Adelie's Days

BIG deal day at the ocularist

Nancy Ann Wartman — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 02:01:00 GMT

Adelie had a big deal appointment today at the ocularist in Indianapolis. (Kathy Hetzler, Hetzler Ocular Prosthetics in Indianapolis, IN - she's wonderful with children!!!!!) Tom, Adelie and I went to this "consultation" to see if she's a candidate for a prosthetic eye over her little eye, rather than having surgery to remove the little eye when she's 7 and then get a prosthetic. We left the appointment with a clear shell in Adelie's eye. She'll keep this in for 4 weeks (bathe in it, swim in it, sleep in it). I can take it out and put it back in, but it's fine if it just stays in there for 4 weeks. Then we go back and get another slightly larger clear shell, keep it in for 4 weeks, then back for yet another slightly larger clear shell. These don't hurt - today it feels a little weird, but not painful. Then when she goes back 4 weeks after that, it's a week or so before Christmas and she'll get her custom painted "matching" eye!

We got to Indianapolis a couple hours early, had lunch at a yummy Chinese buffet and then played at a playground for 30 minutes until it was appointment time. She was apprehensive about the appointment, but did very well. She really didn't like the 15-30 seconds that she was held to insert the shell (I tried to not let her see my tears), but other than that she managed very well. She seems so comfortable with the shell now that I can imagine this working well.

In the photo here you can see a clear shell. It's like what Adelie has, however Adelie's current shell isn't hearly as thick or tall. It seems flatter - it helps her eye get used to something being in there and will help her eye lid allow space for the gradual bigger prosthetics. Adelie liked checking these eyes out.

Here is Iris, a puppet who needs eyes. Children can put the eyes in and out, while they encourage Iris to hold still while they do so.

Long overdue update :-)

Nancy Ann Wartman — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:33:00 GMT

Well, so sorry it's been so long since I've updated here. Things are going very well. Adelie is wonderfully adjusted and loves her family so much. Today she spent an hour collecting in a bowl one of each type of flower she could find - she was doing this for the butterflies. Sweet child!

Adelie will be in our public school's wonderful preschool program. I know the teacher and she is absolutely fabulous and will be a great match for Adelie. I'm very pleased with this. Adelie's receptive language is at a 5 1/2-6 year level (she is 4 1/2 years old), while her expressive language is at about a 3 year level - this difference is what they will help work on. First day of school is next Wednesday - just a week from today!

There's a good possibility that Adelie might be able to have a prosthetic eye to fit OVER her little eye, so actually not having to surgically remove her little eye, which would be much better. I'm not a fan of removing body parts. Anyway, we're going on September 14th to a consultation in Indianapolis to see if she is a candidate for an ocular prosthetic over her little eye. If so, then we'll set an appointment to go back (not many ocular prosthetic places in the country) and get a clear plastic trial prosthetic - it won't be painted, it will be to see if she can tolerate it and if that's what we want to do. Next they actually make an imprint of her little eye - it's a quick thing, not painful. Then they make her prosthetic and hand paint it to match her other eye. As children grow, prosthetics have to be replaced every couple of years or so. After she's completed growing, then she'll need a new one every 5-7 years or so.

Tom and I like this much better for several reasons.

1 - Obviously, it's better to not have surgery. Nice to have things be less invasive.

2 - We'll get the ball rolling on it and maybe she'll have matching eyes this year. (When we were first talking with her about it she said "but I LOVE my little eye!")

3 - Science is always changing and during her lifetime it could benefit her in some way to still have her eye.

Here we are on Father's Day!
left to right, back row: Georgia, Michelle, Martin, Calvin, Nancy Ann
left to right, front row: Pete (MIchelle's husband), Adelie, Tom, Hunter (Michelle & Pete's son, our grandson), Camille

Fun Four Year Old Girl

Nancy Ann Wartman — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:41:00 GMT

Adelie turned 4 years old on January 8th and is doing just great. She has been here for half of her life and in the orphanage for most of the other half. From her well-check her doctor has no concerns about her development, even in her speech, which sometimes I think is coming along slowly. She weighs 36 pounds, which is the 53rd percentile. She is 39 3/4 inches tall, which is the 45th percentile.

She enjoys imaginary play - she's often a "rainbow kitty." She LOVES the snow and we've had a record breaking snow here this month with over 23" just in February...and the month isn't over yet! Yesterday Adelie kept falling down in the snow and said, "I can't walk - the ground is too far away!" We've been watching the Olympics on TV and when each of the figure skating pairs came on she would say "that is me and that is my friend." And if the female skater fell, Adelie would say "that not me now." She builds cities with blocks, enjoys cooking, rides her scooter gracefully and won't keep her clothes on for anything.

