Bryson Makes 8!

Hip Infection

2011-11-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

Bryson started complaining of his left hip hurting yesterday. I looked at his incision and it looked a little weepy. I started taking his temp. It was ranging from 99 to 100, but good for me to keep track of a baseline.

Today, his incision was starting to open and oozing lots of sorry but pus. I can't stand that word nor the actual stuff...gag!!! I will spare you the video that I sent to the doctor and some of my friends that I knew wouldn't abandon me!!!

Our Dr. has decided to first try oral antibiotics, warm compresses and us expressing the pus out as much as possible. We will go for an xray in two days hoping to see the hardware in his hip is fine and not the source of infection as that would be devastating to say the least at this point!

A little Trooper!

2011-11-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the emails wondering how Mr. B is doing! He is actually doing quite well. I was snuggling with him last night telling him I don't know too many people that could tolerate being completely immobile like he has been ~~even though it is a great cure for ADHD~~. He is just such a good little boy.

We are managing to get a few hours of school work done each day.

He is managing to play more video games than he has in a year in the past few days, but oh well a boy has to do what a boy has to do to get through these six weeks!

We have been able to space pain meds a little further apart. It seems to catch up with him in the evening and the middle of the night. We have been forcing him to sit in a regular chair with his legs propped on another chair in front of him for an hour each day. He doesn't like this position as it stretches out all the soft tissue work they did, but it is important for him to do.

As you can see in the photo, Berekley doesn't like to leave his side. It is the cutest thing ever. When Robert and I transfer Bryson to the living room, Berekley follows us the whole way making sure Bryson is fine. When Bryson cries, Berekley gets even closer to him. Very sweet both the dog and the boy! :-)

I Love You MOM!!!

2011-11-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

It was a tad bit overwhelming once we got back to the RMH. Bryson was in quite a bit of pain from all the transferring and we noticed his right cast was pretty loose at the top once the swelling had gone down, which of course led to a frantic phone call to his doctor. I also was starting to process all that had happened in the past week and felt so bad for my son. Secretly hoping we had not made a bad decision going through with this humongous surgery.

Anyhow, I laid down with Bryson getting him to go to sleep so he would stop crying. Once he was asleep I figured I would start packing up our belongings. I started with Bryson's school area where a week prior he had sat doing his school work and other activities. And this is what I found..............

"I love you mom you give me strate feet."

My secret was answered!

He's Home!!!

2011-11-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone praying for our adventure home! I have to tell you it went with only a few funny little hiccups that will provide Lorna and I with laughter for years to come, but overall it went smooth.

Could not have been prouder of my son!!!

All our transfer practices the PT had us do in an airplane simulation made for smooth and perfect transfers on the real plane. Lorna would organize the attendants on how to assist and then she and I were team transfer!

He never had to relieve any bodily functions on the flight!

Can you say THANK YOU JESUS?!?!?

We had the urinal down.

It was the other we never practiced in our

flight simulations!!!

Bryson never complained of pain until the last ten minutes of our trip. He saved that for the ride home! But once home, he was distracted and ever so happy. Papa got the video games set up in our room where he will reside for the next six weeks alongside our bed.

Oh thank you so much my dear and sweet friend Lorna. God knew I needed YOU on this trip to help advocate when things were not going as expected. To feed me my gluten free meals and to be my traveling companion. Thank you for giving up your hard earned vacation time to love on me and my boy!!! Love you much!!!!!

Tomorrow I will share what I found when we went back to the RMH.

Bring your tissue!

Thankful Thursday from the RMH!

2011-11-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

Thankful that Bryson's biggest surgery of his life is a week behind us!

Thankful for the continued healing of a boy needing blood transfusions

to a boy leaving the hospital ~~even though the smile was very sort lived~~!

Thankful that we got to breathe fresh fall air today!

Thankful for my laptop back in my lap!

Thankful for the RMH being supportive of our situation and welcoming Lorna at all times!

Thankful for our phenomenal Dr!

Thankful for narcotics for pain control!

Thankful beyond words which can not adequately express that Lorna was able to stay on to help. Honestly, This is soooo much harder without the amenities of the hospital. There is absolutely no way one person and at times two people can manage him. We have our work cut out for us for the next six weeks!

Thankful that Bryson is such a sweet and precious boy. It makes it that much easier to care for him during some of these stressful days!

Please pray for our travels tomorrow. We certainly are going to look like a circus act at the airport, but beyond the show is a great deal of stress. We have to be so careful when we transfer Bryson to keep his torso and legs in alignment. He still is in quite a bit of pain. This will be a hard day for him starting at 4:30 am. Please pray for pain management and that Lorna and I are able to adequately meet all his needs 30,000 feet in the sky for 7 hours and during the layover in Chicago!

Last Night in Hospital

2011-11-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Bryson checked off each item of his to do list!He still i's in a lot of pain, but it was definitely better managed today. Only one melt down this evening. We get discharged tomorrow

to the RMH and then our adventure begins at 4:30 Friday morning to get home!

Lorna and I were trained on how to properly lift and transfer Bryson. They created an airplane simulation for us to practice transferring him. I think we have it down! They are also creating a custom board for us to keep under him so the weight of his casts don't pull his feet down when sitting in the plane.

Lots of logistics go into getting this kiddo home!

Oh home, home sweet home!

Final Plan

2011-11-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

It was becoming evident that I would not be able to travel alone with Bryson. The hospital can't release him if there is a safety concern. At this point, Bryson is a two man lift. My 38 pounds of love now weighs well into the 60's due to casts. Not to mention you cant just pick him up like a sack of potatoes!There were many other logistic items that were making traveling alone not a reality. We did have two other friends (thanks Susan and Laura) who offered to fly out and help transport. Lorna was seeing how difficult it was becoming so she called her supervisor and requested two more vacation days if they could get someone to cover her shifts. Knowing our situation, her supervisor granted the extra vacation!

I can't explain the relief this brings to not only me but to Robert who 3,000 miles away feels helpless for Bryson and I. I hope that someday I can be the friend to her that she has been to me this past week. Lorna's friendship always creates growth in me. I love that!

Bryson still has many things to get accomplished by Thursday. I know he can do it! He was able to transfer with two person lift into a wheelchair this afternoon. He sat for one hour! Yeah! He is wore out and sleeping now!

Dr is asking for us to be at RMH for at least 24 hours after discharge so he had to be out of

here Thursday to fly home Friday. Come on Mr. B let's finish the checklist!

Tickets are exchanged for Friday!

We have a plan!

2011-11-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

As wonderful as our well thought out plans were we will not see them to fruition. Instead we will say goodbye to Lorna later today. She will fly home early in the morning without us {insert giant tears}.

Our new plan if things keep going in the direction they are the Dr will release us Thursday to stay at the RMH for 24 hours and then released to fly home.

The following things MUST happen for this plan to work.

•Bryson needs to no longer need oxygen

•He needs to on only oral meds

•He needs to go big potty on his own.

•He needs to get meds spread further apart.

•He needs to get out of bed and into wheelchair.

Behind each cloud is Light! Each day is better than Saturday night!

A better morning report

2011-10-31T06:59:00.000-07:00

Finally able to report a happy morning report!

We only had one hard hour last night playing catch up with pain.

After two pints of blood, respiratory therapies and a mommy becoming more assertive we have a boy with closer to normal vitals and better pain management.

Our hope today is to finally move out of PICU and onto a regular floor with hopes of a miracle for him to be well enough to be able to fly home Wednesday. We can at least have hope!

Thanks to all of you for your support, prayers and love.

Sick Little Man

2011-10-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

My little man is pretty ill. He had his worst night yet last night. It felt like a slippery slope. He was moments from being intubated. His lungs don't look good in the 4am xray. They are now doing chest percussions and breathing treatments and is getting another blood transfusion.

Please keep him in your prayers.

It Really Is a New Day

2011-10-29T13:56:00.001-07:00

I don't think I am jumping the gun this time as my boy has been peacefully sleeping for an hour! Waiting on labs to see if he needs another transfusion, but would be surprised as last few hours his vitals have improved greatly! His heart rate has dropped to under 120! He has had no fever for a few hours. I have a feeling he will be off oxygen sooner than later!They have switched two of his pain meds to oral and he is tolerating it, mind you he still has epidural and has not been in any other position but flat in a bed so still has a way to go. But things are looking better by the hour as the snow falls outside our Philadelphia window.

New Blood New Day (Updated)

2011-10-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

Around 11pm last night It became very obvious that Bryson's body was having to work very hard. Luckily, he had some awesome nurses and were on top of it. They decided not to wait until morning to take labs. Lab results indicated he indeed was very much in need of a blood transfusion. Within an hour, Bryson was getting more blood.

His heart rate has decreased to 120-130's, still high but much better than it was. He is now down to a liter of oxygen and it appears for now his fever has broke!His pain has been managed all night long with the help of major amounts of drugs!

Today is going to be our day! I can just feel it!

Thanks to all Mr. B's silent prayer warriors out there!

We are Phillin' them in Philly!

Update: Fever is high and possibly needs another transfusion. Staying in PICU.

Day Two of the Big Surgery

2011-10-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

After a very hard and long night, morning and afternoon they finally found the best combination to manage his pain around 4 pm today. Before that his longest stretch was 45 minutes of no crying and screaming.

He is resting much better. His swelling is still significant but with cast cut and as the day has gone on it has subsided some. He remains in the PICU. He is now running a fever of 101.6 and his heart rate has been high (150's)all day long. They'll take blood in am to see what's going on in that whooping 38 pounds of lovin'!

Working hard to just stay present and not worrying about each day ahead. We should know Monday if we think he is able to make trek home next Wednesday.

We had an awesome proactive day nurse today that fell in love with my boy. She was not scheduled to work tomorrow but picked up the 12 hour shift so he could have the consistency. Thankful for that!

Hopeful I can hop in the parent showers here tomorrow knowing that his pain is better managed

while Lorna sits with him.

Again thankful for all prayers and support. Wish I had the time to contact each of you right now, but not an easy task on a smartphone in the PICU with a little boy who needs all my attention right now so a blog post must suffice!

Prayerful for pain control to continue, fever to go away, no need for blood transfusion, and heart rate to lower on it's own.

Surgery Update

2011-10-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

This is from my phone so bear with me. Bryson's surgery went well. They did the femur relocations, tibia relocation, soft tissue releases on each femur and for the fun of it the dr decided to lengthen his Achilles tendons again since his heels are so tight. he had a team of four doctors and six nurses! Everyone commented on the amount of work that was being done today.

All was well for 45 minutes post op when the epidural quit working, he started screaming and his thigh was swelling very fast.no pain meds were working. He screamed for two hours. They called the doctor on call to come in.

They had to sedate him in the PICU and split the top of his right cast to relieve the pressure. He is currently under that sedation still along with many other drugs trying to manage all of this.Did I mention I watched his oxygen stats drop so quickly the ICU dr started doing sternum rubs on him? Fun times!

I could not imagine getting through all this without Lorna who remained calm yet in control and asked the questions and got things going. If I only get Lorna for today, her trip here was worth it for me. Luckily she feels needed here and has agreed to stay on!

This sedation should wear off in two hours. Please pray they have the right pain meds now on board to keep him better managed. He also lost a lot of blood and may need a blood transfusion. Dr is wanting to see if his body can replenish itself prior to just giving him one now.

On a good note, his feet and legs ate straight. They look normal even in the casts minus the hideous amount of swelling. I can't wait to post a photo. Hint hint Jean!

Not proofing too hard on phone, need to take advantage of sedation and rest!

Than you so much to everyone who has texted, emailed and called. Unable to acknowledge or respond right now but know you encourage my heart and my boy!

Surgery Begins

2011-10-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

8am for my West Coast family and friends

and

11am for East Coast buddies!

I will try and update through my phone but don't expect surgery to be done before

4PM to 5PM EST!

Praying for physician!

Praying for Bryson to tolerate and understand the eventual outcome of this surgery!

Praying for guardian angels to fill the operating room

and

the waiting room! :-)

Recap of Pre-Op Appointment

2011-10-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

Bryson had his pre-op appointment yesterday after getting to hang with his buds from Virginia in the morning. Our visit extended to Shriners where Karen's three boys had appointments at the same time as us.

There was some really good news and then some hopeful optimistic thinking news! Just trusting God who does have it all under control.

1. Bryson's custom wheelchair will not be able to modified for his petrie cast so they are loaning us one and they will store his wheelchair at Shriners until we return. YEAH! (I had been worried about how on earth I would manage two wheelchairs, rental car, luggage and Bryson in his condition at the airport).

2. They will try to do an epidural for 48 hours post op, but kids with arthrogryposis can be difficult to put epidurals in so if they can't get one in they will insert lines that feed pain medicine directly to his bones. They also will be giving him valium which should help. We have always had a difficult time managing Bryson's pain after surgery so this plan sounds better than anything he has had in the past.

