First Visit at Shriner's

Let me just start by saying that we love Shriner's Hosptial!

Our appointment was at 8 am and we finished up at noon.  Whew.  Long morning but we accomplished a lot.  After check in and about 100 medical history questions I couldn't answer we were sent to radiology for X-rays and patient photography so they could take pictures of his little body. (This was his least favorite part because he hates being undressed except in the tub.). Then back to the clinic to see the OT (occupational therapist).  She gave Lukey lots of praise over the many things he can do. She also took lots of measurements and explained that she wants me to do wrist stretching exercises. As she stretched his wrists she was able to go from his resting 100 degree angle to a 30 degree angle.  This was very encouraging.  He has no muscles to keep it there or do it himself but right now it's all about flexibility.  She was very encouraging that he can learn to do buttons and tie his shoes in his current position but also that the position can be improved.

Next, we saw Dr. Goldfarb and his entourage.  He is a kind man who first asked how Luke was adjusting and learning language.  Then he said that while we may not be able to do the full correction there may be surgeries that can improve the angle in stages.  The concern is that he has been using his pinky and ring finger for so long that he may not want to use his pointer and thumb (assuming we choose to create a functional thumb). We will start with splints at night to stretch the soft tissue.  We will also try the splints during the day to see if he will use his other fingers when his arm is straighter.

Next, we went back to X-ray to make sure his spine is straight and to photography to video Luke stringing wooden beads on a shoe lace.  The doc was so impressed with how he has to taught himself to use those last two fingers that he wants to use the video for teaching purposes and for his hand surgery blog.

Finally, we went up to the OT lab to make the splints.  This OT is like he MacGyver of the medical field.  She made plastic splints molded to each hand.  I mentioned that I had been trying to come up with a solution for protection for his ulner "stump" that he always falls on and scrapes up.  She made a quick foam wrap that he can wear when he rides his bike and scooter.

We will go back in December to check in with all the departments. Everyone we met today was so kind and knowledgable.  We love Children's Hospital but they may see a couple of these cases a year and Shriner's sees them every Tuesday (hand day at the clinic). And it really is free.  We don't pay a single penny.  We will be giving a nice donation when this is over!

In other Krosley news...

Rob (senior at Anderson University) played an alumni reunion concert with Sandi Patti, the Gaithers, John McLaughlin, Tenth Avenue North, Sidewalk Prophets, Alanna Story and Christa Wells.  So cool!

Lauren is settling into her first year at Lindenwood University but is able to come home often to see Luke...and the rest of us. ;)

Katherine is a very busy girl conquering 8th grade and loving St. Louis Children's Concert Choir and leading worship at youth group.

Andrew has settled into 4th grade and big brotherhood.  He is doing so well with Luke.  They are now sharing a room full time and it is going swimmingly!  Praise God!

Thank you all for blessing us with your prayers.  They have been powerful  and effective!

Update #3

I'm finally getting around to finishing the 3 part update.  Not sure who is reading but this is as close to a journal as I am getting so here it goes...

DOCTORS

Poor Lukey has been to a lot of doctors and has more to come.  First off was a general check up with our beloved pediatrician, Dr. McKinney. (Sorry, Tiff, I don't think I can bring myself to surprise him with an unsolicited hug).  He said he looks great but sent us for blood work and stool samples (yuk!). The blood work did not go well.  Apparently, he has hidden veins. After trying twice at St. Luke's, they recommended going to Children's.  Luke didn't even cry when they tried the first arm (which included lots of digging) but when they started prepping the second arm he started to cry.  He never fought but it was pitiful.  As we walked into Children's Hospital he started crying again. It was terrible but they were barely able to get enough blood.  This made him afraid of very doctor we went to after that but he has finally learned that it doesn't hurt every time.  His blood work came back fine but we discovered 2 parasites that have totally messed with his belly.  He's all clear now but still healing.

We had an initial consultation with the hand surgeon.  This is a specialist that people from all over the  country come to.  His initial thoughts were not encouraging.  The X-rays showed that his radius is not just short, it is nonexistent. This doesn't bode well for surgical treatment.  We will see him again next week at Shriners' and probably start with physical therapy to try to get some movement in his fingers and to teach them to move independently.  If that works, they might consider surgery. He really gets along just fine the way he is.  He can dress himself (although it is a struggle and it's hard to let him struggle), he can feed himself, open doors, ride his tricycle, turn pages, play with stickers.  His fine motor skills are not that far from a child with typical hands.  The hard things will be tying his shoes, doing buttons, etc.   Right now, one of the biggest concerns for me is when he falls.  Most people catch themselves with the heel of their hands. He catches himself with the end of his arm bone. It really hurts.