We've chosen to not have Adelie in preschool right now. She has 1 1/2 years before kindergarten, so she coudl go in the fall and have a full year. She's learning well at home and that is working well for now. Adelie writes the letters A, M, T and C, and each is associated with a person - Adelie, Mom, Tom (Daddy) and Camille. Her gross motor skills and fine motor skills are great. Her vocabulary is lacking sometimes and the words she finds to substitute make us smile. Adelie misses big sister Georgia who's at college, however they talk on the phone sometimes and see each other about once a month.

I'll post new pictures soon.

October issue of "Adelie says"

Nancy Ann Wartman — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:30:00 GMT

Hi friends!
We've had a great month. I've been out of town some, so Adelie and Daddy have had lots of special fun times. Here are some highlights: Fairy Festival - I sold Usborne books here and Adelie dressed the part in fairy wings that we made together from the Fairy Things to Make and Do Usborne book. They're SO cool!! Georgia was home for fall break and a couple other weekends too - we love it when Georgia comes home!! Scott High School football games that Calvin is marching in - he's in the marching band and Adelie loves to watch them. Martin had H1N1 flu and got over it after 5 days - luckily, no one else in the house got it!! Adelie and I went trick or treating at Georgia's dorm - it was scarey for Adelie at first, but she warmed up after about 30 minutes. She really doesn't like the scarey stuff about Halloween - like the witch at Kroger that moves and makes sounds. She says "Mom, you said witches were pretend!" The Putman family came for Halloween and we had the best time trick or treating with our whole family and their whole family. Great memories there for sure!!!

SPEECH -
Adelie uses "2 of us" for 2-of-us, 5-of-us, 7-of-us, we, our, us. She says things like:
"2 of us going to park?"
"2 of us going to school in 2 of us van?"
"2 of us hug" (for "group hug!"

She's been talking about little things she remembers from Jinjiang orphanage lately and now her speech is good enough that she can tell me things. I asked her if the nannies took her outside to play at the orphanage. I know they didn't have any play place outside at all. Adelie said "no" I asked her if they ever took her outside and she said
"Nanny take me outside to car. Say goodbye. Nanny crying."
I think this must be when she was taken to the van to travel to meet me in Fuzhou, which was about a 3 hour drive.
Adelie said about life at the orphanage
"I stuck in crib. I want to get out to see what over there."
The children at Jinjiang were bound in their cribs to keep them safe. The rails were only about 10 inches high it looks like in the photos and they were right up against each other, which allowed for "crib-hopping" I think their little friends were important.

Here are a couple photos of Adelie with her little friends inside the old Jinjiang orphanage - they moved to a new building since Adelie was there. The children are bundled up because there was no heat in this building.

We feel that Adelie was loved by someone there - perhaps the nanny that "cried" when she took her to the car.

Adelie Singing!

Nancy Ann Wartman — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:29:00 GMT

Adelie LOVES to sing! Here she is performing Bicycle Built for Two for one of the first times she's singing it by herself. The music book she's using is one of Calvin's orchestral scores that he checked out from the library.

August at the Wartmans

Nancy Ann Wartman — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:50:00 GMT

Hi friends!
I thought I'd give a little month-in-review for the Wartmans! The kids have started back to school and are all happy. Camille moved to the middle school and after the first day asked if she couldn't please do 6th grade at her wonderful elementary school. She's adjusted now and is loving middle school. Martin is in 8th grade at the same middle school and enjoys his classes, teachers and friends there. Calvin is a Junior and is loving music - he's in the marching band (saxaphone) and concert band (bassoon) He's taking bassoon lessons at Northern KY University from a nice bassoon instructor who, interestingly enough, played bassoon with the Dayton (OH) Symphony when the McLain Family Band played with them about 25 years ago. Georgia has just begun college - we miss her daily and think that cell phones and internet are ever so handy in keeping in touch. Adelie is home with mom and we're having fun every day. Tom is able to be home with Adelie when I'm doing Usborne book events and shows. My business is going very well - it's a fun thing to have a home business that can work around the busy family schedule. Tom's business, Neonworks of Cincinnati, is getting ready to move to a new location - they'll be an active part of the American Sign Museum - very interesting move.

At the dinner table each evening, Adelie asks everyone to tell their "story". Here are a couple interested stories of hers. I'm going to blog as much as she says about her orphanage, as she may be remembering and now has the words to tell us about it.

7/29 "Once upon a time (I was) born in China. (I) wait and wait and wait a (at) Jinjiang (orphanage). Jinjiang a sad and scary. A mommy get me (and bring me) a home a family (for) ever and ever."

8/31 "Once upon a time there were 3 little pigs called Roast Beef and a big bad wolf that came a life. The end"
(that's not about her orphanage, it's just cute)

9/1 "I cry at Jinjiang cause I scary (scared). I stuck in crib. Put me...rocking (there was another room with rocking Little Tikes toys). I want to see what nannies doing."

