Newell News

It's hard to believe that almost two years ago, tomorrow...this light of God's love came from China to completely bless our home. She is amazing and we've never been the same since she arrived!! Forever changed, and forever grateful...

Molly had her 62 staples removed today...it was a bit traumatic as you could imagine, but because school has let out for the year, her siblings were right there with her, to help her through it!! The incision looks good, still some swelling, but overall a good report from her Doctor! I can not say enough good things about Dr. Brahma, his nurse Annie and the whole facility of Children's Healthcare Scottish Rite! We've been so impressed and so well taken care of. If all goes well with her incision the next few days, she should be swimming by this weekend!! Amazing!! God is good!!

Molly is getting more and more back to herself! Now I'm having the hardest time holding her back from the trampoline, playing hide and seek, running, etc... It is a good thing :-) She's definitely got her appetite back :-) We can never thank everyone so much for all of your prayers on her behalf. We're so thankful how God has chosen to answer the many prayers! God is good!

Molly is doing just amazing! She's recovering so quickly that she wanted to go to her Upward Soccer Awards Night last night. She did great until she saw all of the children jumping on the jolly jumps and wanted to join in! We were thrilled that she felt so good that she wanted to jump, but we had to leave because she didn't really understand why she couldn't. (She has antibiotic cream on her hair, that is why it is shiny) She's not been on any pain medication since we've come home and simply doesn't need it, which is almost impossible to imagine. The swelling is going down quickly and she's almost back to normal. We're grateful to God for what He's done in her life! We're grateful for all of your prayers. God is Good, all the time :-)

We're home and it feels so good. The hospital was excellent, we could never say enough good things about the hospital staff, and our doctor, they were all excellent! Molly is in great spirits and has been up playing for several hours! She had a nice nap after the car ride home, but has been very energetic since she got home. She's very happy, still swollen, but happy. It's great to be back home together as a family and we're more than ready to get into a normal routine. We're still basking in the amazing grace that we've witnessed first hand through the miracles that God has performed. Thanks once more for all for all of the prayers! GOD IS GOOD!

Dr. Brahma came to do rounds this morning at 9 a.m. and cut off the turban bandage. She got to feel her smooth head for the first time! It is beautiful! The incision looks great, lots and lots of staples, but all is well and they're going to wash her hair today. He also told us that she could go home!! Even though her eyes were not open, he said she's doing so well and eating and drinking so she could go. We were so happy. We knelt to pray and thank God for all the wonderful things he done, giving us the great surgeon, the really outstanding hospital, the surgery, bringing her to our family and letting us go home today. The moment we said Amen, I looked up and so did she...her eyes opened :-) GOD IS GOOD!!

Molly had her first official visitors today! The children finally got to come for a visit and it was great! Molly was awake for 2 hours and we kept her busy, playing, eating, walking and visiting. Now she is sound asleep but happy. She really came alive the whole time they were here. It was so good for her! Her face is very swollen, but we're still hoping that she may get one eye open tomorrow so she can be released. All else is well, she's needed extra pain meds a few times today, but overall she's been ok with just tylenol. Amazing! Grandpa Bruce relieved me for several hours so I could take a nap :-) He told her stories and read to her. We made up a game where she had to identify things we put in her hands because she can see nothing. It's amazing how resilient children are.

Molly's doctor did his rounds this morning and said that her face swelling was normal. Her eyes are now completely shut. She's not eating or drinking much yet, but a little and no vomiting. He said there was a possibility of her going home tomorrow??!! He wants us to take walks and encourage her to eat and be active to help with the swelling...so that's what we're doing. Please keep praying as we'd all love to have her home and I know she'd be so much happier. It seems like a long shot, but I'm hopeful!

Molly made it through the night with a lot of restful sleeping and doesn't seem to be in pain, which is wonderful. Her eyes are swollen shut, which they told us to expect...it could last 2 days...it is frightening to her, but she is handling it beautifully. She's not eaten yet and did vomit several times last night, but they gave her anti-nausea medication and she is now able to hold down apple juice. Thank you for your continued prayers...this is the harder part for HER now, the recovery. She is a strong little girl. Her brothers and sister will come later this afternoon for their first visit.

She's here. She's got a big turban of a white gauze bandage around her little head. She's still beautiful. She's on morphine, so she's sleeping. I think she'll sleep most of the evening and tonight...she's been through a lot! Thanks for your prayers, don't know what we'd do without our prayer Army out there and our Awesome God! God is good!

