A Mom on the Run (after Sidney)

We are finally enjoying beautiful spring weather and experiencing a healthy family! Eli and Sidney’s heads hit the pillow and Tom and I enjoy SILENCE.

As Eli rides laps on his bike, Sidney stands by and discovers an entire world outside. Watching her run as Eli chases her around is the most awesome feeling. Her hands have been the main source of medical treatment over the last few months, but her leg is her other special need. She has a limb length discrepancy of over an inch (Sidney is missing her fibula bone with fibular hemimelia on her left leg and has four toes which is normal with this condition), so we purchase regular athletic shoes and have an lift placed in the sole. This requires a prescription and a trip to the orthopedists office. Her left foot is significantly narrower than the right but has increased in length and is almost the same size as her right foot. When we purchased her first pair of shoes, they were two sizes apart. Now the length is close enough that we can purchase one size.

Sidney’s leg was something we were completely aware of until the day we first met. There is always a lot of buzz in the special needs community about undisclosed medical issues. When a medical professional looked at her special needs photo, she commented the leg looked shorter. We tossed around the idea of taking it to an orthopedist but decided it could be the angle of the camera. Of greater importance was that it did not change anything.

All of this has been at the forefront of my mind, because I am in the process of creating a digital scrapbook of our trip. It was somewhat emotional to look back. For some reason, I thought about the possibility of her limb length discrepancy on the flight over, but it caught me off guard on Gotcha Day. Our agency told us they hoped the information was all included in the medical profile but could not tell us with absolute certainty. Every parent in a special needs adoption travels with the expectation that there might be more than listed. We were also unaware of the webbing on one hand as her hand was curled under in the photo. We knew all of this could be a possibility, and she would probably necessitate surgery of some type.

None of this changed our resolve or our feeling that God had given us our daughter for a reason, and her purpose in much life was greater than her physical anomalies.
Having said this, I will tell special needs parents that it is shocking the first time you confirm there are undocumented issues. Tom said we were taken aback, because we were caught off guard. But a couple of hours later, I was fine. I think I was in a state of shock, because we were actually in China in the process of moving forward with almost four years of plans. I am certain Sidney looked back at parents who equally had the proverbial look of a deer in headlights. No parenting with Eliab could have prepared me, and yet, there was a natural feeling about holding this little girl who I never met. I will say with all honesty, it felt like the first time I held Eli.

OK, I have again rambled off of my point. Enjoy the photos of the kids trying Dad’s new work boots. I also included some photos of her hand. It is completely healed.