3. They are not going to to the foot tendon release now, as the tendon is not as tight as it was six months ago. They can always release it when he comes back in 18 months to have his hardware removed from his legs.

4. However, they are now doing the same femural soft tissue release on the right now on the left too as he feels his left side is too contracted as well. Along with the femurs and tibia being relocated.

Now onto the part that I am just giving my worry over and going with what may come!

5. The nurse said we were very optimistic to think we could get Bryson on a plane next Wednesday. Anyhow, my thoughts are we will see what happens and if it is best for me to stay here with Bryson to recover longer than so be it. My friend Lorna can fly home and when he is well enough I will fly home with him with both of us taking valium!!! :-)

My optimistic adventure loving friend who mind you is a nurse (used to be peds nurse until recently), says she believes we can do it together. He will have to be in some sort of sitting position for landing and take off and then from there we can sprawl him across us with pillows. (I say she gets the cast end!) Give him lots of comfort meds and get him home where he can recover in his own home with family. I told Lorna I know it will be miserable for all three of us, but misery enjoys company and when she gets home she will be so happy she is home!!! Mission accomplished!!!

Prayerful for the next 48 hours that Bryson continues to stay well as well as Lorna, myself and his doctor.

We are Here!!!

2011-10-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

Keeping my boy germ free in public places!

We are staying at ~~one of the highest crime cities in the US~~ RMH in NJ in the hockey room!

This RMH is much more laid back than the one in Philly and even though the crime is supposed to be even higher over here I heard less sirens last night and looking out my window is a well kept hospital.

My GPS (AKA Kelly) did get us off by two streets last night getting here....not so fun! Boy two blocks here makes a HUGE difference!

Trying to get as much school work done prior to being in the hospital.

This boy is driving me crazy! And I want to homeschool!!! Might need to rethink that one!

This is his 100th karate chop while doing math!

Ya know, he's just got to do his ninja move to make his brain come up with the right answer!

I know in a few days that I will be longing to see him do some of his moves!

But Lord have mercy on me getting to that point! When you add his normal ADHD with his nervous-anticipation-of-what-is-ahead-energy it is a toxic combination for the mama!!!

With the help of Kelly, we made it to a Trader Joe's for our groceries!

Now we are off to Target to pick up a few things before my friend Karen from Virginia and her boys arrive!

Jet Plane To Philly

2011-10-21T19:19:00.001-07:00

Bryson and I are packed and ready to go. We leave for airport at 4am. Please pray for Bryson's health to continue to be good so we can just get this surgery behind us. For those who don't know this is what is ahead of us this next week.

Breaking two femurs relocating them to new positions
Breaking one precious twisted tibia relocating it to a better position
Soft tissue releases in his right femur to release tight right hip
Tendon release in left foot
Two full straight leg casts with abductor bar between
Lots of morphine
Little sleep
A dear friend form California joining our journey on Wednesday to help care of Bryson and me!

Good news tonight though we found out that the New Jersey RMH has room for us! That is one stressor off our plate and my dear friend Karen will be there Sunday night with her boys as well. Smiles abound!

Prayers greatly appreciated for Bryson and to keep my Philly Funk at bay!!!!

Round Four - The Good News and Not-so-good-news!

2011-04-19T05:17:00.003-07:00

Good News first! Bryson did much better with this casting. He did not cry at all for the right foot, but then made up for it with the left foot!

More Good News! Gracie did not cry at all. She just turned around backwards in the chair, chewed her gum, covered her ears and rocked! Such a good girl who was working hard for some ice cream this evening!!!

Even more good news!! Doctor does not think Bryson needs the tenotomy right now, doesn't mean he may not have one at some point in time, but not now. Which is great for me as I had no idea how I would manage that with Gracie. One less thing to worry about even though fellow adoptive moms here offered to take her, but that is not ideal either for a child newly home.

Not-so-good-news! We will be spending Easter away from our family as we won't be going home until April 30th! UGHhhh! But we are seeing improvement with the casting and he wants to keep it going. So Friday, April 29th will be last cast and moldings for braces taken. He will then be re-casted to come home for 3-4 weeks.

A little more not-so-good-news is that his heels may not be able to get into the position needed just through casting, but he will keep trying over the next two weeks. If they are not able to get into a better position, the doctor will give him one year in braces to see how they do and then he may need a heel relocation surgery.

But for now this is what his left foot looked like today! I have NEVER seen the inside of his foot so straight!

Round Three

2011-04-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

Feet are moving in the right direction. Things are looking good. However, it still was pure torture for Bryson. He breaks my heart as he literally comes out of his skin when the doctor is casting him. He screams. He sweats profusely. His eyes get blood shot red and he yells, "Mommy it hurts" over and over again! However, he handled about 75% of the cast removal without crying. His saw wound was really the cause of the other 25%. It didn't look great, but then again it has only been a few days.

In the midst of our pain today and survival mode of being here, there is some good news. His feet are responding to the treatment. The doctor thinks he may be able to do the first surgery on Good Friday, but more likely on the Monday or Wednesday after Easter. Then we will be able to go home for three weeks and return for a short trip just to get sutures out and braces on his feet!

Other good news is that we met with the hand doctor and he said our local hand doctor happens to be one of the best in the country and he would not do anything different than what she is doing now!!

Both doctors are encouraging me to become a part of the arthrogryposis support group instead of associating with the clubfoot support groups. I think I have been in a state of denial for the last 2.5 years not really taking ownership of Bryson's overall condition that created his clubfeet, knee and hand contractures and hips out of the sockets.

Gracie did not scream this time but cried quietly in the chair rocking back and forth and turned around. Oh what I would have done for a photo. She was pricelessly adorable!!! She is learning to manage this better too even if it means turning your back, rocking, covering your ears and silently crying. I am hopeful round four will be a little easier for her.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at a very fun ~~expensive~~ children's museum compliments of the RMH!

Bryson's pain management during the day includes his pain medicine, but distraction seems to work very well. It is the nights that are so hard for him to manage. So I am off to sleep early as I need to catch up on some I have lost and some I will be guaranteed not to get!

Round Two

2011-04-14T07:29:00.001-07:00

ryson got his second set of casts today. Let me set the scene for all of you. Over the last few casts in previous relapses, Bryson has gotten fearful of the cast saw. We promised him today that the saw can not cut him. They even put the saw on your hand to show you that it doesn't cut skin.

Today he was doing very well, but then started to cry because his feet were hurting from the movement of the casts loosening. I was consoling him while Gracie was crying in the corner because the sound of the saw hurt her ears. I went over to comfort her when I hear this blood piercing scream from Bryson. I run back over to him try to hold him still telling him it was only vibration he was feeling, but something in my gut knew different by his scream. So now Bryson is screaming and Gracie is rocking and screaming in the corner. (I know you are all wishing you could trade places right about now huh?) The first layer of the cast comes off with red blood filled white cast material, sure enough the resident had sawed into Bryson's ankle bone- a nice 3 inch long gash! They cleaned it up and bandaged it under the new cast. The resident felt horrible ~~as did the mother.~~ I was then consoling him that we are human and things like this happen ~~just not to my son who has been through so much!~~ I assured he and Bryson that everything would be fine as I wept inside!

The doctor saw progress from the first cast and seems hopeful for continued movement. By the sounds of Bryson wailing as he manipulated his feet this time around, he should for sure see more progress on Wednesday when we return for round 3!

The doctor has torqued his right leg almost going backwards as you can see in this photo. And Bryson torqued his own lips for the photo. Hey, it's something he can control at this point...torqued lips!

I am prepared for a long night tonight!

The Plan

2011-04-09T17:48:00.001-07:00

My grumpy boy and Lil' Miss!

My miserable boy!

Mind you I am typing this plan after Bryson cried most the night, which caused Gracie to cry which caused mama to cry!!! :-) We all ended up in the same bed with mom in the middle of Velcro Gracie and Bryson's heavy awkward casts! Fun times I say, fun times!!!

Doctor's Report:

Bryson is in an "extensive" relapse. He has a bone on each foot that belongs on the side of his foot going in a vertical direction that are now both moved about 1.5 inches to the middle of his feet laying horizontally!!!

Plan is to serial cast his feet twice a week while manually manipulating that bone back into place; hence his pain and the reason being home anytime soon does not seem possible
Once his feet are in the final position, he will need a minor surgery on his Achilles tendons to cut and lengthen them.

Bryson's knees are more affected by arthrogryposis than originally suspected by other doctors. He has zero degree movement in both knees in one direction.
The doctor did agree that Bryson's hips are too far up and out of the socket and the socket is not formed well enough to put his hips back in not to mention he is really too old now to try even if they were good. Instead....
Bryson will need a major surgery where the doctor will cut through the tops of the femur near the ball, reposition his legs into a better position and then put plates and screws to re-attach femur. He will then come home in basically a body cast with rod between his legs keeping his legs from moving.

For those who see Bryson walking, you know that Bryson's right foot sets at a 90 degree angle pointing out which is how he broke his tibia going down the slide two years ago. He also trips over that foot often because of it's position so while this surgery sounds horrific and absolutely NO fun. It seems like a good solution to get his legs in a better position since the hips can't go back in their sockets.

Mom's Report:

Sleep deprived and informational overload can't think straight right now, so I am taking the kids in the car to visit Lancaster, PA to visit Chris and her family. Lucky Chris to get to meet me and deal with the emotional wreck of myself! :-)

From Dread to Excited!

2011-03-20T12:13:00.001-07:00

To be honest with you, my upcoming trip to Philadelphia has been anticipated with dread. My mind knows that it is the right thing to do for Bryson, but my heart has been dreading the solo adventure across the United States staying in a much grateful for Ronald McD0nald House with two kids in tow, both with special needs for up to 3 weeks. The airport vision of me pushing Bryson in his wheelchair while holding Gracie's hand and pulling luggage trying to find the shuttle to the car rental after 11 hours of travel keeps me up at night!!! not really!

But something shifted in my thinking yesterday. I have gone from dread to excitement as I am now focused on being hopeful that this doctor will be able to help Bryson's feet and perhaps have some different ideas for his hips and knees. I am excited to see what his feet are going to look like. I am excited that he will have custom 24 hour a day braces that are made by a doctor who is a specialist in Bryson's condition.

I am also getting excited about meeting up with several other adoptive families that I have only met via blogs or through previous adoptions. This will so help pass the time in a city I am unfamiliar with, heck I really have never spent anytime on the East Coast whatsoever; might as well ship me back to China!

People I am meeting while there:

Nancy and I met through our adoption agency when we were adopting Marissa. We were vital support to one another during our difficult Guatemalan adoptions. We missed one another by one week in Guatemala. We have kept in touch via blogs, emails and occasional phone calls over the years. She has since adopted a girl with the same condition as Bryson and also used a local doctor until see found our shared doctor.

Karen and I met through Bryson's adoption. She was also adopting a son with club feet. We missed each other in China by one month. She and I talk on the phone often and email even more often. She has been a great wealth of information for me regarding club feet. Karen lives in a neighboring state and has offered her home to us during our stay. I feel like I have known Karen forever.

Fellow blogger, Jennifer has also offered her home to us, but they are getting close to travel to adding two more sons to their family. We will meet either this trip or the next that is for sure.

Fellow blogger, Chris and I are hoping as well to meet up either in Philly or at their home for the day.

Susan who adopted her son Jacob when we got Gio will also just happen to be at Shriners the first week we are there due to his recent hand surgery.

It feels so much better feeling excited and thinking about our trip as another life adventure than dreading it. Yes, there are many things to dread about it, but so much more to be excited about!

Making Plans to go to Philadelphia

2011-02-27T15:37:00.000-08:00

After conferring with the three top clubfoot and arthrogryposis doctors in the US and each of them coming back with the same opinion, we will be headed to Philadelphia as soon as we can get all the logistics figured out.

Basically all three doctors agree that Bryson's foot/feet are not acceptable. One of the doctors even thinks he may have to have a bone surgery in his left leg/foot.

It hurts me to even look at his foot!

So the plan is to go to the top arthrogrypotic doctor in Philadephia where he will cast both of Bryson's legs twice a week for 2-3 weeks. Once his feet are in a better position, he will be molded for special braces. He will then go back in two full leg casts. We will fly back home for a few more weeks and then head back to Philly for his braces that he will wear 24/7. Yes, I get to maneuver him once again in an airplane potty with two full leg casts on!! Oh the fun to be had!!!

I will be taking Gracie with us. She would do fine with Robert, but I just feel she needs to be with me and it is one less worry for Robert who is in the middle of softball season. We will be staying at the Ronald McDonald House.

There is never a good time for something like this and now after just doing China alone for two weeks this just doesn't seem like the best time. I need to go back to work. Gracie needs continuity. However, we just don't feel like we can ignore what the top 3 are saying in regards to his feet. Bryson's condition is complicated to say the least, but we still have to do our best for him after all his feet were made for walking!!!

