Selah is home and we can tell that she is very happy! St Joe's did an amazing job with her discharge, everything was coordinated and our home health nurse was allowed to go with me to pick her up ( on the clock) Everything went like clockwork, no glitches, her discharges are complicated as she is discharged from the hospital back to home care...it's really involved, this time it just went smooth!
On the way home she had her eyes rolled up in the way she does when she is stressed out. Once she got home, she was very jumpy. It was very much like she was when she was still in the orphanage. I've not seen her like that since the accident. In one way it's good, because it showed awareness. If you touched her, she'd jump. After awhile she calmed down. She was also so stiff, no range of motion in her knees and little in her arms. her sweet nurse worked on her and she has relaxed some. At the hospital her heart rate was in the high 90's, now it's in the high 60's:) Perfect!
Her whole meds are changed around, one gone, three new ones for now...it's going to be a bit complicated as we don't have night nursing until next week but we'll survive!
Sometimes I feel that I can't do alot to make Selah "happy" but I can see that being at home makes her so happy. I'm thrilled to have her in her nice clean bed, in her pretty gown that was handmade for her, on her pillows, with her nice ceiling fan going... to know your child is contented is a big thing, especially when it is harder for her to communicate.
Someone asked me if we'd ever consider putting her in a nursing home and my answer was "over my dead body" literally! We just rescued her from an institution, there is no way she is going back to one! As long as God gives me health and strength, that will never happen. It's hard, our lives are so changed but it is worth it just to see her little body relax, and be content, knowing in some way she is home!
You know how as a parent, you love to see your child happy and nothing is as sweet as a contented sleeping child...that's how I feel tonight...
After the accident we had a doctor who came and talked to me about putting her in a nursing home and gave me a list of reasons why we should....let's just say that doctor was NEVER allowed back in Selah's room..... we've had a few more folks who have suggested that...and they probably won't again....LOL It's not that we're martyrs , it's just we believe we should treat our loved ones like we would want to be treated, if the situation were reversed.
One of my brother in laws, cares for my husband's dad in his home with arranged nursing care. It's a beautiful example of sacrificial love for their dad. I believe in that kind of love.
So we are all happy tonight...
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I had gotten a few questions...
One was "what happened to Selah's siblings?" I think one brother and sister got adopted by Ukrainians some years ago. Both children were healthy and "normal". One sister is in a orphanage for children who are "slow". I believe there was an older sibling too....
Another question was "will you post about the children the monthly grant and gifts go to?" YES! I will start in May so everyone will have a whole month to get involved with it! No gift is too small...really.... I had someone give me $3 towards our adoption and it was exactly the last little bit we needed for a specific part of it. So no gift is ever too small!
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So a year ago we were getting ready for court...I wasn't too nervous but you can't help but be somewhat nervous. I will give more details tomorrow. I still can't get over that I let 3 days go without pictures. What was I thinking? I think it was becoming like "Ground Hog Day" and we were wearing the same clothes and so were the girls so what was new? LOL
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So please pray for Selah, pray that she stays calm and gets completely well ( and we do like to sleep LOL) I still pray daily, throughout the day for God to heal her and bring her back to us. Even tho she was upset, it was good to see her have a reaction like she did, since we've seen her do that before the accident. She was way over stimulated. I think the hospital makes her think she is back in the institution. Once we were home, she kept looking at me, more than she usually does, really focusing on me like "mom are we really home?" it was bittersweet.... Pray that she wills stay home and not more sickness!!!! Thank you!!!!!
"Our life maybe a crazy life but it's our life" I'm married to a pastor of a small rural church, who is also the prison chaplain. We have 5 kids, each with their unique story. I love gardening & we all love the outdoors. Our life is not the way we planned it to be, but we are learning to trust God in every area. Come and read about our life as we live it to the fullest!
Maybe Selah needs her "slow" sib. After all, Shad needs a little one to hold for pictures!
ReplyDeletewe asked about her but she is much older and although classified as "slow" whatever that means, she is in a place for children who have behavioral issues. We just couldn't chance that with our little ones. I do want to find out more about her and was going to look into her situation, then all this happened.... It could be that she is in the wrong place for her....
DeleteJoining with you in that prayer, friend!
ReplyDeletethank you!!!
DeleteI read on another special needs adoption site (called A Child to Love) about a lady who adopted children developmentally similar to Selah now from US INSTITIONS. Although these children were physically cared for, unlike in Eastern Europe, until they had a family, they had no chance to be loved, taken outside etc. and they made progress being in home environment (small progress, similar to Selah, but still progressing and learning). Like the children in Eastern Europe, these children were also left in beds all day and neglected before they had a family. Most of them were born with conditions such as severe brain malformations and abandoned by their bio parents at birth. Selah is developmentally much younger than she was before the accident but she is still aware of things such as her Daddy, being taken outside for a swing, interesting things such as the sensory toy at the hospital etc. Unless a child has severe behaviors that make them dangerous to be in a home environment (violence, fire setting etc.), NO CHILD belongs in a institution. I think it is wonderful that you have the support to keep her home and give her as full of life as possible.
ReplyDeleteI've heard about those type of nursing homes but have heard that most if not all of the children have NOT been given up for adoption so they aren't eligable. Thankfully I do not think there are many of those places. I asked a friend of mine who works with SN kids in foster care in Florida about this and she was not even aware of any. There are just a handful of nursing homes in Florida that take children at all. I'm not sure about other states. I DOUBT very seriously that ANY place in America is like an instituion in Eastern Europe!!!! Believe me, if there were I'd think they'd be on the news....
DeleteThis lady adopted most of her children in the 1980s and 1990s when the state institutions were still around. And no, the conditions weren't as bad as Eastern Europe, the children were physically cared for/just not given love/stimulation.
DeleteSomeone I went to school with had a child with a severe brain developmental disorder (I think it wasn't all the way developed.) Her child is in an institution. She's a single person, so I'm don't second guess her decision.
ReplyDelete