A Difficult Decision

20 years ago, we made the very difficult decision along with Erika who was now 8 years old, to have her feet amputated. It is funny how the Lord has a way of preparing you for the unthinkable. We knew Erika had pain and we knew there were many scars and wounds on her feet. We never thought about amputation. Her braces were not in the right direction which meant her legs didn't bend at all. Once they were removed, her legs could bend a little bit! When we went to get Erika all we knew from the orphanage director was "her joint don't work".

After consultation with the orthopedic surgeon, his suggestion was amputation for the best life outcome for her. This was a whole new level of thinking! And I reminded myself that Sarah was an amputee already and I was already familiar with prosthetic legs and surgeries. Isn't it amazing how God doesn't remove our obstacles but walks us right through them? He provided for Erika and Sarah to be together for life, orphans together, amputees together, sisters together!

So, the decision was made and Miss Erika wanted Purple Tennis shoes which went on the gurney right into the operating room! Purple tennis shoes were a symbol of hope! While we didn't know what the outcome would be, it didn't matter, it would be better than the pain she was dealing with all the time and her inability to really walk.

Would she really be amublatory? It was a chance we all agreed to take. And is she! OH YES! She walked down the aisle at her wedding to her favorite song. She learned how to drive with no accommodations, and she walks by faith.

Mike's dad Ed, made this slide show for us and I'm, so thankful he did. What a journey. And YES she walks and it is such a joyful thing in my heart!

THIS AND THAT

 I got a message asking if Miss Erika was ok after her fall at church yesterday!
I replied, "SHE FELL?"  Stinker doesn't like me to know so I won't worry.....
So this was her face when I asked about her fall.  "WHO TOLD YOU? JACK?" LOL

 Mr. Jack is so sweet.  She said he took good care of her. :)  And she was thankful. :)

This was our fruit haul from Sprouts!  :)

Erika's Fall, Mama's Worry

Mike asked if I could run some errands for him this afternoon which I LOVE to do. I like going for a little drive to pick up parts and just listen to the radio.

When I got home, to my SHOCK, I saw Erika LAYING by the large dumpster near the drive way.
She looked up at me and smiled.  Then I saw Alli and Mike fairly close by.....

He motioned for me to NOT get out of the car.  She was waving me by, like "Mom, I got this!"
I pulled up to Mike and rolled down the window.  He said, she fell and she wants to handle it all by herself.  I think we need to let her." 
I felt tears begin.... I HATE it, that things are so hard for her.  And she is such a good sport! For that I am so thankful.
She REALLY wants to do everything herself, and for the most part we let her....I mean, we did send her to Colorado to go Skiing... be still my heart!   But laying by the TRASH just hurt my heart!

So I waited in my car and Mike said, "Look in your rear view mirror"..... We both watched with Alli, as she GOT HERSELF UP!
She FIGURED OUT what to do and solved her problem by HERSELF!

We all shouted for joy and I honked the horn and waved!  

I still felt teary, but she didn't see it.  She saw me smile and wave and cheer her on, because that is what I'm supposed to do. 

But it still hurts.

Erika's Walking Journey

It is important to see this.  Erika had ZERO hope in Ukraine. The situation in Russia is pretty much the same.  Erika was ready to be sent to a mental institution on the very DAY our paperwork arrived at the orphanage.... that "Intent to adopt" paperwork.  The orphanage director emailed us.... "ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE GOING TO ADOPT HER?" "HER JOINT DON'T WORK!"
We assured him as soon as we could get there, we would be there for her. We had never met her. She was Sarah's best friend, left behind. :(