We could use prayers for logistics of this all, for my work to allow me to use catastrophic leave for this so I can at least have some income while away as I have not had any for the last two months being out with the cupcake and most of all that this doctor will be able to get Bryson's feet in a better position quickly!

Relapse February 2011

2011-02-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

I know that Bryson's blog gets visitors inquiring about arthrogryposis from time to time, so I decided to post his latest relapse here.

We had a scheduled appointment at Shriners with the hand doctor today. In regards to that appointment, he is now going to be wearing splints on his hands and perhaps will be having a muscle transfer surgery on his hands in the next 1-2 years if they deem he has a viable muscle to transfer. Problem with kids with arthrogryposis is they can be void of certain muscles all together such as some in Bryson's hands and then some muscles they do have are not fully functional.

Anyhow, what does that have to do with him being back in a full leg cast? I noticed prior to going to China that Bryson's feet were turning more than they have been in the past. Due to the arthrogryposis, his feet even though corrected want to turn back in. It is something we are always going to be struggling with. It is a fine line on whether to try to fix or leave as be as long as we can.

When I got back from China on Saturday and saw the bottom of his feet for the first time, I was shocked! His feet were turning to the point the side bone on his foot was now on the sole of his foot creating a ping pong ball size callous type thing from walking on the bone. I showed Robert and asked if he had noticed and he had but didn't realize it was as big as it was until I showed him.

Now our local doctor and I don't always see eye to eye in regards to Bryson's feet. I know the doctor in St. Louis would not have been happy with his feet for a long time now, but we decided we have to follow our local doctor's protocol as we can't keep running back and forth to St. Louis for the rest of Bryson's life.

So at the end of the hand doctor appointment, I just asked her if she would be willing to look at his feet and tell me if I am crazy or if he needs to see his foot doctor. She took one look at his feet and said, "I will go get him right now." He was not seeing patients today, but heard who it was and came right to the room. He told me I am NOT crazy and Bryson's feet have substantially changed since December when he saw him last.

He feels Bryson needs to have a spinal MRI to rule out neuromuscular issues such as a partial tethered cord to see if that is what is causing his feet to keep turning. He started talking surgery again and said that casting could work or at least temporarily hold his feet buying more time. We agreed that we needed to start casting at least the left foot which is more pronounced than the right to see if we can have success with just casting right now. He is not optimistic, but I feel like we have to give it a good shot before we can expose him to yet another surgery.

So back to casting we go which means total loss of independence for our busy guy. He can't walk. He can't go potty by himself. He needs help with everything once again. He is frustrated. I am just sad for him, but so glad he is here where his needs can be met.

Good Bye!

2009-12-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

It is time to close Bryson's blog.sniff, sniff There is a sadness to it as this blog for sometime seemed to take on a life of its own. His blog served many purposes. It started as a life book for him yet evolved into people around the world falling in love with this special boy with arthrogryposis, club foot, hip dysplasia, scoliosis and the best smile ever!

Now it is time to put Bryson's cuteness on my personal blog and allow time for Gio's blog to start it's own journey.

However, with that said I may come back to Bryson's blog in the future if he should require more medical treatments as a place to keep people informed and a place to document his treatment.

Thank you to everyone who has faithfully followed Bryson's incredible journey. He brought many smiles and a few tears to the 50,000 hits that his blog received in one year's time. Thank you for loving my son like so many of you have, if only through a blog! He will grow up to know that two other precious children got homes because of his blog. He will grow up to know that he had an impact on many people's lives. He will grow up to know that he was loved!

Good bye

and

Thank you!

First Gotcha Day!

2009-12-06T09:41:00.001-08:00

As promised, here is a picture of Bryson's first Gotcha day. We celebrated with Chinese food, cake, and a special gift.

I have put this post off for a while trying to think of a profound post regarding the whirlwind of emotions we have gone through this last year with our sweet son. When it came to me, that not much needs to be said, not to mention that all the glory needs to go to our Heavenly Father.

You see, it obvious that Bryson was meant to be with us. The love our family feels for this child is ocean sized! Really, all I can say is that our hearts and lives are FOREVER changed because he came into our family.

There may be many uncertainties that surround our sweet son's health and his physical conditions, but one thing that remains certain is our abiding love for him.

The blessing we have received by adding him to our family is too big to capture in a blog post. But is not too big for our Magnificent Creator who blessed us with him.

Heavenly Father,

You knew long before us that You would intersect our lives together from two different sides of the world. It is amazing how You can place the right children in our homes that are perfect for our families. We are ever so grateful for following the path You paved out for us. Honestly, it would have been much easier to have taken a different road, but then we would have missed this incredible blessing in our lives. Through Bryson you have touched every life that he encounters. You have brought new and old treasured relationships to us because of a little boy from the other side of the world. You have changed our hearts and our lives because of these precious children that just needed a mommy and a daddy to love them forever. Our lives are an offering to You. You lead and we will follow!

Amen

One Year Ago!

2009-11-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

Bryson has been forever in our arms since November 24th 2008. We are celebrating his "Gotcha Day" tomorrow. There has just been too much going on with other family commitments and doctor appts to celebrate on the actual day. His "Gotcha Day" deserves the time we want to invest, not just throwing something together to be able to call it a gotcha day.

I will post pictures tomorrow, but first here is a little video that I have been working on celebrating his first year home!!! Boy, has this sweet child had quite the year. I think he has had more happen in one year than most do in a lifetime!!!

We love you Bryson!!!

You have rocked our world!!!

Good News Dr. Appt!!

2009-11-24T19:23:00.000-08:00

Cousin on left is 2 years 8 months younger than Bryson.

Cousin on right is 4 months older than Bryson.

Great things come in small packages.

Bryson had his appointment with the specialist today and all went well. The doctor had to be one of the nicest we have ever met. He was fascinated with how Bryson could walk with his hips out of the sockets. This is not a common thing doctors other than orthos encounter.

Bryson is now at 30 pounds and 37 inches. He has gained 2 pounds in two months and has grown one inch. (All since I did the elimination diet, but don't tell the doctors that!) Anyhooooo, the specialist believes that Bryson's Failure to Thrive is GONE. Yes out of here!!!!!!

He does not believe that Bryson has anything else wrong with him except that he spent almost 5 years of his life in an orphanage with untreated arthrogryposis and other issues that caused his skeletal system to shut down. He believes the ~~snake~~ worm was an infection ravaging his body.

He believes now that he is getting proper medical care and nutrition he is going to be just FINE!!!!! No speculation at this point regarding his potential size. Dr. does feel like Bryson will catch up to his chronological age within two years. We will follow up in four months.

Nicest part of the day was when we went to leave, the doctor commented on how well Bryson is loved and attached to us. Our response, "He may be a little guy, but he has a mighty ways to make you fall in love!"

Bryson Update

2009-11-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

Yes, that is Bryson's 21 year old brother playing in the play house with he and Marissa. The two littles were cracking up laughing. Kevin is not going to be so happy if he finds out I posted these.
First parent teacher conference - Bryson is performing at grade level in all areas, but most importantly he is obviously loved by all who work with him at school. We are so blessed to have the teachers, aides, OT's, PTs, speech, principal and student care providers that work with him.
Bryson has his appt with the endocrinologist this next Tuesday morning. Lots of talk about arthrogryposis and short stature going hand and hand. I have put my worries aside until we know a definitive on his diagnosis.
Bryson's right leg has been out of the cast for two weeks now. His heel is not in the correct position. It is causing him intermittent pain and inability to wear his night time braces. He is not using his right foot like his left and walks on his heel rather than flat to the ground. We are seeing the orthotist on Tuesday to see about modifying his AFO's, but honestly casting is looking inevitable at this point as is perhaps another surgery. Another wait and see.
Tuesday, Bryson will have been in our arms forever for one year. I hope to have a reflective post prepared for Tuesday.
Prophetic Bryson is walking through the living room, I say "Hey Bryson" and give him a smile. He says, "I know, I know what you going to say. You say, 'I love you' " Now how did he know?

Oldest Son with Youngest Son!

2009-11-11T10:54:00.001-08:00

Might be hard to tell who's the oldest in these pictures, by the way they are acting!!!

Sent one back to Afghanistan on this Veteran's Day and the other to our local parade to support our military....the ironies of this life!

Before and After!

2009-11-02T17:29:00.000-08:00

This is Bryson before cast came off in his size 2T pajamas, see how tiny he is?

This is Bryson after his cast is off and after a two hour luxury bath that was 7 weeks past due!!

Here are the numbers!

343 days that we have had Bryson in our arms

253 of those have been in casts

90 of them have been out of casts

but not consecutive days.

Longest stretch cast free 59 days.

Who's guessing on how long we can stay cast free???????

There will be a giveaway for the person who guess correctly over

365 days!! :)

My Mom is Back!!!

2009-10-26T23:00:00.001-07:00

Love this girl!!! Isn't she the sweetest and cutest ever, Justin, Joe or Kevin???

Yes, I met Jean and Katie in Napa! We had the best time ever!! Jean and I talked for three hours straight when it only seemed like 30 minutes! We could have gone on and on! It would be so nice to have another large adoptive family that lived closer than Minnesota and California!!

But hey, we have made the best of it as this is our third meeting in one year and we are already ~~scheming~~ planning our adoption cesareans (planned travel dates)! China baby, here we come again!

Jean and I started emailing several months prior to our trips to China last year. Then we ended up in China at the same exact time. Just by chance, we met up with one another on the Great Wall.

Then last summer when Bryson and I were traveling back and forth to St Louis we had a layover in Minnesota. Jean and her family came to the airport for our three hour layover.

Now tonight, I got to drive to Napa and have a scrumptious dinner with Jean, Katie and Katie's friend, Abby. Thanks Jean for the invite, delicious dinner and wonderful conversation.

You truly are one of my favorite people!!! Now would you consider becoming a Bear fan and moving to California??

Hee-hee! I Know a Secret!

2009-10-25T20:36:00.001-07:00

My mama is going somewhere special as soon as she gets off work tomorrow. She is so excited, she is going to have a hard time sleeping tonight and an even harder time working tomorrow!!

Any guesses???

11 Months Ago Today

2009-10-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

You were placed into our arms forever! We love you so much Bryson Samuel Yangfan Reed!

The Love of My Life

2009-10-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

I know you are expecting it to be Bryson, after all this is Bryson's blog where I profess my love for him on a regular basis, but in all honesty the love of my life is his father, rightfully so. You see it is his loving heart for the fatherless that allows mine to soar as well!

Robert is and has been a loving father to all his children, but there was something different about the way he held Bryson last night that touched my heart like nothing I have felt before. I knew in that moment watching him tenderly embracing his sweet son that he too loves him just as much as I do(not that I ever doubted). I could tell he couldn't get enough Bryson loving. I could tell he didn't want to put him down. I could feel the energy from afar, that Robert was sad last night too although he would never speak it.

I felt it,

I saw it,

and Bryson knew

just how much he is loved.

Wish you could have

felt it,

saw it

too!

Failure to Thrive

2009-10-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

Warning: The following post is more of a therapy session for myself than a post letting everyone in bloggy land, who too have grown fond of my son, know the results of today's doctor's visit. However, if you are game to join my therapy session continue onward with post.

Going to the doctor today, I kind of set myself up for disappointment. I was convinced that since he had gained weight that I had fixed the problem. So when the doctor walked into the room these were my enthusastic words, "He's gained two pounds in 5 weeks, I am here for you to tell me that his test results are all normal!" Her exact words, "I wish they were!" I think all the blood drained from my freckled face at that moment in time.

What happened next I know all too well, but instead this time I was on the other end. As an educator of children with special needs I know the routine. First, you tell the parents all the positive things about their child and then you gently let them know their delays or areas of concerns.

She proceeds to tell me as she is bringing the computer screen closer to me "Well, let's sit down and go over these results together." She shows me all the areas of the tests that looked good. In fact, he is no longer anemic. He doesn't have Thalassemia, Cystic Fibrous, Celiacs or any of the other things she wanted to rule out. Then she went to the test that showed his bone age. Bryson is more than 2 standard deviations off his bone age. This would not be such a big deal if he was a pre-teen or teenager because for older children that just means they are going to grow more later. However, for Bryson at his age and such a deviation it most likely means that something more is wrong, especially since his growth hormone test and thyroid test were within normal limits.

As soon as she got the test results, she put our referral in to see the endocrinologist. So we should be getting an appt time soon. She wouldn't discuss what it could be. She said that was the job of the specialist and that there are too many things it could be for her to try and guess.

She put a positive spin on it by saying, "At least we are narrowing down his failure to thrive." Have I told you how much I don't like that term? It just doesn't seem right for my son who has so much life, resilience and spunk! I guess I take it personal, like I am not doing something right for him to still be labeled "failure to thrive!"

We left there with me being sad that there is just one more thing that makes life harder for Mr. B. I am sure he sensed it through my plastic smile.

