We are thrilled to be home with our wonderful new blessing. We are all adjusting and getting used to the time change, etc. Mia is a happy baby and is crawling around great. She loves when we sign songs to her and she starts doing the motions for "Itsy Bitsy Spider", etc. We are doing baby signs and she is picking up on what we are saying. She has been through so many changes in the last 3 weeks and has been amazing. She is very attached to me and Brad and her favorite place is in our arms. At home she has also loved exploring and enjoys pulling up and checking things out. Caroline and Sarah are being great "helpers" and love having their sister home.

When we adopted Mia we requested a child with orthopedic needs. Our homestudy agency explained that just like when you have a biological child there are always unknowns. Mia has a club foot and in 98-99% of children with club feet there is nothing else associated with that. (Club feet effects 1 out of 1000 children in the US...effecting boys 2 to 1). When we received Mia's referral Brad and I talked about the possibility of her having something else with the club feet and we both felt at peace if she had something additional. My nickname was 1% because if that doctor told my Mom there was only a 1% chance of something happening to me...it did!

It turns out that Mia is like me in that she is in the less than 1%. In addition to her club foot she has a tethered cord on her spinal column. Our sweet little baby has been to several doctors since she arrived, has had an MRI, went to Iowa to see a club foot specialist, etc. We are just beginning some tests but her club foot is caused by the tethered cord. She has no sensation in that foot. The other foot appears to have minor effects with a muscle that is too tight.

The Pediatrician said that a tethered cord is rare but she has seen more cases lately. They were all 5 to 6 year olds who had no symptoms until they started having accidents (bladder) out of the blue. With further testing they discovered a tethered cord. We are very fortunate to catch Mia's so early. The doctor said it is not due to lack of folic acid...just a "fluke".

One sign for her was the dimpling on her lower back. Ironically both of my sister's children have the dimpling too but they have been checked out last year and are fine.

Mia's orphanage said they will not place children with Cerebral Palsy for adoption. Mia's condition is different than CP but we think if the staff knew about her tethered cord, she would not have been allowed to be put up for adoption. Without surgery 90% of children with tethered cord have severe side effects. We feel incredibly blessed to have her in our family and can not imagine this angel without us.

http://www.muhealth.org/~neuromed/tetheredcord.shtml

We met with a Ped. Neuro in Chicago who said that her surgery is going to be complicated and needs to happen in 1-2 months. We are currently researching Ped. Neuro's and are hoping to have the surgery sooner since some of the effects may not be reversible.

Please pray for our angel that her surgery and recovery goes very well. Both she and Sarah are sick so Brad and I have been trading off holding each one. Our suitcases from China are still in our kitchen but we are trying to concentrate on the kids right now. It is amazing how natural it feels to suddenly have Mia here. We are so thankful to God that she was matched to our family.

Her club foot is on the back burner until we take care of her back. We will go back to Iowa this summer for 3 weeks. There is a world re-known club foot specialist that will cast her every 4-5 days and then does a tenotomy. While Mia was there we saw several families with newborn baby boys that came from all over the country for his expertise. If you ever have a friend who has a child with club feet, I will be happy to share info on this amazing doctor.

Thanks for your prayers,

Holly Clark

List of Events

9/12 - Accepted Mia's referral                         3/21 - Shopping!!!

2/27 - Travel Approval                                     4/8 - We are Home!!!

3/1 - Consulate Appointment                           5/26 - Surgery update

3/3 - Travel Plans Complete                            6/18 - Surgery Prayer Request

3/13 - Forever Day                                           6/27 - Surgery

3/14 - Chang De Visit                                       7/1 - Making progress

3/15 - Girls photos                                            7/13 - Back home and happy

3/16  - Embroidery Institute                             7/25 - Casting update

 3/17 - Changsha to Guangzhou                        8/2 - 4th Cast day

3/18 - First day with group                                8/25 - Home from Iowa

3/19 - Caroline's Birthday                                 10/24 - Ready to enjoy life

3/20 - Medical appointment                              3/2/07 - She's Walking