Please keep your prayers going, we're so thankful and grateful. We still have not seen her, she is waking up in recovery and has been a little tearful. But we hope to see her soon! My cell is dead and I forgot my battery charger, so email is the best way to communicate! Thanks to all, God is good!

The surgeon just left. He's pleased with the results. They did not have to remove any part of her skull, they were just able to shave down the bumps. They saw the fracture and said that at one time it had gone through the dura, but her own scar tissue had closed up the gap and there was no need for them to repair. So they were able to stay on the outside layer of the skull. We are so pleased. That is what we were hoping for. We can never thank you all enough for all of your unceasing prayers and we can never thank God enough for this big miracles and all of the little ones leading up to this! God IS good.

We've been getting updates from the nurses in the OR. We figure she's been under for about 2 hours. They have told us that all is well and she's fine. They told us to expect 2.5 hour surgery, but not to worry if it went longer. We're just praying that they can fix the fracture and that she will not need another surgery. She's a trooper and we've never been more proud of her than we are right now. She has been such a tremendous blessing to our entire family. She is full of love and life. God is good.

Once we got the blood match, everything happened pretty quickly. At 1:00 they gave her sedatives by mouth and we held her until she got silly...she was laughing and happy...then we helped wheel her to the doors of the OR and they took her in. We got a call at 2:10 that she had gone under general anesthesia without a hitch and she had been under for about 20 minutes. They'll call to update us every hour, they're expecting 2.5 hours at this point. We're waiting, praying and keeping ourselves occupied. The hospital staff have been amazing so far, we're tremendously pleased with the care she has received so far, and so thankful for God's mercy in providing the blood that her body will tolerate. Thanks so much for all of the prayers! It is an amazing experience to watch the Lord at work in her so deeply.

Thanks for the many prayers, we were nervous, but they called, and are ready to go!!! Praise God!!

We've come to a major hurdle. They can not find a cross-match to Molly's blood because of a rare, naturally occurring anti-body in her blood. Bottom line, no transfusion blood, no surgery. They have drawn more of her blood to see if it was lab error, or to try to find a match. They can not go into surgery without blood available for transfusion. They should know something in 45 minutes to 1 hour. Prayers are so appreciated, God is good, and we're resting in His strength, power and glory.

Pastor Jason came to pray with our whole family this morning before the children left for school. God is good! We decided to send the children to school because it would be a long day! Molly is doing great, eager with anticipation. I take great lessons from her. Heidi

We just got word that Molly's surgery is pushed back from 8 a.m. until 12:25 p.m. which just means longer to be awake with out food :-( She can have nothing but clear liquids in the morning up until 8:30 a.m. Then nothing after that! Please pray for her as she is a BIG eater!! She is very much looking forward to the results of the surgery, so that is keeping her very positive and happy and I'm sure that will be what it takes to get her through without food :-) Thanks so much for all of the prayers! Our pastor is coming to pray with us tomorrow morning, it will be very special.

Molly's surgery to "shave down" the bumps on her head is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 13th. We'll all be accompanying her at her 6 a.m. check-in and we're all going to try to get through without eating and drinking after midnight :-) Mike's dad, Bruce, will be staying with us and will be a huge help shuttling the other children to and fro and helping with keeping them on task. I'll probably be spending the 2-3 nights at the hospital with Molly and Mike will visit as much as he can. She'll be well taken care of as the Neurosurgeon's group does the most of this type of surgery in the whole country and Children's Hospital at Scottish Rite is world-renowned for their anesthesiologists. Molly is really excited to have her head smooth (like everyone else). The bumps have bothered her for a long time and she can not wait for her surgery. The May 5th post has more information on the history, but for now, we are all anxious and nervous, hop...

Mike and I were married in 1994 and always wanted a large family. After 3 years of infertility, we discussed adoption. However, he was genuinely worried about his capacity to love a child that wasn’t our biological child. God had His plan and surprised us with our first pregnancy, a boy, followed by 2 boys and a girl (within 5 ½ years!). A BIG family! So, we didn’t talk about adoption for a long time. However, my desire never waned and I continued to pray and leave the rest up to God. As our youngest was heading to Kindergarten, I brought it up to Mike again. This time, he was willing to discuss it. I was hopeful but reserved. We became passionate with China after reading about the Steven Curtis Chapman family, an inspirational family to us. I found an agency and started the paperwork process. Shortly after, Mike asked to switch agencies to America World Adoption. At first all I could think of was all the additional paperwork, but quickly realized his feelings were strong. ...