Fixing Hearts and Sailing Boats

Last week got past me without a blog entry-but I wanted to capture the things that marked our week so here they are, a few days later than usual.

For over a year we have been tracking a heart condition that was discovered in Haiti when Joanna Sleyca was still living at lifeline.  The doctor in Haiti felt surgery was necessary and also felt they did not have the ability in Haiti to make that happen.  She was put on medication and we began to pray and pursue an expedited adoption process (that was a pipe dream as things still took a very long time to complete).

This week we were able to take Joanna to Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC for a cardiac cath procedure that closed the PDA (extra blood vessel) in her heart.  A simple and fairly non-invasion procedure which took less than 2 hours was completed to insert a small mesh plug that will stay with her forever and block the flow of blood in a area where it should not be flowing.  What could have been an outpatient procedure turned into an overnight stay at the hospital.  Though I was nervous because we had left Naomi at home with Nana (first time she has been without me), the stay overnight gave doctors a chance to measure pressure levels in Joann'as heart and eventually rule out another condition that we thought might exist.

We will continue to monitor her heart functions, but the procedure was a success and Joanna is a whole new child.  Her snoring has stopped, her energy levels are up, and she seems to never tire!  Oh, and she is sassy and  spunky and thinks she is adorable in all she does.  (which her brother James agrees with)  By the middle of this week she will resume all normal activities (really all she wants is to go to the pool!)

Yes, she did choose her own outfit!

While we were at the hospital, Papa and Nana hosted a boat making party for the other 5 kids.  Our American Heritage Girls Troop held a Raingutter Regatta this weekend so the grandparents helped the kids get their boats ready.  New things are hard for Naomi.  If she is not sure what to expect she often gets frustrated and then chooses not to participate.  I was pleasantly surprised when we returned fro the hospital sty to see that she had created a beautiful boat along with the other kids.  My expectations were low on Saturday as we went tot he regatta.  I was certain that she would enjoy watching the races, but confident that she would be hesitant to participate.  Boy was I wrong!  She raced her boat 4 times and really enjoyed participating with the kids.  I was thrilled for her that she was willing to try something new and she was very proud too.  For the rest of the day she told me, "Mom!  I did that.  I did it like this!"  (then she would act out the blowing of the boat in the gutter)

Since many of you have asked, I wanted to include a note that Naomi has been talking about her birth mother.  Fabiola came up in conversation this week twice.  Yesterday when we were at the grocery store, a very sweet African American woman stopped to chat with us.  After she walked away Naomi said that in Haiti she had a mom like that one.  (meaning her mom looked like that).  I told her i had met her mom and that I had a picture of her.  She got very excited and looked forward to seeing it when we got home.  When I showed her the photo later she was giddy.  She told me that she liked this mom (Fabiola) very much.  She was a good mom and she was very pretty.  At no point was there sadness in her voice-no emotion other than recognition and love.  She has not shown any signs of grief or loss since we have come home for Haiti.  She seems to have accepted her new place in life and not be missing her old one.  Yesterday when we were out in the yard she said something about Haiti and America.  I hugged her and told her she would stay with us forever!  Jokingly I said, "You'll never leave me, right?"  and she said, "Yes mom."  I was surprised until she finished with, "I am going to the trampoline with the kids."

This week Naomi also told me that Bailey was her dog.  She has fallen in love with him.  This was something that concerned me greatly before the girls came home as I was unsure how they would responds.  Joanna tolerates him, but she does not love hi the way her big sister does!  Naomi is quick to share a treat with him (though she did learn the hard way this week that chocolate makes him VERY sick so M&Ms are not for Bailey) and she is always looking to love on him.