But only as he can do, he brought laughter to my heart as we passed through the swine infected waiting room. He tapped both of my mammaries and said, "Mama, why do you have two babies in your tummy?" I laughed and said, "Bryson those are not babies." He said, "What are they?"

"My mammies son, my mammies!"

A Two Pound Green Dragon

2009-10-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

No pictures to post tonight, but Bryson is still in a cast, a new green one. While his bone is showing new bone growth, it was just not quite healed enough to come out of a cast. The ortho tech had ordered orange and black for Halloween. I tried to convince Bryson to get orange as we have never had that color before, but he was determined to have "green like a dragon"! He wanted to show some school spirit since his school is the home of the dragons!

The best news though is that during the cast change I was able to get Bryson weighed on the same scale I have always weighed him on. He has gained 2 pounds. He is a whopping 29.3 pounds today!!! So in five weeks, since I started the elimination diet, he has gained two pounds!!! I am amazed and so excited.

We have our pediatrician appt tomorrow afternoon, we shall see what she says about all the test results.

BFF- Bryson and Marissa

2009-10-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Mr. B sitting on his big sister's lap to watch Lion King at 6am!

Walked out the other night right before bed and this is what I found, Marissa's arm wrapped around Bryson as they played their games. So sweet!

These two love each other so much!!! Silly me, prior to adopting Bryson I had thoughts invade my head of "what if they don't like each other" and "How can I love another child as much as I do this one?"

Now, I think how could we ever have Marissa without Bryson? They are perfect for each other. Now we just need to get Gio home to ~~stir things up~~ add to the love!

Tomorrow we go back to Shriners for xray to see how Bryson's tibia is healing. He may be able to come out of cast or could be recasted for another 2-4 weeks depending on xray.

Tuesday we go to pediatrician for test results on lack of weight gain. But I have to tell ya that since I did the science experiment Bryson has been pooping formed BIG ones and only once a day! I may have been onto something. Let's see what the Dr says on Tuesday.

My Small Guy 1/2!

2009-10-12T18:35:00.001-07:00

He may be small in size, but he is big in personality!!!

Simply delicious he is!!!

Answers to Digestive Questions

2009-10-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Since my last post about my experiment, I have been asked a few questions and for some reason now the pediatrician is very concerned about Bryson's lack of weight gain. She was not too supportive of my experiment as the elimination diet can affect the results of testing for digestive issues. Shucks, just when he was pooping good to!! (Won't Mr. B love to read this in his blurb book ten years from now!)

Questions about healthy eating: Jump over to my personal blog and you will see that I am a health nut, there is very little processed food in our home. Bryson 80% of the time eats only whole foods with the exception of his organic tortilla chips and cup of noodles that he loves and were basically the only thing he would eat when he first came home. I actually think the MSG in those may be part of the problem.

Questions about Gluten and Celiac Disease: I don't think Bryson is allergic to Gluten because he is able to eat whole wheat tortillas and tortilla chips while on the elimination experiment. And as far as Celiac, which has to do with gluten, he doesn't show the other signs. However, he is being tested for it on Tuesday.

Along with being tested for Celiac's Disease, he is also being tested for Cystic Fibrous, hormone disorders, IBD and some other things that didn't sound as alarming as the just mentioned ones. He will go down to UCD MC on Tuesday for the majority of the tests as we already got some under our belt this week. We will meet with the doctor on the 20th to get the test results.

I had bought him size 24 month pants the other night only to have to return them for 18 month pants. He was sagging big time in the 24 month pants.

I am just hoping and praying it is some simple food additive that is messing with his system and none of these more serious disorders. But it is time to know and not keep guessing or assuming.

It came to me last night that Bryson may have Thalassemia like Gio. When he was first home, his blood tests showed he was mildly anemic. And after doing all my researching it is common for most pediatricians to settle with mild anemia not delving into it further. So Monday morning, I will be asking for them to add that test onto his plenitude of tests.

Mama's Science Experiment

2009-10-05T20:25:00.001-07:00

Following post may be TMI for some, if so go check out Linny's blog!

Many of you know that our little boy has not gained even an ounce since coming home over 10 months ago. We acknowledge that his little body has been through a lot, but not to be gaining any weight just hasn't set well with me. He is still weighing in at 27.3 pounds. He is hungry and eats and still is not gaining weight. He is still wearing size 24 months pants and he will be six in 4 months.

People keep telling me (like I do not know) that he is Chinese and they are small! But even Chinese people gain weight over almost a year's time. Bryson doesn't even register on Chinese growth charts.

This is what I do know:

Since his ~~snake size~~ little worm came out, he has been tested three times for more buddies. All the tests have come back negative.

We have tried the lactose enzyme pills that Marissa takes daily thinking he is lactose intolerant as well. That hasn't helped.

His pediatrician thinks he was failure to thrive for too long and has long term ramifications that perhaps will last a lifetime.

He was blood tested for all the common childhood allergies and no food allergies came back; only dust mites and cockroaches and we have not resorted to feeding him those yet!

We know that he expends more energy just by walking than the typical kiddo, but he is also not daily running around a playground or playing soccer once a week either like typical kids.

He gets frequent tummy aches and has had very few formed stools since we got him.

So I am figuring he is pooping away all his nutrients into the porcelain throne.

Well, at least he is having family fun while he is at it!

Okay, so back to my experiment. After a ~~master blaster~~ bad tummy weekend two weekends ago, I decided to try my own modified version of an elimination diet for him.

I took all food away and started with basics. The first few days he only had rice, potatoes, cooked veggies, bananas and applesauce. Then I added the following into his diet one new item per day.

chicken

hummus

WW tortillas

beans

fish

turkey

noodles

I am avoiding the following as these are high allergy foods. I will start adding one at a time once I get his tolerated core foods identified:

citrus

dairy

soy

nuts

So far he only has had normal formed stools. We still need a gas mask to enter the bathroom, but it is not the mud that won't flush on first, second or third attempt any longer.

He doesn't complain of his tummy hurting any longer either. (This makes mama happy!)

I am keeping a log of everything he eats and once we add something that creates the digestive monster within then we will know what to eliminate from his diet. Exciting, huh?

Apple Hill Fun!

2009-10-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

Help! He's Grown a Tail!

2009-09-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had the littles outside constructing with popsicle sticks and glue. Bryson came inside to show me his new tail. He was cracking himself up and everyone at home with his contagious laughter over his new growth!

Yes, the littles were in their jammies (or Marissa's t-shirt and panties, like mother like daughter!) until 4pm yesterday!

Bryson's God Bless America

2009-09-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

Here is Bryson's version of God Bless America. It is pretty darn cute if you ask me, but then again all he has to do is look at me and I think he is cute! I can see him now singing at the start of a Bears game!

Remember to turn up your volume and pause the playlist at the bottom of the blog first and don't pay any attention to him being the nut that he is at the end of the song acting as if he put himself to sleep by singing!!! Enjoy a piece of what I get 24/7 with this hunk of love!

100% Adorable!!!

2009-09-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

Not sure if I have publicly declared enough just how much I adore this sweet boy, his spirit and resilience!! So just in case I haven't, for the record, I adore every stinkin' ounce of him!!!

Didn't Need a Break!

2009-09-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

There is a reason I have not posted since Bryson's walking video. Call it denial, protection or wishful thinking but what happened on Monday the day after posting his walking video wasn't going to just go away like I had hoped.

You see on Monday, I got a FRANTIC phone call at work that Bryson was hurt going down the slide. I got over to his school as quickly as I could and decided to take him back to work with me. I could see that his awesome over the top incredible aide was devastated that this happened on "her time". I wanted to protect her as much as Bryson. I know how easily this could have happened with me.

In fact, I have stopped allowing Bryson to go down the slides because his little feet point outward instead of up and down so when he goes down a slide his right foot tends to get stuck up behind him...OUCH! Knowing his feet position, his aide held his legs in the right position the first two times down the slide and on the third time she wanted to let him slide like his friends. That is when his foot got stuck up behind him again. His little muscles and body just don't work or respond like typical kids.

Like I said, I was hoping it was a strain or just go away, but after several days of not using his right leg and this morning crying because it hurt, I knew something more was up with it.

Diagnosis: Fractured right tibia

Treatment: Cast for one month, go back for x-rays and possibly casts for 2-4 weeks after that.

This has been an amazing learning experience for us all. As much as we want Bryson to be like every other little boy, we do have to protect him a little more. Which is tough as he wants to do EVERYTHING in full speed.

I have also learned that when he favors something to trust my gut and take him in right away, not wait worrying that I am overreacting (part of the reason I have not posted until now).

This experience has also validated our need to have a good orthopedic doctor locally that treats Bryson for all his orthopedic needs. It also made it clear to us how very much this doctor does care about our son. He personally came out of the OR to take care of Bryson.

A few people have asked how he and myself are handling this latest setback. Honestly, being in a cast is more normal than not for us. It seems we get about a 2-3 week cast hiatus and then the all-too-familiar cast comes back. It appears this IS our normal with Bryson.

Ending on a cute note, after all he is so cute ya know! When the doctor and nurse were done putting on his cast Bryson told them, "No, cast not done, up here" and he pointed to the top of his thigh. He has never seen a cast that stops at his knee! He thought they didn't finish the cast!

Red Light, Green Light Nut!

2009-09-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

Thought you guys might enjoy seeing Mr. B walking these days. He is such a nut and even admits it at the end of the video.

This little boy is nothing short (no pun intended) of amazing!

I can say short as he is not even on the charts for the Southern Chinese Boys for age 5, weighing in at 27.3 pounds and 36 inches at the doctors on Thursday. Not to mention he is closer to 6 now than 5. I better add the song about a peanut to his blog!

Remember to put music on pause at the bottom of blog first! So you can hear my nut!

He's Not Heavy! He's My Brother!

2009-09-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

Warning: First turn up your volume and get a kleenex if this song gets to you as much as it does me! I just imagine Bryson with his new brother when I hear the words and I get all choked up!

We proudly announce a new brother

For siblings 1-8 and no other.

His name is Gabriel Owen Li Reed!

Born into this world on August 29, 2003

We hope for his arrival by May,

As for now all we can do is pray!

His nickname will be Gio

As he, Marissa and Bryson are bound to be a trio!

We knew this would all be fine

When he was born into our hearts in2009.

Help us welcome our new son!

And by they way, we will be done!

Yes, Mr. B will once again be a little brother to a big brother. We are over the top excited to add a brother close to Bryson's age to the mix, who is also from China and healthy with the exception of a mild blood disorder. We have a private blog for Gio appropriately named "GOmakes9", privately email me if you would like to have access to his blog. I will be keeping it private at least until we get pre- approval from China and perhaps always since sourpuss left her mean comment the other day.

Yesterday's clues:

There was a 9! Gio will be number 9!

There was a 6! He is 6 years old, right smack in the middle of Bryson and Marissa!

There was August! August is when we committed to him and he was born!

There was May! May we hope to travel to get him!

There was a G! G is for Gabriel!

There was an O! O is for Owen!

Inside the Box

2009-09-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

There was a 9!

There was a 6!

There was August!

There was May!

There was a G!

There was an O!

My Auntie

2009-09-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

loved my gift!!!!!! It brought tears to her eyes!

A Special Gift!

2009-09-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

Bryson has a special gift to give his auntie tomorrow when all our family gets together to celebrate her birthday!

Guesses anyone on what is inside the box?

Mean Spirited Anonymous

2009-09-04T06:29:00.001-07:00

Thought about not even posting this, but I felt like I will let my other readers who know me address this issue and not me. This has NEVER been about me! You obviously have not spent the hours and days hearing all the research on older children with arthrogryposis trying to get their hips in AND for your information two of the doctors including the one in St Louis now both say they would NOT do surgery on Bryson!

You know I have been reading this blog for sometime. It really amazes me how you always talk about what is good for you and what is best for you. To heck with what is best for YOU, you need to think of Bryson first and you last. Obviously you did not think the Doctor where you are now was good enough in the beginning but now all of a sudden is a burden for you to go to someone who appears to care a great deal about Bryson. Can you explain why if he is so great that you had to go to St. Louis to begin with?

I hate to tell you this but the decision you made regarding his hips is a big mistake. He is not ever going to be a normal little boy unless he has surgery on his hips. Also he is going to be teased when he gets older.
So was that in the best interest of Bryson not to do all you could to fix his hips or was it the best thing for YOU.
We get it that you are tired of all this. Well think about what a joy it will bring to him in later years, when he can do more normal things instead of always having to be the one that watches on the side lines while the other boys get to play ball or whatever.
He is young now, the older he gets the harder and more difficult it is going to be to fix his hips.