7 months later. SEVEN LONG MONTHS.... not NEARLY as long as many have to wait, we went to get our daughter.  She was already ours, we knew it. A love for her grew in our hearts as we gazed at the few pictures of her that we had.
That day came..... she came and sat between us, "My Matchika, My Papitchka".... the translator had tears. She said that had never happened.
Erika was nearly 8 years old, HIDDEN in the baby house because of compassion by the director. He didn't want her to go to that awful institution. His institution was bad enough!
Two days later, Erika had a terrible black eye. She was tripped by a worker; the same worker who cursed in our faces because she knew she could.  Erika told us through the translator.
We saw Erika struggle down stairs in ICE, barely being able to scoot in her famous "bricks". :)
She called her red shoes that, I'm sure that is how they felt. They were also about 3 sizes too small, as were her braces, and when we tried to help her, the orphanage workers scolded us and yelled NYET!
She had tears as she struggled to get around.
She was our baby and was being abused in front of our eyes. She had bruises on her wrists and arms from being grabbed roughly and yanked around. 
The worker who cared for her black eye mocked us saying, "Your mama is fussing over your eye!"
We could not WAIT to get her out of there.
But we had to be careful. We didn't want to make anybody mad. But inside, my mama heart was burning.
When we were finally able to spring her from her prison, the first thing we wanted to do was give her a nice warm bath.  She was terrified to have her braces removed. Her stocking were stuck to her legs, feet at toes, where there were DEEP wounds on top of wounds. IT WAS AWFUL.  Poor baby was in terrible pain.  Once we got her in that bath, she was in heaven. She had never had a real bath.
She rocked back and forth at night to begin her sleep routine. My tears could not be contained.
The depths of abuse and neglect were so raw and real.
Children do NOT just rock back and forth because they like it. They have been neglected since BIRTH.
(Alli, as bad as her past was, does not rock, because she had a mother and father, brother and sister for her first 7 years)

My father in law Ed, put this video together of Erika. I am so thankful he did. :)  I miss him so much.
He died of complications of cancer treatment 3 years ago.
Ed LOVED Erika. :) He loved all the girls.  I wish he could have met Alli. He would have loved her too. :)
Erika has her own blog, you can see it from my side bar, or HERE.http://theadventuresoferikaminich.blogspot.com/

As you think about it... Pray for the children left in orphanages all over Eastern Europe who are without hope.  There is rumor that there is a bill before the DUMA that will allow for the adoption of Special Needs children.  Please pray this goes through.  Pray for those who voted for this bill, that hearts of compassion will prevail. 
We adopted Erika in Ukraine during a ban on adoptions. BECAUSE she had special needs, we were allowed to go and get her.

New Legs

 Yesterday Sarah finished her appointments for a new leg.  She brought it home and likes it very much.  Erika's legs are still a work in progress.  We have had double appointments for the last few months trying to solve problems with fitting....
Staying in a small room for what seems like an eternity can make one rather.... well.... SILLY. :)

 The Great Leg Mix up. :)

Sarah thinks her leg looks rather large!

 Trying it out!

 I think she likes it!

And into the elevator to go home!
Erika will have 2 more appointments before delivery. They sent her home with unfinished legs so she can take notes on problem areas .We go back September  6 and turn them in, and then..... this LONG ordeal will be over. Until next time. :)

Erika Plays Guitar

 

Today she was practicing outside and the cat helped himself into her guitar case to listen to the music. :)

Erika's arms don't bend because of her arthrogryposis. An operation in Ukraine put them in a permanent bent position so she could learn how to feed herself and have more use of them.  Now they are in the perfect position for guitar! :) 

Erika Is Up....

She has managed to get herself up on crutches and taking a few careful steps.

Things are healing!
Ok, now that I have typed this.... I looked out the window and saw THIS! :)

 She walked out there on her crutches!

 

Guess Who's Getting New Legs Made!!!

YES SHE IS! :)  The next step to walking again. :)

Waiting to see Dr. Herring

 Camera wars!

 Down to prosthetics to be casted

 Casts done by Dwight!
The first part of having prosthetics made is casting the leg.  They do this very quickly and then cut the casts off so they can make a mold.  If I remember, we will take the camera in two weeks and take pictures what the process looks like.

 Dwight and a very happy Erika. :)

Victoria Needs A Home

Once again I woke last night to with this little one on my heart.  I began to pray for her.  Is there a family out there for her?  She is 9 years old, just 1 1/2 years older than Erika was when she came home.
Victoria also has Arthrogryposis.  (apparently from  the waist down) I have never seen her waist or feet, but my guess is, they are not very useful.  She is able to get around, and if she had a wheel chair, she could probably REALLY get around.

Is there room in anybody's heart for her?  She is available for adoption and has been listed on the Reece's Rainbow website for years. 

Arthrogryposis is not the end of the world. Handicaps are not the end of the world. They just make us function differently, use our other abilities better and shine for the Lord. 

She needs a loving home, to feel a mother's touch, to have a daddy hold her and to have a chance of a life outside of a bed. Wouldn't it be awesome if she had sisters?

