Crazy Love Party for Adoption

Over the years I have followed several adoption blogs and love seeing how God is working in families lives through adoption. It is inspiring and encouraging to read of the journeys of families to bring their children home. One of these blogs is by a family has grown through adoption to now have 10 children. You can read their blog http://www.aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/


The mother, Linny, posted a entry called "Crazy Love." She is hosting a Crazy Love Party. This involves families with a need posting them and then people with the means to meet a need can choose to do so. She believes like we do that we have a God that is a Miracle-working, Mountain-moving, Awe-inspiring, Gasp-giving God.

Yesterday, I went out the get the mail and as I was opening it there was a bill. A bill that we do not currently have the funds for. I had recently read a post from this same family about how God always provides so as I remembered that, I prayed, surrendered the need to the Lord and moved on with my day. A little later in the day I was checking e-mail as well as a few blogs. As I arrived at "A Place Called Simplicity" and read about the Crazy Love Party she is hosting in the bloggy world. After praying and talking it over, our family has choses to participate.

The last 7-1/2 months of our lives have been intense to say the least.  On August 11, 2009 God began our adoption journey and little did we know the ride we were in for. God clearly paved the way in a way only He could. Our son, from Ethiopia, has many special needs, some we were aware of and some were surprises once we got home. Yes, we are home! Like I said the way was paved and there was no speed limit. We met Micah on December 28, 2009, 4-1/2 months after the very first informational meeting we attended. As most of you know, in the adoption world this is clearly an act of God. Our son needed immediate medical attention, his life depended on it. One very unusual blessing is that our international agency saw how God had laid out the details, saw the urgency for Micah and they allowed us to complete our adoption without having all the funds raised and chose to believe with us. Micah is now thriving and working his way to health. He is a joy and we are blessed beyond measure to be his family. You can read our entire story of God's fingerprints on our blog.

So here are the Crazy Love Party details regarding our family.

Does our family tithe?....Absolutely with every paycheck

What church do we attend?...The Bridge in Fresno, California

Are we involved at church?....Yes, my husband is a Co-Leader of the Stephen Ministries program. This is a significant weekly committment. I've taken a break to focus on our family for this season.

What is our need?...We have one bill that needs to be paid to our local agency. We also have a larger amount that needs to be repaid. God allowed this larger amount to be borrowed to get the process started and it now needs to be repaid as well. Any gifts will go towards these bills.

Did we fundraise for our adoption?...Yes, we did a yard sale, a Christmas Boutique, letters and applied for several grants as well. We did all we could in the few months we had.

Contact info: coombshouse@sbcglobal.net

Thank you so much for taking the time to share in our story.

The Coombs Family

Flying by the seat of our pants

We have been home for 5 days. Non-stop…survival…flying by the seat of our pants…are all good descriptions. My best description is we are in “Catch up/Keep Up” mode. It’s an adjustment to jump back into the regular schedule of things after being in hospital life for over 2 weeks. The girls needed extra attention, the kids all needed to get reacquainted, then there’s the house. We are still recovering from the construction. The first 3 days were full of appointments for Micah, setting up home health, trying to get his expensive formula covered by one of the programs he qualifies for, and seeing his primary pediatrician and for our home, needing a new water heater and water main. Then there’s the process of learning how the G-tube fits into life and the care that goes with that. What was that beep and how do we fix it? Watch out for that cord…don’t let it get pulled! Don’t forget to clean his surgery site three times a day. What schedule to we want the meds on and what works for the ones that are every 8 hours? Oh, and speaking of meds. Now that we are several day away from this incident it’s easier to laugh at it.


We got home on Tuesday around noon. Micah was due for his next dose of valium at 3:30pm. This was the first med that needed to be given since being home. So at 3:30pm Micah received his valium. We then went to look at the other meds, the doses and the syringes. We then realized that we were not given adequate syringes to administer the other medications….OR the valium we had just given him. GREAT! Randy called the necessary medical personnel and, yes indeed, Randy and Micah were heading back to the ER at Valley Childrens for observation. Our 3-1/2 hour “visit” home was over. I honestly did not have words for this situation. I could not call anyone. I almost could not think about it. All I could do was stay calm and make the evening the best possible for the girls. Once Randy and Micah were out at VCH they hooked him up to monitors and watched him. He was going to have to be observed for 6 hours from ingestion based on his age and weight.


The first 2 hours Micah was very happy and relaxed. He was talking to Randy’s pants, laughing and having a good time. The nurses thought he was hilarious. The valium had relaxed him so he could move his arms in ways he normally cannot due to the CP so he was looking at his arms in amazement. The expressions on his face were priceless. He was indeed having a good time. The next couple of hours he took a peaceful nap. During this time all his vitals began to return to normal and now they had to just wait it out. At this point Randy was ready for some of his own valium, Airborne, mask and anything else that would protect him from the surrounding germs. They were in the middle of the ER during the peak of RSV season. All he could hear around him was coughing, breathing treatments, and diagnosis being given of pneumonia and RSV. At one point he heard someone was there for a dog bite and he was ready to ask if he could be moved next to the dog bite injury. The last thing we need is for Micah to get RSV or for any germs to be brought back to our house from the hospital. So while Randy and Micah were waiting I was home praying for health. About 7 hours from the time they arrived they were released with a stamp of “good to go”. The doctors said that since Micah is so stiff that he probably just absorbed the extra medication and it did not really phase him. I was relieved that our family would all be under one roof for the night. We are expecting this to be the last overdose he ever receives. It’s happened to everyone in our family before so now we can check this off the list of life experiences and move on. Oh, and yes, we have been given several of the correct size syringes. We are all good to go.


