Pictures!

Everyone was in high spirits as we waited for surgery to begin. Evelea and Therese graced us with a beautiful rendition of the books of the bible song, sung while pinching their noses.
Things got a little more serious as we went over final details with the anesthesiologist. We prayed together as a family and then sent her off with the surgical team. Saying that final goodbye and placing the final kiss on my daughter before she was wheeled out of sight is hard stuff. But I thanked God for the privelege of being in that time and place.

Our girl a few hours after surgery. Her blood pressure was so high, we weren't allowed to talk to her or touch her because the stimulation would be too dangerous.

I think Therese's face here shows you exactly how she was feeling! This was the day after the surgery and the nurses made her sit up for an hour. Plus, she had to blow bubbles in order to re-inflate her left lung which partially collapsed during surgery. Therese felt pretty crummy all day.

I can't say enough good things about the Child Life staff at the hospital. Therese watched cooking shows non-stop on the tv in her room. When I told the Child Life people that Therese like to cook, they brought in a convection oven and we baked cookies! They knew her favorite color is orange, so they brought an orange pillow case and an orange blanket. A young man even brought her a djembe she could play.

We are so grateful for so many things! First of all, the Lord led us to make the right decision regarding which kind of surgery she needed. We almost tried fixing this with a catheter, but the surgeon said her artery was almost 100% closed and there was no way a balloon would have fit through. We are so grateful for our surgical team!

We are grateful that God brought Therese to America when He did! Someday I'd like to write a post about all the steps it took to get her here. I just learned today that someone had even contacted Oprah to see if she could get her to America for surgery! No doubt Therese was the most popular orphan in Burkina Faso- so many around the world love this girl! It astounds me to hear the stories of so many people who have met Therese through the years before we even had a clue she'd be our daughter. We are so grateful and humbled by your love for this girl.

We are so grateful to our friends and family for the meals, phone calls, prayer support, school transportation, etc. We could not do this without you!

You might remember at Christmas time our newspaper did a report on our family's adoption story. Well, this Easter weekend, we'll be featured again. Our Beacon News photographer shot us every step of this journey- even inside the operating room! He kindly offered to show me those pictures, I declined. Tomorrow the editor of the paper is coming to interview me- yikes! As I tend to get a little nervous for any type of public speaking and I don't particually love being photographed after days of not showering at the hospital, part of me wants to decline doing this story. But, as the photographer pointed out to me, I do want to share our story. So, I'll do my part and trust God with the outcome, just like always.