When Adelie was at Jinjiang, the children were often attached to their cribs so they wouldn't climb out - the rails were very low. That could be what she's referring to when she said she was "stuck in crib." She also wasn't walking yet and she would have been put on the rocking toys and I can see her wanting to know what the nannies were doing and unable to walk to see them.

Adelie has been home for 18 months and is loving life. She is talking more and asks us to talk with her. She LOVES to be read to - we can read books for over an hour at a time - we're usually the ones who stop - she'd like to keep reading.

We've been enjoying our cool rain barrel and garden this summer. We just have green beans, corn, tomatoes, cantalope and lettuce in our garden this year. We hadn't ever created a garden spot at this house, and after living here for 15 years I guess we thought it was time. There's nothing like eating fresh tomatoes!!

This is Adelie's grandma Betty, who visits us for several days each month.

Here's our fun grandson, 2 yr old Hunter...

BIG DEAL for us - Georgia goes to college!! She's at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY - just about an hour away, which is great. We're very pleased with Georgetown.

Adelie and Hunter dot painting - we love these!!

Adelie LOVES carousels!! This one is at Kings Island. There's Daddy in the background!!

Calvin is in the marching and concert bands at school and is loving that.

What Adelie said...

Nancy Ann Wartman — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:09:00 GMT

At dinner tonight Adelie asked each of us to tell their "story and pie". Adelie told us her pie first...it's "green." Camille's pie is pumpkin. Mommy's pie is lemon meringue. Daddy's pie is coconut cream. Grandma's pie is "whatever pie I'm eating at the time." Adelie said "that not a pie!"

We told our various stories - usually about the day's activities.
Adelie told us this story:
"Once upon a time (I was) born in China. I wait and wait and wait a (at) Jinjiang (orphanage). Jinjiang a sad and scary. A mommy get me (and bring me) a home a family (for) ever and ever."

Little sweetheart.

Adelie is swimming completely on her own! I'll post a video of it soon - it's cool to see a 3 1/2 yr old swimming across the pool on her own comfortably.

Dancing Fun

Nancy Ann Wartman — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:32:00 GMT

Here is our grandson Hunter (Michelle & Pete's little boy) and Adelie enjoying some dancing time.

some fun pics

Nancy Ann Wartman — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:28:37 GMT

I'm sharing these great pics and testing out how the blogging works on this site when I do it from my email.

Here are a couple pictures of Adelie with 2 yr old cousin Sage. They have great fun when they're together....that after a few hours and they're both not as shy feeling. They're playing in the puppet theater.

Here is a train birthday cake that I made for Hunter's 2nd birthday.

This is the circus train car:

Outpatient Surgery Today

Nancy Ann Wartman — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:37:00 GMT

Today was Adelie's outpatient surgery at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The proceedures were simple, fast, unpleasant for Adelie and had good results.

What was done:

ultrasound of both eyes as a baseline and to make sure no cancer behind her little eye
irrigation and probing of both tear ducts

Results:

no mass, no cancer - YEA!!!
retina is completely detached (as they expected)
irrigation and probing - successful - Dr said both tear ducts "popped" and they were obstructed, so her eyes shouldn't be "goopy" anymore

My thoughts of today:

It's not fun taking your child to surgery.
It's very nice to get back home.

We arrived at Children's at 6:45 am. Adelie chose to bring with her the musical pink bunny that Jeda gave her and the pink blanket that Mommy made her. I also took both these items to China when I got Adelie. The child life specialist prepared Adelie very well with a great picture book showing every step of the day's adventure. She didn't mention, however, the eye drops - poor Adelie hated that part - she had to have 4 sets of eye drops in 5 minute intervals with 4 of us restraining her. This was before she was sedated. Adelie and I both cried. Tom and I both went back to OR with her - I carried her and held her as she breathed the watermelon sleepy air. So nice Tom and I were together. Thirty minutes later the Dr Bonsall called us back to give us all the good results. Then twenty minutes after that we were able to go to recovery, as she was waking. We rocked her, she had a popcile and 30 minutes later we were driving home. Tom and I even waited in the parking garage for a few minutes, as we were a little uncomfortable leaving the hospital while Adelie was still so disoriented from the medications.

Adelie was very disoriented for a while - trying to walk and falling down or running into furniture. We really had to guard her. Things perked up, however! She was supposed to have clear liquids only during the first couple hours and then introduce bland foods. Adelie thought that meant popcorn, potato chips and fettuccine alfredo. She was also supposed to rest and relax today. I did remind her of that as she was jumping off the couch and piano bench, digging in the dirt outside and dancing. She's doing fine!

Tomorrow will be a better day!

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of online friends who have adopted from China who's lovely daughters have been diagnoised and treated for retinoblastoma. We've followed your blogs daily. We're thinking of you!

Here are a couple recent pictures: