So, where are things now? The last time I updated, it was December and Ana had been here for 8 months.
In January, she had major reconstructive leg surgery and was in a cast for 3 months. To keep her healthy, we opted to have a home nurse here (instead of sending her back to medical daycare) between January and April. We needed to keep her as healthy as possible so that we could schedule her cleft palate surgery. Nurse Brittany was such a blessing and became a part of our family in no time. Cleft palate surgery happened on April 25th and phew... what an ordeal that was! Because of swelling, Ana had to be re-intubated and remained in ICU for over 2 weeks. Ten days later, she was back in ICU because she had the RSV virus. We got her vaccinated routinely for 6 months (at $1500 a shot) but she still got it! She was once again in ICU for another 16 days. We had a few quite weeks before she caught a cold and aspirated and ended up with aspiration pneumonia. She was in the hospital this time for 8 days but not in ICU... just a regular room. :) Oh, the things we take for granted! July was a quiet month filled with lazy summer days then on August 2nd, Ana had her tonsils and adenoids removed because with her cleft palate closed, her tonsils and adenoids were obstructing her airway. Even increased amounts of oxygen weren't doing the trick so out they came! She was only in the hospital for 2 days which was HUGE! She is such a fighter and our hero. Even with 3 surgeries in 8 months, she continues to grow and develop (at her own pace of course) and is such a pleasant, happy baby. Baby?!?!? Can I even call her that anymore? She's going to be 2 next month!
So I mentioned in my last post that her birthmom was somewhat involved and made it to some of her visits and medial appointments. Well...
Our last court hearing was Tuesday, September 4th. At that court hearing Ana's birthparents declared before the judge that they would voluntarily sign over their parental rights. This news was HUGE!!!!! My eyes swell with tears each time I think about what Ana's birthmom said to our caseworker just a few days before court. She told her that she loves her daughter so much but knows that her medical needs are complex and while it's the toughes thing she has ever done or will ever do, she wants to give Ana a life that she knows she can never give her. She wants us to adopt her because she knows that we love her like our own and that we will advocate for her. I can not even begin to imagine what she experiencing and feeling as she made that decision but I am forever grateful that she loves her daughter so much that she is willing to make such a selfless decision. Papers are being drafted for birthparents to sign by the end of September. Once they are signed, we hold our breath for 30 days incase they change their minds. Our next court date is December 3rd and at that point, if rights are terminated, we will be able to officially start Ana's adoption process. Wooo hooo!!!
Perhaps I should also mention that Ethan and Andrew (12 and 11 years old now) are back in public school. :) Eli is in a "special" preschool for behavioral issues and Kayla is in preschool 3 mornings a week. That light at the end of the tunnel that never seemed to flicker has finally started to flicker... I am starting to get a little bit of time to myself and while this might sound selfish, I am SO thankful for the break I get. Don't get me wrong... our days are still filled with busy activites and trips to Philly for Ana's appointments. Kayla has started a ballet class, Eli is taking swim lessons and the boys have started up with tennis. I found time to start taking Zumba classes twice a week (while Kay is at preschool) and I just started training for a 5K. I don't know which one (do I have to decide now?) but it's something I recently decided I wanted to try to do. I am NOT a runner so the program I'm following is a great fit. It's called Couch to 5K and is such a wonderful way to slowly train and make baby steps towards becoming a runner. It will be interesting to see if I ever did sign up to run a 5K the next time I blog. :)
