Trip #2 to Philadelphia/Shriners

November 6,2011
We arrived yesterday in Philadelphia without any problems-thank you Jesus! Smooth flights all the way. We were able to fly in this time thanks to my very dear friends Shari and John-we love you guys and you will be blessed! Anyway we were able to get a room at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Camden New Jersey where we stayed last time.This time we got a boys room-we are in the farm/tracker room. Though it is not in a very safe area it is really very nice here. We have met some very special people here again this time. We will be in prayer for sweet Emma, 4 years old and diagnosed with cancer. She is from England and she and her parents and older sister are here for the next 6 months to get her the treatment she needs that isn't available in England. We met Ricky who also has arthrogryposis like Gideon and he is from Ohio, between Cincinnati and Dayton, very close to us. Anyway today was a lazy day of just hanging out and getting to know some of the people here. Tomorrow we head to Shriners for Gideon's cast change and to see Dr. VanBosse again. We hope to get a better idea of the future trips and the upcoming surgeries. Below are some pics of the last 2 days. Will post more tomorrow after our visit at Shriners.

Gideon made some fun chocolate treats

Silly Gideon

Making Plans for Next Philly Trip

October 25,2011

Well things are not falling into place for the next trip as I had hoped. They will not schedule any of our visits on a Friday. They say they do all serial casting on Mondays only. So our next appointment is for Monday Nov 7th-a day I am scheduled to work so I need to try to arrange a trade with someone. The other issue is I can't get a flight with Miracle Flights since it is so close=they need at least 10 business days. That means we either pay for flights or rent a car and drive-our car is not dependable. Either way it is a big expense. A friend suggested checking with a local Shriner to see if they would help in any way. It's worth a try. We will see. I am really worried about driving this by myself. I am putting it in the Lord's hands to work it all out. The visits after that will be every 2 weeks and we will be able to get on Miracle Flights for those. I can get through this next one because I can do all things with Christ who gives me strength! Also be praying for our friend Bryson. He is another sweet China treasure with arthrogryposis who is in Philly right now and will be having surgery on Thursday! Thanks to all who are following along and will be praying for our mighty warrior Gideon!

New Doctors and New Plans!

Gideon's "Guppy Smile"

Gideon just after being casted.

We had the pink Daisy room at the Ronald McDonald House

At the RMH with Ronald

On the plane!

October 23,2011
I haven't posted in quite a while and really so much has been going on. We have brought home 2 more treasures and this time from the Ukraine-our sweet Abby and Clara. Both are 9 years old and blessed with an extra chromosome. They are adjusting beautifully. Both are in school and loving it!
Gideon recovered well from his surgery in January but his doctor in Delaware retired. We knew we needed to find another specialist but with the adoptions this summer we had put it off. Well we finally made our trip to Philadelphia this past week to see the infamous Dr. VanBosse. We had heard from many families that this was the doctor to see and that he could work miracles with our special kids with arthrogryposis. We also planned to see Dr. Z for his arms while there. Anyway we had met up with some wonderful families in August that had children with arthrogryposis and learned a lot. One grown girl with arthrogryposis was a wealth of information. Tracey also told me about Miracle Flights-southwest airlines provides free flights for children needing medical treatment- So Gideon flew for free and I only had to pay $50. We stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Camden New Jersey, another blessing. Anyway we had our appointments on Friday. We met Dr. VanBosse whom we just loved and he really came across very knowledgeable about Gideon's diagnosis. His first plan was to cast Gideon right away to straighten out the feet-again! He then informed me that the osteotomies that were done on Gideon in January were not done high enough on the femur to give the best results so he wants to redo that as well as some other surgeries on knees and feet. He will not be able to do any surgery for about 6 months though because he is so booked up. They will let us know a date soon. Dr. Z saw Gideon for his arms and hands and he also wants to do surgery to straighten out his left arm. His left hand turns outward because the humerous bone is twisted so he wants to do that and do surgery on the hands to bring the thumbs out to a better position. He would like to do this at the same time as Dr. VanBosse so again not sure when. But right now Gideon needs to go through the serial casting=being recasted every 2 weeks-meaning a trip to Philadelphia every 2 weeks for about 5-6 times depending on how long it takes to get the feet straight. Then new AFO's (braces) for his feet. It was a lot to digest. We will make sure Gideon gets the treatment he needs no matter what. The cost will add up though. The cab from the taxi to the Ronald McDonald house(RMH) was $50 and then back again. The cab to Shriners Hosp was $30 and then each night at the RMH was $15 not to mention money for meals in the airport and hospital. I guess I will need to so some fundraising. Tim is still unemployed (since july). So things are tight but it works out that he is here with the kids when I am gone.
We thank God for leading us to these Doctors who have high hopes for Gideon. We are praying that one day soon our boy will be walking! We have been blessed in so many ways and cannot thank Our God enough. I will update with each trip to Philly and let everyone know how it is all progressing. I will post pics too!

Cast Removal Today!

February 24, 2011
Today is the day for the casts to come off! We are all so excited but especially Gideon.! I will take pictures and post these later today. We cannot wait to see the results and to give Gideon a bath!

Doctor's appointment cancelled!

January 20,2011

Well due to the new snowfall we cancelled our postop appointment since it was up in Mason Ohio. It is rescheduled for Monday evening and in Cincinnati so that is closer for us anyway. Gideon is doing great as far as the pain is concerned. He hasn't had any pain medication for over 3 days now and he is sleeping great. His biggest complaints are that he is hot and sweaty and itching all over. We try to keep him as clean as possible with sponge baths daily and rubbing him down as far as we can reach in the cast. Also just scratching his head feels so good for him. He is bored too. The kids are home today due to snow so he has some entertainment today. They push him all over in the wheelchair and play wii a lot. Praying for the next several weeks to go quickly and for good healing of his bones. Praying he is able to stand straighter when these casts come off and get right back into therapy. Praising God for all he has done for this precious child--he is truly a mighty warrior to me!

He is the Best Patient!

January 11, 2011

Gideon has had a great day. All is good. Now the long 6 weeks begins. We return to the doctor on Jan 20th. It was a snow day today so all the kids were home. Crazy day! At least he had company and friends to play wii with.

We Are Home

Feeling so much better today. The smile is back. Such a mighty warrior!