At the end of October, we will be seeing a pediatric dermatologist for a mole that the pediatrician is concerned about.  He may have to have it removed. I find it almost funny that after all the research and preparation for his hands this little thing might be his first surgery.


LANGUAGE

This kid is absolutely brilliant!  We have been home about 6 weeks and language is going so well!  After coming home, we were sad because we had no one to translate his cute little stories for us (like his drunk beauty goat).  We did ok using little bits of English and Mandarin to communicate basic need but it was hard to know what he was thinking.  We tried having friends speak Mandarin to him but he won't listen or talk back.  He just tells them "no". I think he knows he needs to learn English.
Now, he can tell us a lot. It's still a mixture of "Chinglish" but he really gets his point across.  Today we had the best example of this so far.  We went to Andrew's school and he told me that Luke's school (his orphanage) is bye bye.   I asked if he liked his school.  He said, "Yes." He went on to say, "Shen Shen at Luke's school.  Jing at Luke's school. Yue Yue at Luke's school.  Luke go bye bye on airplane, go home. Tao go bye on airplane. One, two go bye bye."  I asked him if he likes his friend Yue Yue. He said, "Yes!" I asked him if he knew Yue Yue was coming home.  He said, "Yes.  Yue Yue guo lai (come here) on airplane." He said a few more things that I couldn't quite understand but this was such a blessing to get into his head a little about where he used to live.

OVERALL

We are head-over-heels in love with this little boy who has fit so seamlessly into our family.  It's fun having a preschooler in the house again. It's also sometimes exhausting but that's just fine with us.  Everyone is getting along very well and Luke is even transitioning into his room with Andrew.  I'm sure we will hit some bumps in the road. I promise to be honest about the successes as well as the challenges.  As always, thank you so much for all of your prayers!

Update #2 - Pictures!

                                      Luke's first trip to the zoo.  LOVED the monkeys!

                                                             Eureka Days Parade

                                                                All American Boy

Waiting for candy

 




            First movie...he screamed in delight!

                                                         This kid loves life!

                                                                 Brother Love

       

Update #1

Hi, Everyone!

Some have asked for an update on our family.  We have now been home for just over a month and so much has happened that I thought I would divide the update into a few separate posts so I don't overwhelm anyone (including me!)

Our homecoming was delayed a bit thanks to storms and airlines but after a short stay in Newark we arrived home late Saturday morning instead of Friday night.  Many of our friends and family welcomed us.  It was so much fun to introduce our little Lukey to so many!

The first few days at home can be described as extreme... Extreme exhaustion, jet-lag, laundry combined with extreme blessing...meals and gifts from friends, joy at finally being home together, love, sweetness, quiet.

BROTHERS

Then the honeymoon ended.  Poor Andrew who had been the perfect big brother, positive, insanely patient, loving, suddenly hit the wall.  Most of the adjustment really fell on him.  He had to share his room, he went back to school 4 days after coming home and his little brother was messing with his stuff while he was at school.  This is our child who needs sleep in a big way and he wasn't getting enough.  The poor guy snapped.  After almost a week home, he started crying in frustration and anger  and then guilt for being frustrated and angry.  We moved Luke out of their room and put him in a pack-and-play in our room.  Luckily, we were heading into a long weekend in which Andrew was able to catch up on sleep and kick much of his jet lag.  Andrew is learning that succeeding as a big brother doesn't mean he has to be perfect.  He loves, teaches, protects, plays with and brags on his little brother and in turn Luke adores him!  They are so funny together and an absolute joy to watch.

GOODBYES

The hard part of having such s wide age range of children is that the little ones have to say goodbye to the big ones.  On our fourth day home, Andrew went to school.  Luke really missed him.  I think he still thinks that Andrew just rides the school bus all day!  Just 10 days after returning from China, we moved Lauren into her dorm at Lindenwood University.  It's only 40 minutes away but such a big change for us.  When we left her, Luke kept asking for her so we had a Mandarin-speaking friend explain that she would be coming home often.  A few days after that, Katherine went to school and he kept wondering where she was.  Then we got to the hardest one.  Luke helped Rob load his jeep.  We had no way to tell him that Rob was leaving for a much longer time but I think he knew.  He wouldn't say goodbye.  He was tired of saying goodbye.  It was tough.  Now, every time Rob or Lauren calls home he says (in Mandarin) "Come to me! Come to me!"  He sees Lauren regularly enough now that he trust that he will see her again soon.  We will go visit Rob next weekend and Luke will be so happy!  This is all a sign that bonding is going well and we are so blessed that he has such good relationships with his siblings.

BONDING

Anyone who knows anything about adoption knows that bonding is a big deal.  It can make or break the heart of a family.  When we brought Andrew home as a one year old, bonding was quick and easy.  We knew that bringing home a 4 year old would be much different. We prepared ourselves for all the issues that could surround a child who spent 4 years in an institution.  I want to be real with those who are reading our story and watching us and maybe contemplating adoption.  I don't want to sugar-coat our story.  That being said, Luke is such a joyous, loving, compliant, sweet-natured little boy who had bonded with his family beautifully.  We are fully aware that challenges may arise as he becomes more secure and goes through developmental milestones but for now we are enjoying the bliss of life with Luke.  Someone said to me that the ease of this process is just confirmation that this was God's will.  I agreed but added, "And if it was difficult and heart-breaking it would still be confirmation

On the Way Home

 The Krosley kids before 27.5 + hours of travel back home.

We met some American friends in China...

Friends-
The last leg of the Krosley's trip home was cancelled. They were supposed to be home tonight (Friday) at 10:49pm and now will return tomorrow (Saturday) at 10:01am on United Airlines flt 4099 from Newark to St.L. There are rumors of a few folks gathering at the airport to welcome them home. If you do come, prepare to see a travel weary but happy family! Upon returning home from the airport, they are planning on catching up on lots of sleep and hunkering down for a while. If you would like to drop off a meal to this sweet family, Shayne Phillips is coordinating them: shayneandjayphillips@yahoo.com. While visitors to their home are usually welcome, the Krosleys are going to need a few weeks to settle in and help Luke acclimate to his new family and home. They love their family and friends and want to show Luke off, but are wisely choosing to put Luke's needs first. Thanks in advance for your understanding and prayers!
Signing off-
Elizabeth Ward

A fun night out for some

 

Sometimes parenting is a blast! Rob, Lauren and Kevin at midfield for a playoff match.

Meanwhile, sometimes it is not. Pam was back at the hotel cleaning poop out of undies and carpet.

 Adventure in Canton.

Immigration at the US Consulate- check!

Folks, we have a swimmer!

 The pool at the Guangzhao Marriot.

Walking home from dinner.

Today we went to Shamian Island.  It's not a real island but it feels
like you have been transported to the Carribean or Key West.  All of
the architecture is French and English.  This is home to the White
Swan Hotel where many adoptive families stayed because the American
Consulate used to be there.  We stayed here for the whole 2 weeks when
we adopted Andrew because he was from this province.  Everyone who had
spent a week in other provinces would come to the island and say,
"You've  been here all along?  You don't know what it's like out
there.  This is heaven!"  The streets are lined with tropical trees,
flowers, little parks and quaint shops.  Many of the shop owners speak
a little English.  It's relaxed and safe.  So much different than the
rushed, urban pace of most of China's cities.  We did some shopping
and ate at the famous Lucy's Cafe.  Not great food but nostalgic.  The
White Swan has been under construction for years and based on what we
saw today won't be open any time soon.  The consulate moved, so much
of the adoption traffic did too but many families come by bus or taxi
to see what it's like.
 
Right now we are having nap time.  Then we will try the pool again and
go to dinner.  Tomorrow is our consulate appointment.  We will go to
turn in our paperwork and swear that we will raise Luke as an
American.  They will give us his visa to go home and as soon as we go
through customs in Newark on Friday night, Luke will be an American
citizen! I wish we could go home right after the consulate appointment
but they make us wait for 36 hours to leave the country.
 
I know you have been praying for Xiaoyang (I wrote Chaoyang before but
it was wrong, same pronunciation, though).  He was actually smiling
today and hasn't cried at all so far.  Big progress!  Thanks for your
prayers.  Luke is still coughing and now his nose is involved.  A few
times, he coughed and sneezed at the same time.  He looked totally
confused and then started to laugh!
 
He is showing an ornery side.  He gives a little grin that makes his
upper lip disappear and you know he's up to something.  The only time
he has been stubborn is when we try to get him to eat.  He gives that
grin and won't open his mouth.  Today, I would stop trying and start
to feed myself and he would yell, "Mama!"  When I would look at him he
would open his mouth wide and then slam it shut as soon as I got near
him with the food.  He would laugh along with the whole family.  They
all got in trouble for this!  We have some table training to do when
we get home but we won't worry about that now.
 
Thanks for your prayers.  They are life-savers!