I do have to say that anyone who leaves an anonymous comment that is mean is not worthy of hearing my explanation. All I can say to you if your are so TIRED of it stop making the choice to read my blog. I don't want you here any ways. Yes, people will tease Bryson for a lot of reasons with his hips in or out from mean spirited people like yourself! Your mean spirit which is totally and completely off base and untrue will not discourage me in helping others. I will pray that God heals your obviously hurting heart away that allows you to leave such mean comments on blogs. Good BYE!

Actually why don't you email me your contact information along with your credentials in knowledge about what you speak and then we can talk otherwise don't bother coming back.

Plan C

2009-08-31T21:07:00.000-07:00

We had another appt at Sacramento Shriners today. Luckily both Robert and I got to go so we could both take ownership in Plan C. Our two doctors have communicated with one another and at this point we are going to continue care here in Sacramento for a variety of reasons, mostly convenience and realizing that Bryson's issues are not going to go away ~~anytime soon~~ ever. We need to have a good relationship with our local doctor. There will be no more what if's. God placed Bryson in our care and a competent doctor less than 30 miles from our home, we need to go with it. We tried the commuting half way across the country and for continued on-going care it is simply too much for us and for Bryson.

So today, we removed the casts and went back into daytime and night time braces. We are having Mitchell braces made for night time and those will be ready for us on Friday.

Our plan is to see how Bryson's foot does. If it starts turning in again then both doctors agree the only option is surgery; chances are that is where we are headed. But for now, we figured we might as well take Bryson out of casts and let his legs be free until that should happen as he will be casted for at least 8 weeks following the surgery.

Couldn't have been a happier boy in the bath tub tonight! This boy loves his baths!

Purpose of Bryson's Blog

2009-08-26T22:01:00.001-07:00

Bryson's blog like Marissa started out to be a blog that I could journal the adoption process and the first year of being at home. Like Marissa's I plan to print it into a neat book through Blu*b and put it on our bookshelf of treasured books ~~and dust~~. It is kind of like a life book from the time we first laid eyes on our precious kiddos in faraway places until they settled nicely in at home.

But Bryson's blog has turned into something much more than I originally planned. Sure, it is equally as important for the digital scrapbook it will become, but it has taken on a bigger purpose than that, just as sweet little Bryson has for us. Bryson had a bigger purpose in our lives than what we originally planned.

We planned to add another son to our family, fix his feet and start sports. We planned on just parenting another adorable kiddo. But Bryson's bigger purpose was really none of the above, it was to teach us more about ourselves, our weaknesses, our strengths and just how much we could love a child. It was to teach us to trust our faith and one another much more than we ever had in the past.

This blog's purpose for me is an outlet when I am feeling a tad bit overwhelmed with the ups and downs we have experienced over the last nine months. More importantly, it is a place where other prospective adoptive parents can learn about arthrogryposis, clubfeet, hip dysplasia and the truths (good and not so fun) of older child adoption. It is a place where I can share how awesome life is when you walk in faith.

Mr. B's blog serves a purpose!

Edited: Good Morning! Thank you for the encouraging comments! As commenter, Amy, states Bryson's blog had a HUGE impact on their lives. Honestly, whenever I am feeling too vulnerable with this blog, I think of her daughter's sweet smile and that she is now forever home with loving parents who contacted us through Bryson's blog when they were contemplating accepting her adoption referral. One more precious girl with clubfeet and arthrogryposis home! Yes, his blog serves a purpose!

Plan B * Edited with new song on playlist*

2009-08-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

Spent half hour on the phone today with Dr from St. Louis. He is amazing and has a heart for children like Bryson, not to mention expertise in complicated older child clubfeet. He believes Bryson is going to need another surgery that will require putting pins in his heel to keep his heel in the right position.

So here is our plan B.

Get his foot back to the correct position here in Sacramento. Once his foot is down to the last cast fly out to St Louis to have the St Louis Doctor confirm that his foot is indeed corrected. The Dr is also recommending a muscle biopsy to see if there is another underlying problem with his muscles other than the arthrogryposis. Our St Louis Dr is the one that came up with this muscle study. The lab needed for the biopsy is in St Louis, so we need to have it done there. They would also take molds of his feet again and make the $650 braces that he feels will be best for Bryson, NOT the free ones they are already making here in Sacramento. He will need these with or without the surgery for his night time corrective bracing for the next two years.

We would then return home either in or out of casts waiting for the muscle biopsy results and to schedule his surgery in St Louis. He would have surgery in St Louis and would come home in a non-weight bearing cast for 2 months!!!! Basically, he will have been in casts for one year from start to finish!

Are you exhausted reading all this yet?

Poor Little Boy Blue!

I had to add this song so I could laugh! Turn up your volume and you might agree it is the song that never ends!

Little Boy Blue!

2009-08-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

Little Boy Blue

Oh, what should we do?

Your leg is in a cast,

When we thought you had your last!

Little Boy Blue

We love you!

Little Boy Blue

What would we do

If we never had you?

His incredible spirit shines through once again even with his second relapse in less than 2 months! I figured out roughly in my head today that in the nine months that we have had Bryson only 9 weeks of those have been without casts!!! Yet he smiles and makes the best of it for the most part. Have I ever told you how much I love this boy????

Okay down to business and what you want to know because the above is obvious and redundant! :)

Our appt lasted almost five hours today, both Robert and I went! It was a little awkward at first with our doctor. However, by the end of the five hours we had settled back into our old groove. It actually felt like coming home with all familiar faces who care about Bryson. Everyone was genuinely happy to see Mr. B. Our Dr. will be consulting with the St Louis Dr. on future treatment. He had new molds made of Bryson's feet for his new nighttime braces that will attach to the bar. (His foot can be held in the right position, just won't stay so we actually got good molds made today). Getting the new braces made here saved us about $650 because the ones in St Louis are not covered by Shriners only the white shoe kind. We are hoping these will be more supportive than the shoes attached to the bar that he has been wearing at night.

There was talk about possibly doing the tendon transfer surgery if this does not work, but because of his arthrogryposis the doctor is not certain that the tendon they would transfer is capable of doing the job it needs to do. We will cross that bridge if we get to it because either way it is a rickety bridge!

This relapse reinforces our decision why we should NOT do his hips. His muscles would just want to pull his hips right back out of the sockets like what is happening to his feet. Remember the arthrogryposis is what caused Bryson's hips to be out of their sockets and his feet to be clubbed.

While this is no fun, it is all good and tomorrow brings hope!

Sacramento Dr Appt Set

2009-08-17T22:59:00.000-07:00

Bryson has an appt on Wednesday morning with the Sacramento Shriner's doctor. He is agreeing to see Bryson on a day he normally does not see patients. He is willing to follow the protocol of our St Louis doctor, actually he is insisting on it. So that means the two of them must communicate by Wednesday morning.

Bryson actually seemed to be able to put more weight on his foot today and was not complaining as much today. However, with that said his foot still looks like it does in the few posts below. He is also stepping more on the outside of his foot now as well, not a good sign either. At least we have been saved from watching him in as much pain as he for those few days.

Post after doctor appt on Wednesday morning.

Bryson's Foot!

2009-08-15T23:12:00.001-07:00

Bryson's heel is hurting him so bad tonight that we have left the night time braces with the bar off and kept him in his day time braces. This is the third night in a row he has needed tylenol and codeine. He asked me to take him to the Dr. tonight. I told him the Dr isn't open until Monday. I promised I would take him on Monday. I told him he may need to get another cast put on to help take the pain away. He was okay with it. At this point, he just wants his foot to quit hurting him. I do think the cast will support it better and make it feel better until we can correct this situation. I just wish this all happened on a Wednesday instead of Friday. Although honestly, I have seen this coming down the pike way before Wednesday. I suffer from DENIAL! I just want him fixed for him! I just want him to be a boy, go to school, swim and have fun! I thought this was behind us...not yet!

It's Already Happening Again!

2009-08-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

I just can't even believe I am typing this post just two weeks after having his last casts removed. I even thought about not posting, but that is what I have been doing all week as my gut has been telling me something is not right with Bryson's right foot. I guess I was hoping if I didn't mention it, it would all go away. I am feeling like people in bloggy land are simply not going to believe all this drama. Guess proof is in the photo below; doesn't take an expert to see his heel doesn't look right!

Bryson's pain has been increasing so much so that last night we had to give him left over tylenol and codeine from his surgery. His foot is increasingly becoming more difficult to put into his nighttime brace. He cried very hard last night after finally getting it in. After school today his teachers told me that he was crying and complaining at school of his foot hurting. He favors it and doesn't want to bear weight on it.

I sent photos including this one to our Dr in St. Louis. He emailed back confirming my suspicion that Bryson's foot is already starting to turn in at the heel. He is going to call me with a game plan on what we do next. I know that time is of the essence. We may end up back at Shriners in Sacramento this week just to get his right leg recasted so we can keep it from turning more until we can come up with a plan that lasts longer than two weeks!

If anything this allows me to give more grace to the Dr. in Sacramento since one of the leading older child clubfoot Dr's is having problems keeping Bryson's foot corrected. It also makes me realize that we do need to be working with a top doctor in the field as Bryson's case has proved to be anything BUT typical!!

Robert and I are hoping that there may be a way the two doctors can collaborate together so we do not need to fly back and forth to St Louis right now. Of course all of this comes to light on a Friday afternoon! Makes for a ~~fun~~ nerve-racking weekend!

Edited: Wonderful St Louis Dr has already emailed back saying he is out of town and will be contacting me via the phone first thing Monday morning to set up a plan for Bryson. While I am excited to know he is on top of this, I am sick to my stomach that it has once again come to this. I honestly feel that Bryson will eventually have to have the additional tendon surgery with 6-8 weeks of casting. I am just hoping we can prolong it and give him some free time from surgeries and more casting. With that said, I will not be surprised in the least if Bryson is not recasted next week.

I will enjoy this weekend with my family!!!

Refreshing Breaking News!!!

2009-08-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

Bryson only woke up two times last night!!!! One time crying and one time to get covered up. It was a great night. I know many of you have been praying for him (and mama) so I had to bring you this breaking news prior to us going to school/work! I think a busy kindergarten day and swimming before bed is just the ticket for this little guy!

And by the way he had a great second day of kindergarten!

Posting some cute photos of Kevvie doing Mr. B's hair for school yesterday on my other blog tonight if you care to hop over later!

First Day of Kindergarten!"

2009-08-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ready or not here I come!

Waiting outside for bell to ring!

Circle Time

Lunch time with Mother Hen! Whom we adore!!!!

So far so good! Bryson could not of had a better first day of school. He loved it and it appears his teacher and aide love him too, can you blame 'em? The physical therapist made it to his classroom as well to give tips on how to allow him to be as independent as possible.

I stopped by at lunch time. He was with his little friend, Mother Hen (not her real name), who is taking good care of him. He told me "Mama, Bryson no frying, no frying mama!" Frying is crying in Chinglish!

I am hoping he sleeps good tonight after such a busy day! We can hope!!!

Recent Life With Bryson Edited

2009-08-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

Truth be told life has been hard lately with Mr. B. It seems every since we went on our trip the first of June to Southern California life has not been the same. He has been sleeping in our room since that trip and can not fall to sleep unless I am in there. And then add the summer of more casting, numerous trips to St. Louis and now sleeping in this bar for 12 hours, life is hard! He has emotional breakdowns every day, crying that he wants to go back to China. He sleeps at best 1-2 hours at a time and then I am up helping him to turn over, putting a blanket on him, taking him to the bathroom or consoling his broken heart. It makes very very long nights which will be interesting with school starting for him tomorrow and work for me!

When he is happy, he is happy... life is great! When he is sad, it is heart wrenching and he is very hard to console. However, he does want me holding him and comforting while he wails...that is a positive, exhausting but positive.

Tomorrow, he will have been out of casts for two weeks. He still is not walking. He is taking steps here and there around the house, but by no means walking. He will start school in his wheelchair. Boy, I have been in denial here as 10 days ago I met with his principal and told him he would not be in a wheelchair, maybe crutches! Honestly at this point, none of us know what assistive device he will need to successfully navigate his way through school and life.

Right now, I would just be happy with a few full nights of sleep for both he and myself and for him to stop telling me he wants to go back to China all the time. I know he really doesn't and I know he loves us very much, he tells us all the time. Nevertheless, it is hard hearing since we know what is best for him. I think in his mind going to China means going with his family.

Promise you a happy post tomorrow about his first day of kindergarten! Have I told you he has the most wonderful kindergarten teachers ever?!?!? I love them, love them, love them!!!! They were Marissa's last year and they are truly excited about having Bryson in their class this year!

After another crying episode this afternoon, once calmed and back to himself I brought out the few pictures we have of him in the orphanage. I thought this might be a vehicle for communication about his crying. He was excited and enjoyed looking at the pictures until we got to the one of the front of the orphanage. He said, "no good" and then said "Bryson waiting for mama and baba." I replied, "you like living with mama and baba?" He smiled his big smile and "Yes, mama and baba good" and then pointed back to the orphanage picture and said "no good" while shaking his hand back and forth.