In her country, she has no chance.  When we were in Ukraine with Erika, trying to get her around even the biggest city was nearly impossible.  It literally required we CARRY her wheelchair down flights of stairs and back up again, with NO WAY to get onto the metro.  We could not cross major streets because the crossing was underground.  Just to get her into a few stores was difficult and at some, we had no access.  We had to walk away.
Supposedly there is a "wheel chair" access to get under ground. Do you know what it was?
Cement on either side of a stair way, at a STEEP level (no ramp, this was above stairs, so how to get up there was ?????) and then at the bottom, a CEMENT WALL!  Our translator told us that a wheel chair bound man tried to use it, and died.  The mayor was sad, the town was sad.... not really anything has changed.
We saw no access for anything there.  I take that back, there was ONE sign for handicapped parking... but it was no different than any other parking, and at the airport, there was a handicap sign on a bathroom door.  I was going to help Erika use it, and the door was locked.
That was it folks!

Please pray for Victoria. Please pray for her future family that the Lord will bless them with the finances and ability to go and get their little girl. Pray for her heart to be ready, and pray that she can recover completely from such severe neglect.  Poor baby.

Post Surgery Update

Erika and I went to see the Surgeon this a.m.  We have a better plan to manage pain, and then in 3 more weeks we will start prosthesis.  She has too much swelling right now.  But the good news is, she has 3 sisters to keep her distracted, and they are taking VERY good care of her. :)

She is looking forward to walking again, but it will be a couple of months.  Alli LOVES to steer her around in her wheel chair, so does Sarah.  Anna, has been very helpful in every way.

I have been touched watching the girls love on their big sister.  It is not easy being down....and Erika VERY MUCH is not inactive, even with arthrogryposis. 

We will all get through this TOGETHER!

A Pocket Full of Blessings!

Erika has been having more pain today and struggling to keep it under control.  It is amazing the timing of this Pocket Full of Blessings that arrived! 

She said, "Wow, I am feeling better!" :)

Thank you so VERY MUCH all of you over at Blessed By A Child!  What a wonderful group of artists! The Lord used each of you today to cheer up  my girl! :)

Blessings to you!

We Are HOME!

We arrived last night, just in time for Friday Night Pizza night.  The ride home was a little stressful, as stopping suddenly was not at ALL comfortable. Unfortunately, the Texas drivers that pulled in front of us, continuously, didn't know Erika needed them to be more courteous.

We opted to take the long way home and get off of the crazy Friday Night Freeway.  By the time we got home, we needed to give her pain meds and FAST.  But everything settled, and this a.m. she was up and ready to get into her wheel chair.

I think we made the right decision to come home.  We BOTH feel better.  My back is really not good, and one more day on the parent bed would have deemed it necessary for me to have my own morphine pump. LOL

Here are a few pictures of our stay:  Erika has her own set of pictures too. :)

 Arrival at our room.

 School days never get a break.

 The amazing menu!  This is just 2 pages of menu items. There were more!  The hospital now has room service. When you are hungry, you order, any time of day until 6:00. 

 A room with a view:

 Erika's bracelet said, falls, so we wrote "Forgets" on mama's. :)

 Getting ready to go.

 The Elevator Ride

 The X rays

 The Man! (Dr. Herring)

 Erika and Robert  (he makes legs)

 Erika and Pastor Justin

 Dr. Herring again

 The other Dr.... (learning with Dr. Herring.  He likes "hips and spines". :)

 Visiting with sisters and daddy

 The nicest nurse in the world!

 Mama and Anna

 Miss Wanda.... (she also makes legs)

 Kiley... a friend from Camp.

 This is the intake area.

 And there she goes with the anesthesiologist.

 Back in our room after surgery.

 The morphine pump is doing it's job. LOL

 Visits from some very special people. :)

 Anna came in and fell into my feather bed. She misses me. :)

 Alli trying out Erika's new transportation.

 Erika received a Raggedy Ann and Andy Doll, handmade by some very special volunteers.

 Anna still misses me. :)

 Good byes from Daddy.

 Mommy and Erika did our best at Art Work. These will be fired next week and we can pick them up when we go back in two weeks. :)

 Piano lessons in the child life room.

This is Stewart, Erika's new prosthetist.

He is a really nice man.

And here is where the doc said, we can go! :)

Erika has pictures from inside the operating room believe it or not. LOL