Savannah........ the answer to our prayers: November 2007

Sunday, November 18, 2007

I cannot believe she is finally ours Ana Piedad Magee, it was wonderful to read that on paper after 11 months of waiting and uncertainty. It is almost time to go get her. Words cannot express that feeling.......

Monday, November 12, 2007

I haven't posted in awhile I have been trying to overcome my grief. Three days after receiving the word that Savannah was out of PGN, my oldest sister was killed in a car accident. How quickly your life can go from being so happy to not knowing how you are going to go on. I am sad to know that Savannah will never know her Aunt Karleen she was so sweet and kind and just so beautiful. I expected that when we returned home to show off our newest addition that Karleen would be standing there too. I will miss her everyday of my life....I will tell Savannah what Karleen meant to me and will show her pictures. You never know what each day brings I have to learn to embrace all that I love and try to find happiness everyday even in the small things. As far as the adoption goes we haven't received any news, hopefully soon.......We received new pictures from Tonya, Savannah received the gifts we sent to her and her foster family.

Schizencephaly

Schizencephaly is a rare developmental disorder characterized by abnormal slits, or clefts, in the cerebral hemispheres. Schizencephaly can be distinguished from porencephaly by the fact that in schizencephaly the cyst is lined by heterotopic grey matter while a porencephalic cyst is lined by white matter. Individuals with clefts in both hemispheres, or bilateral clefts, are often developmentally delayed and have delayed speech and language skills and corticospinal dysfunction. Individuals with smaller, unilateral clefts (clefts in one hemisphere) may be weak on one side of the body and may have average or near-average intelligence. Patients with schizencephaly may also have varying degrees of microcephaly, mental retardation, hemiparesis (weakness or paralysis affecting one side of the body), or quadriparesis (weakness or paralysis affecting all four extremities), and may have reduced muscle tone (hypotonia). Most patients have seizures and some may have hydrocephalus.

What's In A Name?

Savannah---Savannah is the city my mom and dad lived when my daddy passed away. I don't think she would have liked it if I had named her Larry. That is the last place we were together as a family and a place that I have such wonderful memories.

Ashlee--Ashlee is my bestfriends name. She has been by my side this whole process and I could not have picked a better name for my daughter or a better person for her to be named after.

Madaleyn--Madaleyn is Savannah's foster sisters name and we want to keep something from her foster family that took such good care of her.