Now I have never taken his crying to go back to China personal. I understand he is only 5 and his little world has been turned upside down over the last nine months. However, it has been frustrating not being able to understand what he is really thinking. But if you could have seen that smile when he said "Yes, mama and baba good", it was convincing that he knows who loves him and wants him and that this is where he belongs.

I am grateful for adoption. As hard as some days may be, adoption is still truly a blessing! Bryson has forced me to grow in ways I never would have needed to had he not become my son. Thank you God for this precious treasure!

Adoption Finalized in US

2009-08-03T20:14:00.001-07:00

Bryson got to finalize the adoption by hitting the gavel. He was pretty cute!

Our court appt was 8:30 am in Sacramento, so that meant leaving our house at 7:30 allowing time for traffic and not wanting to miss our court time. So after the court appt. we treated the kids to breakfast and topped it with a dessert crepe before we left!

All three of my treasures from around the globe!

Today we finalized Bryson's adoption in the United States. You can read here about why we did it even though his adoption was final in China. And yes, I did all my paperwork correctly saving ourselves $550. Yippee!!!

We would have loved a picture with the judge, but he was strictly business. He did not give us the impression that asking to take a picture would be appropriate.

As we were eating our delicious breakfast, Bryson in the sweetest voice told each of us individually that he loved us and then finished by saying, "I love my family!"

And do we love him!!!!! It's a forever done deal after today!

Final Hip Decision- Hip Hip Hooray!

2009-07-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

I am sure many of you are tired of following our hip drama around here, so I hope this is the last HIP post for a longtime. But hey look at it this way at least you can choose to visit the blog or not! For us, it has consumed our life and we don't get a choice on whether we want on this hippy roller coaster, no matter how HIP! :)

We adopted Bryson believing he had typical clubfeet. We were excited to bring him home from China as our son, fix his feet and watch him grow up to be like every other kid on the block.

But that is not how our story will go.... with or without his hips in his sockets. Due to his arthrogryposis and hip dysplasia, Bryson will never be like every other kid on the block, physically that is.

Even though Bryson's needs are more than we signed up for, we would NEVER want anything different. There is not a moment in time that we can even imagine life without him now. He is perfect in our eyes just the way he is. We have decided to accept his differences without trying to make his little legs perfect in society's eyes and yet being careful not to make him more disabled than he is. It is our time to just love and enjoy him for who God created him to be not who we thought we could make him to be.

We have analyzed, made spreadsheets, collected data, prayed, seen many specialists around the country and conferred with several more to come up with our decision. We have gone to the ends of the earth for our son. We need to be encouraged and supported with this difficult decision. This decision was not made lightly. It is what we feel is truly best for our son at this moment in time. As an adult, Bryson can make some of these decisions for himself. For now we have come up with a plan to closely monitor his hips via x-rays and if he does start to develop a false hip socket (which creates pain and arthritis), then we will consider operating.

For now, it is time for Bryson just to be a boy.

Not time for:

A nine hour surgery with major risks!

Worrying about controversial surgeries.

Endless nights of anxiety.

Gray areas to hear about.

Vacillating over an elective surgery as every doctor seen regardless of their opinion believes Bryson will be just fine with his hips out of the sockets. It was a chance with surgery to make things a little better for him at a VERY HUGE cost to him.

Four months in a body cast.

Staying in St Louis away from family

NO MORE

Meltdowns from Bryson regarding casts.

Hearing my son cry on an airplane telling me he wants to go back to China because their are no casts there.

YES, time to be a boy.

Time to heal his fragile heart.

Time to learn how to walk yet again.

Time to go to kindergarten.

Time to go swimming with his sisters instead of watching from the sidelines.

Time to know that getting a family doesn't coincide with neverending torture.

Time to have fun with a family that adores every stinkin' ounce of this precious and perfect child.

It's time for Bryson to just be a boy exactly the way he is!

See Ya in St Louis in 100 Days!

2009-07-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Bryson is overjoyed about not having to go on an airplane again next week. So is mama! I could careless if I ever see small packaged peanuts again or hear about how we can use a seat cushion for a floatation device or be reminded to put my mask on first and then Bryson's or sitting and waiting in airports. At least for 100 days, we are literally both feet on the ground as no more casts for Bryson!!

Bryson's feet look amazing! They are straighter than they have ever been and no longer has the major indentation in his heel cord like before this round of casting. Both Robert and I could see a big difference with his feet as soon as they were free from the casts.

The final casts coming off!!!

First things first when you finally are free of casts!

For Bryson it was freedom in a tub again, for mama it was so we could breathe again, those were some stinky summer feet!

His new daytime feet attire!

His new night time feet attire! Yes, no fun, but it is that or feet relapsing and more casts and surgery. Bryson will need to wear these night time braces 12 hours each night for 2 years. Trust me we will not miss an hour of time!

A treat waiting for us in St Louis will be my fellow-adoptive-BTDT-clubfoot-mama friend, Karen. Our son's appts are scheduled within an half hour of each other. So our plan is to fly in on Saturday and out on Monday as soon as our appts are over in the end of October.

Next post will be in regards to our hip decision about his hips!

Time in St Louis

2009-07-29T11:54:00.001-07:00

Bryson loved the baseball game!He was very very good!!!

The best part of the Cardinals game was knowing our son Joe who is deployed was watching the game while we were there. How amazing is that? He just happened to call when the game started to see what we were up to. He then called back asking where we were sitting as he was watching it on TV.

How American is that to have one son serving our country in a war zone watching on TV the all American game of baseball that we are in the stands enjoying for the first time with our youngest son from China?

It made me feel connected to both of them at the same time even though we are on opposites sides of the world right now. It was a sweet moment for me!

We went to the old district of St Charles for lunch. It was fun but not very wheelchair friendly so we had lunch and left!
Posting pictures of doctor's visit soon, but promised Lauren we would bake some bread first! But hint hint look at his legs, something is missing! I'll be back!

A Gift From My Buddy Irv!

2009-07-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

Irv called today to tell me he got us four VIP seats and a special parking pass for Monday and Thursday night's game against the Dodgers! Of course we will not be there on Thursday, but boy is Robert excited about Monday night! The Cardinal stadium is only 2 years old. Irv and Bill took me by it on my personal tour a few weeks ago. It is beautiful!

How special are these men? I feel like they are my long lost uncles. Bill told me on the way out to the airport last time that he and his wife would take Robert and I out to an Italian dinner on our trip as well. I am putting together a gift basket of things from California to give them on one of our trips.

Take me Bryson out to the ballgame!

Downward Facing Dog!

2009-07-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

Bryson's version of me doing my yoga moves!

And Kim H. from KC who posted her phone number and offered any help I may need in St Louis, I tried calling but you were asleep. Please email me at sally4kids@gmail.com and I will get back to you. Thank you for your sweet offer!

Promises!

2009-07-20T20:58:00.001-07:00

Our last trip home from St. Louis, Bryson was very emotional. He was upset about the casts and even at one point with tears welled up in his eyes he asked me to take him back to China because they don't have casts (pull the knife out of my heart, now please!).

I was trying to comfort him and distract him at the same time. I was asking him places he wanted to go with mama because he wasn't going back to China anytime soon without his mama. He told me he wanted to go to a fire station. So on SWA Flight 2441, I promised him that I would take him to a fire station. We talked about all the things we would see at the fire station. It worked and for the most part he was happy for the rest of the flight home.

Well, everyday since last week, he keeps asking me to take him to the fire station. Yesterday, he told me I was taking forever. So I got in touch with my long time friend, Erin who's husband is a Engineer with a fire station and she hooked (pun intended) us up!

As the pictures reveal, Bryson was thrilled to be at the fire station. The fire pole was his favorite thing of the day. He smiled the whole way home!

Marissa and he came home and played fire fighters for 2 hours! So very very cute!

Tonight at grace he says, "Thank you Jesus for the fire station, for the slide (pole) it was really really fun. AMEN"

Thanks Rob and Erin for making Bryson so happy in the midst of all he has going on right now!

California Re-Adopt

2009-07-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

After standing in line with nothing but love in the air for over two hours with Marissa one day last week, I just wanted to post saying that we have our re-adopt hearing date set for August 3rd. For those of you needing or wanting to re-adopt in California, you can do it on your own without paying an attorney, adoption agency or paralegal. It is actually fairly easy to do. We did it for Marissa and now for Bryson as well. Doing it yourself can save yourself up to $550. For us that is a little more than one flight to St Louis!

While Bryson's adoption was finalized in China, by re-adopting him in the States, we know that all our T's are crossed and I's dotted. This also allows Bryson to receive a California birth certificate. We have already had two issues with confusion over accepting foreign documents. Frankly, this just makes life easier. Besides it gives us another special day to celebrate with Mr. B and gives him the security of knowing he is with us forever!!

These are the forms you need to print off the internet. I got mine off Sacramento County Superior Court Family Law page.

Adopt 200

Adopt 230

Adopt 210

Adopt 215

VS44

Accompanying but not attached to Adopt 200, copy of the following; adoption certificate in China, Chinese birth certificate with translations, visa, certificate of citizenship AND originals with notary stamps of Hague Homestudy and first post-placement.

Once you have filled out the above forms and not attach, but paperclip the additional documents with the Adopt 200, you will need to make 3 additional copies of everything. You may not need three of the Adopt 230, 210, 215 and VS44; just do it while you are making copies because you at least need two and may need more always better to have more. In fact, wouldn't hurt to have 4 of everything. You may end up taking a few forms home, but that is better than waiting in the 2 hour line once you had to go make more copies.

Because we had our original homestudy and post-placement reports, we were able to set our date of hearing. So on August 3, at 8:30 am, Bryson will be double legally ours. It will take about 10 months for us to receive his California birth certificate.

Disclaimer: I am not giving any legal advice here, only posting what worked for us in California, specifically Sacramento County at window number 12 on July 14th, 2009 at 3:57pm!

Mystery Visitor Revealing

2009-07-18T20:57:00.001-07:00

It is because of our visitor that we are so lucky to call Bryson our son. She is an adoptive mother of a child with clubfoot. She is a nurse who uses her overtime money to advocate for children with orthopedic needs that are hard to adopt. She has helped many children come home to loving families. Bryson is one of them.

I had been on a Chinese Adoption Yahoo group for a few years. I did not receive daily updates rather would just log on occasionally to see what was up. The day after I changed from not receiving daily updates to receiving them, I saw a plea on the group from her asking for someone to adopt Bryson. She even had put $1000 grant on his file. It was only because of her plea that I would have ever found our son.

The rest is history like the fact that no one else had ever even inquired about his file. Or the fact that our wonderful adoption agency was really supposed to have returned his file back to China 2-3 weeks prior to us seeing his file. Or the cowinkydink that when I told her what we were going to name our son, she replies that she was named after a lady who's last name was Bryson. Does this just scream, "It's a God thing!" or what?

From the very beginning of our adoption journey with Bryson, she has been an integral part of it. She has cried many tears with me. She has shared many joys with me as well. She has never left our side. In fact, after Bryson's second surgery that we all know by now did not go so well, she was ready to pack up and drive down from Oregon to help me.

So it is with great pleasure that I introduce my friend and Bryson's guardian angel, Susan!

She is a lover of orphans with special needs.

She is the reason Bryson is no longer an orphan,

but a son, brother,grandson, nephew,uncle and one loved little boy!

I will never be able to thank her adequately enough!

We Have A VERY Special Visitor.....

2009-07-17T21:31:00.001-07:00

coming to visit us for the next few days. I will give you some hints.

I have never met her in person.

She has a HUGE heart!

She is Bryson's guardian angel and he doesn't know it.

She lives in another state.

She loves me and me her!

Any guesses??? I will post pictures tomorrow evening.

More Than One Way To Cool A Cutie!

2009-07-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

With temperatures reaching 105 and seeing sisters swimming, Mr. B needed to be able to join the fun!

Lost Tooth!

2009-07-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

"It's broken!"

"What Marissa? I get money for a broken tooth?"

"Okay, it was worth it!"

"Never mind the funky clothes Marissa has me in again. At least mom took the pink boa off my neck prior to taking the picture!"

Bryson lost his first tooth today! It has been a funny adventure with him as he has not understood the concept of losing a tooth. He thought his tooth was broken when it started getting loose. He kept telling me to take him to the dentist.

He just seems so little to lose a tooth already. However, with that said, it does seem like he is gaining weight, can't really tell with these casts on, but he seems a little fuller. He has been eating better.

Casts, Cuteness, Confinement and Conclusions

2009-07-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

Bryson saying his night time prayers in St Louis! Pure sweetness!!

Bryson misses Marissa everytime we go. A phone call makes things better.

Doing some ab work while waiting for fiberglass layers.

Sassy pants, okay who wouldn't be after 22 weeks of casting in 7 months!

