Feet correction

Here are Trent's feet before correction as shown in one of his referral photos.

Here is another view from right after he joined us in China.

This shows his corrected feet from the front.

And this his corrected feet from the back.

He is still wearing his braces almost full time, yet. He had his first one month checkup after having the casts removed and getting braces. The doctor was pleased with the progress and said we could give him a little more time out of the braces, from one hour to two. We need to encourage him to stand more (both in and out of the braces). Also we are getting him into some physical therapy to work on the tendons and feet. So far, so good. Thanks for your continued prayers.

New braces

On Wednesday, Jan. 14, we took Trent to the doctor and had his last set of casts cut off. They fit him with special shoes and the bar that goes between them. The length of the bar is set to the width of his shoulders. There is a clip on each of the shoes where the bar clips in, so you can put on the shoes first and then put in the bar. Trent will need to wear the brace full time for the next three months. After that he will only need to wear them when he goes to sleep at night.

He seems to be ok with the braces. He can't get around quite as well as before, but he should be moving around even better after he get use to them. He can only be out of them for an hour at most each day. Tonight we gave him a bath for the first time in a long while. (He had been getting sponge baths and hair washes.) He had lots of fun in the tub splashing around. It was especially good to clean off his legs and feet which had gotten just a little cleaning between casts.

We also took him to a speech doctor, but we didn't learn anything we didn't already know. He is just developmentally delayed so it will take awhile for him to talk. We just need to keep doing what we have been, reading and talking to him.

Preparing for braces

This picture shows the second type of casts that Trent has been in. Last Wednesday, he had a doctor's appointment to measure his feet for braces. These are fairly simple. They are a couple of shoes attached to a bar. This coming Wednesday the doctor will remove this final set of casts so he can switch to the braces.

He will be in the braces for 23 out of 24 hours for three months. After that he will only have to wear them at night when he sleeps. He will have to be in braces until he is five or six years old.

Fixing feet

Here is Trent with casts on his legs. This is the second set of casts to fix his club feet. He got his first set on Monday, Oct. 6 on his first doctor's visit. He got his second set on Monday, Oct. 13. He also was scheduled for an MRI, but did not go through with it. He had the sniffles so the anesthesiologist decided to postpone it until Nov. 26. They wanted to check his spine with the MRI because the doctor had a similar case with another child who turned out to have a spine problem. He doesn't think Trent has this problem but he wants to check just in case.

Trent will have this set of casts until next week, Monday, Oct. 27. He will probably have a couple more sets of casts. After that he will probably need some surgery on his feet and then be in some braces for a few years.

Baptism

Today, Sunday Sept. 21, Trent was adopted again. This time he was adopted into God's family through baptism. It was a busy day at church as he was one of three children to be baptized in the late service. We are very happy now that he is God's child as well as ours.

Here we are in our matching attire from China (except for Kyle - it is just his tie). Trent's sponsors are his aunt, Connie Meyer and his uncle and aunt, Ryan and Dawn Hollman. They weren't able to be with us physically but we thank them (and everyone else) for their prayers of support.

Safe at Home

Just a quick note to let you know that we arrived safely back home.

Going to sleep

Q: What is more difficult than getting one child to sleep at bedtime?
A: Getting two children to sleep, especially when they are in the same room.

We are definitely having our bedtime challenges on this trip. On his first night with us, Trent went out fairly soon, but he had a big day then. He hasn't gone to sleep quite as well since. We try to get him to sleep at 8 pm but it has been 9 or even 10 o'clock when he has finally zonked. Of course, he is not quiet when awake which doesn't help his big sister fall asleep either. She also wonders why she has to go asleep when her little brother isn't.

In our bedtime struggles we did discover one thing. The other night we tried to cover him with a little blanket to encourage sleep. Instead he pulls the blanket over his head and starts to play peek-a-boo. At least he is responding to us and is developed enough to play this game.