We have a wonderful friend who has offered to set up meals for us as we are adjusting to the various changes, learning the new equipment and Randy returning to work. If you would be interested you can contact her at nates5bs@gmail.com .

Transitioning-March 2nd

Here we go…the day we have been waiting for…discharge day! We are sooo ready to be home as a family. The hospital room has been tidied up, personal belongings prepped to go home. There are many changes ahead in the coming days and we are ready for them regardless of how simple or hard some may be. As we leave the hospital we will be leaving our constant connection to Facebook, cable and other media behind. Of course we will still enjoy our media but we won’t need it as a way to survive hospital life. Micah will have to transition from cushy Swaddler diapers to the reality of Target diapers again. This is not a habit we are able to continue. As for the bigger changes, our family will finally be reunited after 15 days of split parenting. We will all get reacquainted as a family of 5 again. This time Micah will be different…probably more enjoyable for the girls to be around. His needs will also be different and will take adjusting to for everyone. We will also be welcoming home a new category of household items. All of Micah’s medical gear and appointments with the Home Health nurse as well. We will need to get organized…Ha!...we will need to push stuff out of the way and make a “home” for the variety of tubing, supplies and medicines. I love to be organized but it’s difficult for me to actually get organized to begin with. Maybe God will have mercy on me and allow me to have the time and focus necessary to do such a thing. I am anticipating the most difficult transition for me will be the reality that Randy has to work. He has not had to work a full work week since December 23rd. He will be home this next week as we transition but it will still be hard when reality hits. I have grown accustom to having my best friend, team mate, confidant close by for over 2 months. We have problem solved and worked through so much, there’s no easy way to wean that kind of involvement. Next Monday, I will pull up the boot straps, jump in, pray for grace and hope to get meals on the table at appropriate times. We have been so blessed that Randy has been able to take so much time off. God has been so faithful through the ups and downs.

I am excited to share all the details of life as a family…meals together, Wii playing, book reading, crafting, cooking, baking, homework, wrestling, singing, pretending, picking up, dropping off, chores, kisses and hugs all surrounded by lots of love.

Here we go…

Our Final days-March 1-2

I can not express how thankful we are for all of the prayers! This last 36 hours has been quite difficult. The short story is we have had consistent care for the last 10 day with the same doctor. We were wondering at what point she my have a day off….that day is today. When she left we had meds set at what we are going home with, the plan for feeding was set. We were only in the hospital to test a formula and tweek the feeding to see what happens. So when with this eminent day off came a new doctor, new resident, new ideas it also brought a HUGE amount of advocating. We were so close to getting out and it felt like we were starting over. These new people came in and tried to change everything we had worked for 10 days to fine tune. Messing with us now could easily mean added days to our stay. It’s a good thing I am married to a steady man. I was irritated beyond belief and we both knew it was best for me to not be at the hospital those final hours. Randy knew my concerns and issues along with his own. I remained home and began to prep for bring Micah home while he began the advocating. He advocated and helped the new crew understand exactly why we were still in the hospital, what the plan is to home on and when we expect to leave. We were then release 4-6 hours earlier than we had expected.

On a more positive side of things, in many ways it feels like we have come full circle since being admitted to the hospital. We are getting a chance for the nurses and doctors to see God’s goodness through this hospitalization. Over the last couple of days we have had the chance to see the hospital staff who welcomed us the first night and worked with us that first treacherous week. Now they come by and see a completely different baby. First they notice his true personality, then they comment on how big he looks. They remember the difficulties they experienced with him and helped him through and then I see the satisfaction in their eyes. I have thanked them for the excellent care they have provided and for being part of his story, from sickness to thriving and sadness to joy. God has orchestrated the perfect care for Micah, better than any human could do. We’ve shared the story of God’s goodness in saving Micah and connecting us together. We hope our family has been a blessing to them along the way as well.

Decompressing

PRAISE GOD!

WE ARE HOME!

We are home and doing well. Home Health is all set up and Micah is sleeping. So far he has tolerated the new formula. Now we are decompressing and enjoying being reunited as a family for the first time in over 2 weeks. I'll write about the last 36 hours when I have a bit more time. Thank you all for praying! The prayers were felt in so many ways.

Pray for the formula!

We just learned that the formula that has worked for Micah will not be covered by the powers that be. The formula is very expensive, 6 cans for $196.  We need to find a formula that he can tolerate that will be covered. The issue is when we change the doctor may not let us come home tomorrow.

WE MUST COME HOME
TOMORROW!

We can not sit in the hospital to just eat formula. It's cheaper for the same powers that be to pay for the formula vs. more days in the hospital.

PLEASE PRAY!

Update: We are trying a new formula for the next 24 hours. Pray he tolerates it! As long as he does then we will be able to come home tomorow evening. We desperately need to get home. This life style is wearing on us all.