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| Worth every dr. visit, cast change, ililerov, and hospital stay x 1 zillion Worth more than gold! A precious gift from the Almighty! |
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| ilizerav/external fixator |
and also create something that will keep her recently corrected foot in it's proper position (remember she has been wearing a bar each night to maintain correction that she will not be able to wear while in this crazy contraption).
We are told she will spend two days in ICU, then move to a step down unit and hopefully shortly soon after, return home.
The “ex fix” will span Lucy’s entire leg, from the top of her thigh down to her foot. This is being put on to straighten the knee (soft tissue). The pins go through the bones but no cuts are made in the bone, it stretches muscles, ligaments and tendons.
All of her clothing from waist down will need to be altered (yes that means every pair of underwear too!), Daddy or I
(or dear Pop Pop) will need to turn the struts on the fixator 4x/day (each turn will be a minute step in straightening her knee). We will also need to be diligent about daily “pin care” to keep her leg free of infection.
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| ha/ha but clever, eh? |
Lucy will have a wheelchair that supports her leg being extended. We will also need to rig up something to keep her leg propped while in her car seat (have heard a few ideas of how we can best accomplish that).
The fixator is scheduled to stay on for 3 months! It takes 4-6 weeks to get the knee out straight and then is kept on to get things to tighten up around the knee. If taken off too soon the knee will quickly go back to being flexed. It responds better if kept in the fixator longer rather than shorter period of time.
We continue to be eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father for hand picking Lucy for us and daily thank Him for His guidance and love in growing our family! This next sentence may seem odd to some and it's hard to understand. But this truth is so alive and so real.... even while walking through a difficult and trying journey, we can say without pause, it is an honor and privilege to be the ones chosen to journey alongside Lucy Kim as her parents!
As we journey these next hard steps, I hope to continue to blog, keeping our friends and family updated and asking you all to please remember Lucy in prayer.
* If you have been following our blog and wait for facebook notifications to know when a new post has been added, please note that I'll be taking a facebook leave of absence for a season beg. the end of February. If you'd like to get an e-mail notification(only when a new post is published), you can sign up on main page "follow by email" but NOTE: after signing up within minutes you will receive an e-mail from "feedburner subscriptions" and need to do one more step. - confirm via e-mail you want to subscribe to our red thread notifications. If not confirmed, your account will not be activated.*
If you have a problem setting up, you can contact me at kimmerszimmer@gmail.com
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| Like Mama/Like Daughter Same/Same |
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| Seriously, was she once lovingly referred to as "Little Miss So Sad" ?! |
For those of you that have stuck through this three part series, I'd be remiss not to tell you about the blessings in this journey.
Our faith has grown immensely in this season. Our marriage has been greatly strengthened as together we walk this path with our girl. Our hearts have grown bigger with even more love (for a child we hadn't yet met eighteen months ago), AND we've had the blessing of sharing God's provision and guidance in our adoption journey with many other families.
As we journey these next hard steps, I hope to continue to blog, keeping our friends and family updated and asking you all to please remember Lucy in prayer.
* If you have been following our blog and wait for facebook notifications to know when a new post has been added, please note that I'll be taking a facebook leave of absence for a season beg. the end of February. If you'd like to get an e-mail notification(only when a new post is published), you can sign up on main page "follow by email" but NOTE: after signing up within minutes you will receive an e-mail from "feedburner subscriptions" and need to do one more step. - confirm via e-mail you want to subscribe to our red thread notifications. If not confirmed, your account will not be activated.*
If you have a problem setting up, you can contact me at kimmerszimmer@gmail.com
Kimberly, I remember the pictures of Lucy Kim before she came home. I always thought that she had the most sad face of any of the precious orphans I'd ever seen online. She is a different child now. Full of joy and happiness because of her mama and baba loving her. She gets more beautiful each time I see new pictures of her. Precious child. I wish I could sew, I'd offer to modify some clothes for you. I can tell you they would look better just ripped open than if I tried to sew them. I will keep Lucy Kim in my prayers, in hopes that she does not experience unbearable pain and that the surgery goes as planned. I know you will keep Lucy Kim's fan club posted via the blog. Hugs to you all.
ReplyDeleteGwen you're so right - Lucy is not the same child we met in China 17 mos. ago. She's happy, secure and full of smiles! Thanks for taking the time to send us a note that you'll be praying for us and for the cyber hugs!
DeleteWatching your child go through something so hard and painful is such a difficult thing. I am so sorry. Our thoughts and prayers will be with you and with her. On the brighter side, we have gone through similar hard things with our kids that we rarely even think about now until we watch someone else go through it-- meaning, eventually, this will likely be something she won't think about very often-- kids are so resilient! Also, we have found it helps our children to find someone whose situation is even harder and use that to focus on the good. For example, Sophi doesn't have arms and is having a lot of leg issues/pain because of her missing fibula. When she gets super sad and discouraged, we watch videos of people born without arms AND legs and it helps her to find joy in the fact that she can at least use her toes! (: We love you and wish you the best through this next hard journey. --Christianne
ReplyDeleteChristianne thanks for your note and for your prayers! I know that you know so very well what walking through hard with a child is all about! Your family is an inspiration and I loved what your wrote about sweet Sophi girl. So sorry to hear she's having leg pain :( Sending love and a hug to all of the Green family!
DeleteLittle Miss So Sad is no more!! Just LOOK at that last picture!!
ReplyDeleteThank You Sweet Jesus for giving her the Zimmerman family!! I just can't imagine how incredibly so-sad her life would've been without proper (even if hard) medical care!! Thank You for redeeming her from her former life, and thank You that You also stand ready, willing and able to redeem her from even this life into a sweet child of the King too (she likely never would've heard of You had she stayed).
But thank You even more for giving the Zimmerman family their sweet Lucy-girl!! You grow us so very much when You call us to do hard things and we love You for the opportunity!!
Lastly, thank You for giving we readers the opportunity to watch Your healing hand at work thru the Zimmerman family!! Please strengthen, sustain, and guide them daily. ♥