Happenings of Late…

I thought I would write a little update today of everything that has been going on. Lots of fun stuff!

First of all we had her ophthalmologist appointment and the doctor basically confirmed that her diagnosis from China was accurate. She has been diagnosed with nystagmus, microthalmia (small eyeballs), and possibly a partially detached retina and/or cateracts. The opthamologist couldn’t tell if it is a detached retina or just a cateract behind her eye so he has referred us to a specialist near USC who specializes in everything she has. The good part is that he also speaks Mandarin, so I feel better about that since he will be able to explain to her what he is doing. At this past appointment the doctor didn’t speak Chinese and Hope was terrified because she didn’t know what was going on. We had to lay her down and the doctor put a bunch of eyedrops in to dilate her pupils, then he had to use a metal clamp to keep her eye open while he looked. It was heartbreaking and I could barely stand to watch! She was screaming in terror, and I was supposed to be holding her hands and feet down. At that moment, I just had to take a deep breath, and surrender. It was so hard to watch, but then after the appointment was over, the nurse handed me a note that she had written to me! It was so encouraging because she said that meeting us had really encouraged her in her walk with God, and that she wanted to offer me her friendship. It was a really nice note, and totally encouraged me, especially after such a hard episode!

We have been realizing that Hope’s life is touching people and she doesn’t know it yet, but she is truly making a difference in this world! Some friends we met in China are pastors of a church in South Carolina. We spoke with them on the phone and they said that they talked about Hope in their sermon last week! That was so special to us to think that people in South Carolina are hearing about her and are encouraged by her little life!

We were also contacted by a wonderful woman who has been following our blog. She is an author and is writing an article about Hope in a magazine for the visually impaired. I will post links once it is written.

The other day, I started telling Hope in Chinglish that we know all her friends from Bethel. I started to name them off, and she got a shocked look on her face. It was like she had no idea that we knew about her former life. She got really quiet, and listened to me intently. Then we went to the Bethel website, and listened to the audio files of the children singing together. She had such a huge smile on her face, and she was laughing and clapping to the music. I think it helped her to process everything, hearing familiar voices, and hearing me talk about her life at Bethel. Since then, I have noticed that she is much more surrendered to being here, and her aggression has lessened. She seems much more content. Now, we listen to the music off the website together every day, and she really enjoys it!

We had another neat moment the other day when I took Hope to a Chinese market by our house to get some of the things we miss from China (noodles and toast)-the toast is hard to describe, but you cant find it in any US stores the way it is in China, and Hope loves it. The checker was a nice woman who speaks Mandarin. I asked her to tell Hope in Mandarin, “Your mommy told me to tell you that she loves you very much and will keep you forever, and that she is so happy to be your mommy.” When Hope heard her begin to speak, she stopped, leaned forward, and her eyes started moving back and forth really fast. She got a little smile on her face, and then she said, “Ma!” It was cute. It felt good to communicate to her in a language that she can actually understand. I really want her to know that we are keeping her, and that she doesn’t have to worry about someone suddenly taking her away.

She is also gaining weight, and I am happy to report that she has gained 4 ounces in the past week!

Well, thats it for now! We will write more soon! 🙂

Love,

Kim