Bryson has lost his ability to walk with these casts on. He is not so happy about it. He was getting around pretty well with only one, but it is just not going to happen with two. Making a paper chain today to help count down the days. There is a very good chance that July 27th, he will be free of casts and into braces and a bar for the next 2-3 years.

We saw the hip specialist yesterday in St Louis. He believes you do not use a diagnosis (arthrogryposis) to determine treatment, rather Bryson's ability to walk and the stiffness of his hips. Bryson's hips are in the middle leaning more towards the not so stiff side, gray area! Of course, Bryson was not able to walk for him out of the casts and without his leg braces so he could not show him how good he does walk. The doctor would like to see him once he is walking again, but from what he feels and sees he believes Bryson would benefit from the hip surgery.

He referred us to who he says is the best west coast hip doctor who is set to retire anytime soon. I have also heard of him but didn't think it was necessary to get another opinion from outside our insurance, since we can't use them anyway. However, I did not realize he also works at the Shriners in Los Angeles. I will be working on getting an appt with him today. Edited: Go figure, Dr. in LA retired as of June 30, 2009.

I think Robert and I have come to a decision and in another post later (maybe not until we meet with this new doctor) I will share all the reasons, anxiety and prayer that has gone into that decision.

Our wonderful foot doctor in St Louis left me with these encouraging words, "there is no right or wrong decision!"

A View From Bryson's Casting World

2009-07-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

Shaving Cream Fun and Some New Old Friends...IRV!

2009-07-10T21:31:00.001-07:00

Passing time in the summer playing in the shaving cream is one of Marissa and Bryson's favorite things to do!

In 36 hours, Bryson and I are back in route to St Louis! Did I tell you guys the last time we were there the old retired Shriner guys took Bryson and I on a personal tour of St Louis prior going to the airport?

It was very nice of them. They took us by the Arch, not once, not twice but three times to get three different angles of it! They took us by the courthouse where the Dred Scott case was tried, undoubtedly probably one of the most important trials in our US history. We rode into old downtown. We got to see the new Cardinals stadium. It was a nice break in the trip.

So in 36 hours I will be catching up with my new old friends again, good thing since I left Bryson's spiderman shoe in the van last week. But no worries, Irv and I are so tight, I even have his cell phone number in case I need him while in St Louis. So as soon as I realized it was missing I called my buddy Irv and sure enough he had already put it in the glovebox until he picks us up on Sunday at the airport.

Thanks for looking after us Irv! See ya again soon!

In Need of A Good Laugh

2009-07-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

or cry!

Local Dr emailed us a condescending email to say he conferred with Oakland Dr. and states Oakland Dr is and always has been in complete agreement of no surgery!! Even though he point blank told us in his office if it were his son he would operate! So does that mean he would only operate on his son and our son he would leave alone? Is that how we were supposed to take that? Not to mention the three page report from Oakland Dr stating he would recommend surgery for Bryson. Yes, he does discuss the pros and cons and the complexity of the case, but he did recommend surgery.

I am beyond angry and mad. I am down and discouraged. One of the Drs. is lying; either the local Dr or the one in Oakland. This all has to do with their own egos and not what truly is best for our son. I don't feel like I can trust either of them now.

On the positive side, perhaps this situation will help steer us in the right direction and help make the decision easier and clearer in the end.

Isn't there some cotton candy in this roller coaster park?

Edited: Someone emailed me and said I was the cotton candy getting spun around and around and around!!! Go ahead make my day! :)

Doctor's Appt

2009-07-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

Bryson finding great pleasure beating me in a game of "fish" as we kill time in the airport.

Bryson wanted to go all alone on the conveyor belt thing-a-ma-jig, "no touch mama!"

Bryson and I had an uneventful (which is perfectly fine with me, well minus the guy in row 5E that I reported to the could-careless-flight attendants as having the swine flu!) 41 hour round trip from Sacramento to St. Louis AGAIN! Only to get ready to do it again in 5 days! Okay do I need to be honest and tell the bloggy world that I am still in my pajamas at 5pm and plan to stay that way until I take a shower prior to going to bed tonight? Honestly, I have been working very hard today on figuring out ways to get free airmiles, how to get our insurance to pay the $600 co-pay for the braces Bryson will need to wear at night for the next two years, emailing doctors and okay baking some bread!

We had a very good visit with the doctor. He answered my list of questions I gathered from the meeting with the other hip specialist who is recommending no surgery. The St. Louis doctor feels very strongly that Bryson's chance for a better quality of life comes with having the surgery. He feels Bryson's hips have good mobility and surgery would be what is best. He reiterated that if he at all felt he was not a good candidate, he certainly would not suggest it. Without hesitation, if Bryson was his son he would operate.

He had met with another hip doctor regarding Bryson and both agree Bryson's hips should be put back in the sockets. He arranged for us to meet with him on this next Monday's appt to get another consultation!

Bryson came home with one red cast and next week will come home with two casts for two weeks. Then on the 27th Robert will fly back with us to see the doctor as well. There is a chance Bryson will need one more surgery on his feet (you can pick me up off the floor now). Evidently Bryson did NOT have a tendon transfer with his last surgery, which is a good thing since if his feet should relapse or the doctor is not able to get feet right with only casting then we do have something left to do. Now while no surgery is preferred, from how the doctor explained Bryson's last surgeries were very intense surgeries and this is a much more common clubfoot surgery called an ATTT (anterior tibial tendon transfer). He has assured me that he will do everything possible prior to operating on Bryson's feet again.

One of the blessings in disguise that I was able to joke around with this doctor is that due to the castings, we are able to not make any hastily decisions prior to any if at all hip surgery. It is giving us a chance to gather ~~too~~ much information and truly make the best decision possible for Bryson. I am still praying that someone does it for me, but that doesn't seem answered as of yet!

So far we have 3 hip guys saying yes and 1 saying nay. However, all in agreement that this is a very difficult and unique situation. I will just end this post appropriately with HIP HIP Hooray!!!

Jean and Family

2009-07-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

No, we did not coordinate our Wild Olive Tees, had we, I at least would have combed my hair for our new Wild Olives Covergirl page!

What a special treat to meet up with Jean and Sarah AGAIN and now to meet hubby and itty bitty Anna too! I can't even begin to express how wonderful and humbling it was to have them drive to a very busy airport to meet Mr. B and I during our layover. It truly made such a long two days so much more enjoyable. We talked non-stop from the moment we saw each other until our last hug good bye. First time I have ever wished for an even longer layover!!

Sarah remembered us from China. She is such a cutie and has grown ALOT since we saw her in November. Bryson and the two girls made instant connections. I could tell Bryson was processing some of the China talk with his nervous fingers pinching yes, my loose skin!

I promise to post pictures once we get home. I did not bring my laptop on this trip, needed to be as carefree as possible so we tried this trip with just one shared backpack. So far it has worked great! edited: won't do that again! I just hang it on the back of the wheelchair and off we go trudging through the airports.

Thank you Jean and family for making our day incredibly special yesterday. I still have a smile on my face and Bryson is talking about his new friends.

Off to see the doctor!

Bryson's First Fourth of July!

2009-07-04T23:59:00.001-07:00

Celebrated with good friends tonight after we got home from Tahoe. It was a nice evening. Bryson had a great time. Okay, when doesn't he?

Well, we are off to St Louis in the morning and he did tell me he was going to be mad for getting another cast. We shall see just how mad he gets on Monday!

I am actually looking forward to our 3 hour layover in Minneapolis as bloggy friend, Jean is meeting us at the airport with her daughters. Jean and I exchanged emails prior to our trips to China. We ended up in China at the same time and then literally ran into another on the Great Wall. We spent time together in Guangzhou and have become great supporters of one another since we have been home.

I am so excited to see her and the girls. It makes this long quick trip even more worthwhile! Too bad next week's flight doesn't take us back to Minneapolis!

Finding Fun Even With a Leg in a Bag!

2009-07-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Bryson had a grand time playing at the beach today while his sisters frolicked in the freezing water.

I know other clubfoot mama's out there are noticing his left foot out of the brace in most of the vacation pictures. It really was only out for less than 2 hours a day. But hey I am sure that out feels better than in and knowing it is going to be casted again sooner than later makes me say what the heck enjoy your foot out for awhile!

Our trip is cut short since Bryson and I have to leave early Sunday morning for St Louis, so we are leaving Tahoe tomorrow instead of Sunday. We ended our last night here with all five us screaming, yelling and laughing our ~~braces~~ socks off while playing Uno and Spoons. Bryson was the card stacker at the end for Spoons. He thought it was the funniest job ever. Okay, he actually thought he was playing, but what he doesn't know doesn't hurt him...right?

Time in Tahoe and the Bagel Boy

2009-07-03T08:51:00.001-07:00

This boy loves his papa! Enough to melt my heart!

Bryson has been such a good sport WATCHING his sisters play in the sand, water and do all the things he can't do. He just rolls with the punches and creates his own fun!

We asked the skate patrol guy how much of a criminal offense it would be to push Bryson around once on the ice rink. He hesitated and then said, "Hurry up! Go quickly around the edge!" Now that is a man with common sense and not controlled by some stupid rules. He made a little boy very happy by bending the rules just enough to have some safe fun!

Which brings me to the bagel boy at the airport that my son Justin encountered the other day. Those of you who know Justin know that it takes a lot to rile him up. Well, he called me pretty riled up on our first day of vacation. Justin is his middle name, but has always gone by his middle name and not first name. Everything has his middle and last name on it including his credit cards, but since post 9-11 his driver's license has first, middle and last. He gets all his airline tickets with just his middle and last name and NEVER has had a problem.......not until the bagel boy!

At the airport, buying his $3.29 bagel, the cashier refused to accept his credit card. He preceded to tell him that it was identify theft. He told Justin his name was James Ethan Doe and he doesn't go by Ethan. Justin told him to keep his bagel ~~and put it where the sun doesn't shine~~ that he didn't want it anyways.

The bagel boy told him, "No, I toasted that bagel for you. You have to buy it!" Justin told him again where to put his bagel. Outraged over the scene that bagel boy was creating, the man behind Justin told bagel boy he was being ridiculous and paid for Justin's toasted ~~with love~~ bagel!

Okay, I know this post really belongs on my personal blog, but this mama bear couldn't help it once I got started with the nice skate boy it lead me to mean bagel boy. Kind of like if you give a mouse a cookie, he will ask for milk!

Not One More But Two More!!!

2009-06-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

I love my husband's spirit!

After Bryson came out dressed up yet again like a fairy, Robert whispers in my ear, "I am now convinced that we need to adopt another boy and not a girl. He needs a brother his age not another sister!" He walks away only to come back and say, "No, one of each. A boy for Bryson to play with and another girl for Lauren and Marissa to dress up!"

Gotta love the hubby, fairy and fashion designers!

Blitz, Buds, Trains and Peace!

2009-06-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

Bryson got to enjoy the last two days of our church's Blitz camp that Lauren worked at and Marissa attended along with 900 other kids! Our amazing church puts on an incredible kids program not just during the summer but every Sunday (or Saturday nights for people with middle school students).

The other darling boy in the photograph is my guest writer-when-Bryson-is-in-the-hospital's son. I told her yesterday that those two boys I could just gobble up. There is something about both of them that anyone who meets them LOVES!!!

Bryson passing time in a cast during the hot summer heat playing with his brother's 20 year plus train set! This is so cool because 7 months ago Bryson had no clue on how to play with this train set. It was more like a train wreck! Now he is building cities, bridges, D*sneyland, Animal Parks and lots of fun stuff! He is entertaining himself for hours with it. I just love it and can't get enough of watching him play!

Being peaceful and thoughtFULL with his hip situation. Robert and I are gathering questions to ask the doctor when we head back to St Louis. Our feeling right now is that we need to be CONVINCED that surgery will greatly improve Bryson's quality of life now and in the future to proceed.

Another Convincing Opinion!!!!

2009-06-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

Can't even wrap my brain around the dr appt today to get a good post out, but know many of you are waiting to hear the outcome of today's visit. He came right out and said he would never operate on Bryson's hips. He gave us some pretty convincing reasons mostly that is spelled arthrogryposis! Basically, he said he can fix the hip dysplasia and make his hips look great on xrays, but he will never be able to fix the arthrogryposis which is the source for the hip dysplasia to begin with.

He is going to talk with an internationally renowned doctor of arthrogryposis and hip dysplasia for us about Bryson. He is going to confer with our St Louis doctor as well. He is getting us medical journals that reinforce his theory on leaving Bryson's hips as is. It is basically our decision to do it or not, but as he said we have no time to waste. In fact, by the end of this year it is too late. He will support us post op, if we decide to do surgery such as cast changes or whatever so we don't have to travel back and forth to St Louis. He was graciously offering us any assistance even if we don't take his opinion. He was very nice and spent ALOT of time with us.

He firmly does not believe that Bryson's quality of life will be any better with his hips in their sockets. In fact, he says there is a better chance it could be worse off. He does not believe we can even hit a home run with Bryson, maybe a double.

He also put it very nicely that Bryson will never walk or be like us physically with his hips in or out due to the arthrogryposis. He will always have to adapt to navigate his way through life. He did say that he will amaze us with what he will be able to do and once again told us how brilliant Bryson will be. (We already know that!)

We will continue to pray, to gather additional information, pray, talk to our doctors, pray and then Robert and I will be forced to make what we feel is the best decision for our son.

Anything is Better Than.....

2009-06-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

if he had stayed in China.

I hear this all the time and honestly at one time felt it myself early on in the referral stage of our adoption. But the powerful miracle of adoption that happens at the moment your child is forever placed into your arms, you instantly want only the best for your child and you become unwilling to accept less.

Sure you can look at Bryson and say, "Wow, his feet look great. He is walking to a certain degree. He is happy. He is so much better than 7 months ago!"

But he is my son and I want so much more for him!

Please keep us in your prayers for our appt tomorrow at 1:45. I pray that this doctor will be in agreement with the last two and decide that hips back in is better than hips left out!

Question On A Lot of People's Minds

2009-06-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Can't the casting just be done in Sacramento? A big fat NOPE!! That is what got us into this situation. Similar to the hip situation, there just are not many doctors who are trained to treat older children with unrepaired clubfeet. Babies with clubfeet born in the USA are treated shortly after birth. The situations are completely different. Then you add Bryson's arthrogryposis and it throws another curve in the treatment.

The doctor we are seeing now is one of the top clubfeet doctors in the nation that has great success with the most difficult cases. Bryson's being classified a difficult case.

At this point, we are not sure the hip surgery can be done here, but it would be the best for Bryson. (And for mom, as traveling in an airplane with one leg in long cast and other in brace is difficult enough, can't imagine with a body cast, I would be bumping more than his head in the potty!) Like I have said, the doctor we are seeing on Thursday is one of the nations top pediatric hip doctors - he just has a reputation for being more conservative with a child Bryson's age. Without a doubt, it sounds like surgery is a very viable option for Bryson and would be what is best for him long term.

So for now, we will be traveling back and forth to St Louis for his feet correction and then coming up with a plan for his upcoming hip surgery.

Things That Have Made Me Laugh While In St Louie!

2009-06-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

* Trying to take Mr. B to the 1x2 foot cubicle they call a bathroom on the airplane. I managed to bang his head on the low ceiling after picking up his shorts that fell on the disgusting bathroom floor.

*Bryson doing number 2 in the 1x2 with no where for me to go except putting my face in my shirt!

*Listening to "Elivra" on the radio when the Shriners picked us up at the airport.

*Bryson beating me at "go fish" three times in a row. He laughs so hard, I start to laugh just as hard. I am sure we look more than silly in the dining hall cackling to ourselves.

*The little lady who sat next to me and asked me how many children I had and when I replied "8" she said, "And how many are yours?" EIGHT!!!!!!!

*Snuggling in bed with Bryson listening to him learn how to read sight words. He gets so proud and we just laughed like two little monkeys jumping on a bed!

*The fact that this day seemed never ending, like the everlasting gobstopper day. I still can't believe it is not almost over! All I can do is laugh!

Air Miles Needed!

2009-06-22T12:39:00.001-07:00

If anyone has air miles that need to be used, we would greatly appreciate it. The flights for two of us are around $1100 if we are able to get them 14 days in advance. NWA, UA and Southwest have decent flights from Sacramento to St. Louis.

Not asking for any that people will use, but certainly don't want to see any going to waste if we can use them especially with the great possibility that I will once again be out of work for a while for his hip surgery and recovery.

Also more about the visit today and post below later, just need more processing and digesting time to get it all out.

Life is good!

More Hurdles To Jump!

2009-06-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

This is how the morning started. I woke Bryson up and took him potty, putting him back on the bed to get him dressed. He climbs back under the covers, precedes to tell me I am naughty for waking him up and that he was tired and wanted to sleep.

On the way to the hospital, he kept confirming no more hospital and no more casts to which I confirmed. YIKES!!! I should have known better!

Yes, Bryson is back in a cast on his right leg. His foot is turning, which is what I have suspected from week one of being out of the casts. His left foot is turning too, but the doctor feels it can be corrected in one casting or during the body cast after the hip surgery.

Yes, I did say hip surgery. This doctor was even more encouraging about operating. He felt Bryson's hips have very good movement. He said if there was not enough movement he would never recommend surgery on an older child.

He also feels that it would be best for Bryson and our family to have the surgery in Sacramento. He anticipates him being in a body cast for 6-8 weeks barring no complications. So our prayers are now that the doctor on Thursday agrees with our last two doctors. He is one of the very best and it would be the best scenario for Mr. B.

However, with all that said the hips can not be corrected until the feet are in the right position. We will be making weekly trips to St Louis now to get his feet recasted. Yes, this makes me sick to my stomach when my gut told me months ago to come out here. Yes, I will let it go! Yes, we will just do what is best for Bryson.

My sweet resilient boy!

Captain B!!

2009-06-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Call it preferred treatment for simply being adorable! Yes, the captain came and got Bryson during our no-change-plane-layover and put him in the cockpit. Bryson was so excited and shy at the same time. I told the captain he had just got back from D*sneyland so he probably thought this was another rollercoaster. Bryson preceded to tell him the Pirate ride was his favorite at D*sney.

He let him stay in the cockpit for about 10-15 minutes when we needed to go back to our seats. After the plane took off and was in flight, the captain came on the loudspeaker and said, "Hey Bryson, I bet that take off was better than any Pirate of the Caribbean ride!"

Mr. B was a celebrity once again!

The shuttle will be here at 7:15am to take us to Shriners. Bryson is already telling me "no hospital, no casts!" He is a smart boy that kid is!

Here's to tomorrow what ever the outcome! God is good and has plans for him regardless of his hips being in or out of the sockets!

We Have Landed!

2009-06-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

Bryson and I arrived safely in St. Louis. We are staying at the Haven House which is similar to the Ronald McDonald House. As I am here alone with Bryson far away from my family, I can't imagine having to come stay here for an extended period of time for his surgery and part of the recovery. I do not like being this far from home, from my kids and my adoring hubby. I like being at my home! Then I started counting how many times Mr. B has fallen since we have been here and that makes me think how can I not come stay here if I GET to?

As soon as I get Mr. B to sleep, I will post some excting pictures of our flight today. Let's just say the captain was smitten with my adorable son....imagine that! :)

(Edited) Vacation Regression

2009-06-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

Great trip, lots of fun for Bryson, but realities of older child adoption comes back home with us in our baggage. Since we have been home, Bryson has been telling us how much he loves his home. He has become more dependent on me and insists on sleeping in our bed.

He has fallen into his grieving and sobbing each night that we have not seen in months. We know it has to do with probably feeling relief that we were once again home, but also is nervous about the upcoming airplane trip. I have been trying to prepare him that he and I are going on an airplane ride and are coming back home. I reassure him that we are NOT going back to China. I think between his first vacation away from home and this upcoming airplane trip he is nervous. It makes my heart sad to see him get so upset.

On the positive side of things, if you recall he has never wanted to be in our bed. He only agreed to it for a short time after his horrible second surgery and then it was back to his bed. He is now seeking comfort from me in MY bed and wanting me to be there with him. It kind of feels like three steps backwards and two forward or is it really two backwards and three forward?

Edited: Some wonder how do we know these behaviors are due to attachment, older child adoption and such. It is obvious when you have adopted an older child some of the behaviors that are typical or not. For instance, his cry is completely different in these episodes very similar to this post....- a sadness that is almost impossible to describe. Also without disclosing actual behaviors, there are some orphanage type behaviors that accompany this crying that are painful to see. Reactions of a child who has NOT been loved and nurtured from day one like bio children have been.

Mr. B Loves Everything Disney!

2009-06-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

To say that Bryson loved D*snelyland would be an understatement!! He truly was the happiest kid in the happiest place! He loved everything and was such a good sport with his limitations. The Pirates of the Caribbean was his favorite.

We Robert drove all night so we could get home and sleep a few hours in our bed instead of an expensive hotel and having to beat LA traffic today. It feels great to be home.

Bryson woke up this morning and said, "D*sneyland so far away? Bryson likes being at home."

And to end this post on a Bryson funny.

He and I were using the handicap stall in the bathroom. I had Bryson go first and then I went just like we always do.

In his loud little voice he asks me, "Mama go poop?"

I said with my finger to my mouth and in my quietest voice "no, Bryson just pee".

With a question and pure cuteness in his eyes he replies, "Mama's poop sleeping? Pee-pee awake?"

Check this out!! I Love My Bryson!

2009-06-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

Jodi, fellow prospective adoptive mother, teacher, friend and artist just made this painting for me as a gift!!!! I am so excited to get home and see it in person! Go check out her blog and her etsy page where she is raising money for orphans in Ethiopia. Jodi and her husband are currently waiting for a sibling set referral from Ethiopia.

Thank you Jodi! Thank you for your constant prayers for Bryson. Thank you for your loyal blog following even though we have never met (only live 15 minutes apart though) and only know each other through a mutual teacher friend. Thank you for blessing me with this gift today!

Go check out her sites. I am sure she would love to make a personalized painting for you and your child and at the same time you will be making some lives a little bit better because of it.

Wild Animals On The Loose!

2009-06-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

Baby Cheetahs just a few days old

Bryson feeding the deer and using him for support to stand! Nice dear!

Yes, that is a real lion!

We are having the best time!! Thanks for all your words of encouragement regarding our upcoming decision and my little mental storage box while on vacation! It's working!!

Feet in the Sand!

2009-06-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today Bryson put his feet in the sand for the first time ever!

Best part is we got to be with him to see it!

All those months of casts paid off!

Just look at those feet!

It feels so good!

Kisses for papa!

Diggin' this!

The beach! The beautiful beach! No crowds, no shops trying to sell my kids whale or dolphin ~~crap~~ stuffed animals after they finish every ride or exhibit! Nope! None of that, but lots of fun playing with sisters, having a picnic on the beach and enjoying our time together as a family! Genuinely perfect day!

Nothing But Fun in the Sun!

2009-06-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

Finally have some internet service in our room, but this silly mom forgot to take her camera to Se*World yesterday.

But just visualize one of Mr. B's adorable smiles times 1000! It was so much fun to watch him on the rides, seeing all the shows and loving life!!! His happiness is my happiness!

Doing well with my mental box! Haven't even tried to open the door once except to call Shriners to finalize some of the housing and transport plans. Kudos to Shriners family services department. They never cease to amaze me.

Off to some more fun today. Promise to post pictures soon.

Bryson Makes 8!

Hip Infection

A little Trooper!

I Love You MOM!!!

He's Home!!!

Thankful Thursday from the RMH!

Last Night in Hospital

Final Plan

We have a plan!

A better morning report

Sick Little Man

It Really Is a New Day

New Blood New Day (Updated)

Day Two of the Big Surgery

Surgery Update

Surgery Begins

Recap of Pre-Op Appointment

We are Here!!!

Jet Plane To Philly

Round Four - The Good News and Not-so-good-news!

Round Three

Round Two

The Plan

From Dread to Excited!

Making Plans to go to Philadelphia

Relapse February 2011

Good Bye!

First Gotcha Day!

One Year Ago!

Good News Dr. Appt!!

Bryson Update

Oldest Son with Youngest Son!

Before and After!

My Mom is Back!!!

Hee-hee! I Know a Secret!

11 Months Ago Today

The Love of My Life

Failure to Thrive

A Two Pound Green Dragon

BFF- Bryson and Marissa

My Small Guy 1/2!

Answers to Digestive Questions

Mama's Science Experiment

Apple Hill Fun!

Help! He's Grown a Tail!

Bryson's God Bless America

100% Adorable!!!

Didn't Need a Break!

Red Light, Green Light Nut!

He's Not Heavy! He's My Brother!

Inside the Box

My Auntie

A Special Gift!

Mean Spirited Anonymous

Plan C

Purpose of Bryson's Blog

Plan B * Edited with new song on playlist*

Little Boy Blue!

Sacramento Dr Appt Set

Bryson's Foot!

It's Already Happening Again!

Refreshing Breaking News!!!

First Day of Kindergarten!"

Recent Life With Bryson *Edited*

Adoption Finalized in US

Final Hip Decision- Hip Hip Hooray!

See Ya in St Louis in 100 Days!

Time in St Louis

A Gift From My Buddy Irv!

Downward Facing Dog!

Promises!

California Re-Adopt

Mystery Visitor Revealing

We Have A VERY Special Visitor.....

More Than One Way To Cool A Cutie!

Lost Tooth!

Casts, Cuteness, Confinement and Conclusions

A View From Bryson's Casting World

Shaving Cream Fun and Some New Old Friends...IRV!

In Need of A Good Laugh

Recent Life With Bryson Edited