We Have The Technology...

At long, long, long, long, long last, Sophie has her prosthetic arm!

We had an appointment last Friday to get her leg checked up on and adjusted, and at that appointment, the doctors let us know that Sophie's arm had finally cleared customs from Canada, and that we'd be able to get it on Tuesday!

So, on Tuesday, we went back to the clinic and waited for Sophie to be called in...

When we got into the room, her arm was waiting for us...



Sophie has been getting better and better with Dick and Christine, so we were happy that she had just seen them a few days earlier and she was very well behaved. No crying this time!



They gave Sophie the arm, and she was very interested in it, and wanted to hold it and even tried to kinda put it on her arm - it was pretty cool.

It's a new technology that Dick is actually pioneering, using soft silicone instead of the traditional hard socket (like the one for Sophie's leg), which gives the child a lot more feeling and flexibility. It does still have a rigid part to carry the cable to the hand, and a hard end to attach the hand to.



Sophie helped to push it on, and was able to use it a wee bit.

We'll start occupational therapy soon to help her learn to use it.

While we were waiting for the doctors to make adjustments, Stacy and I would walk up and down the hall with Sophie, and not only did that give her more practice walking on her leg, but we started teaching her to hold our hand when walking next to us.

It's not something you can really do at home, the space and arrangement just doesn't suit it very well, but going up and down a hall was the perfect opportunity. She did very well, and I have video of her walking with Stacy up and down the hall that I'll get posted soon. I made a point to hold her prosthetic hand as we walked out of the room and out of the clinic, so that she would feel comfortable with it, and know that we were comfortable with her new arm as well.

Well, that's about it...

Oh, Sunday is Sophie's 2ND Birthday, and her first with us!

A lot of family and friends will be joining her on this special day, and I intend to take lots of pictures and video, so look for a new post in the next week about it!

Larry

More Videos - You Asked For Them!

Well, I've been sick, so I'll make this pretty short and sweet...

Here's Sophie running up and down the hall on her prosthetic leg...

Here she is Dancing to the song her Noah's Ark toy makes, Part 1...

That's all for tonight!

Larry

Time Keeps On Slippin' ...

Good evening, everyone!

I know that it's been three weeks since the laast post - things have been so crazy it's... well... crazy!

We stayed up at my sister and brother-in-law's cabin over the 4th, and we all had a very good time.

Since there isn't any tub at the cabin, we had to improvise...



I know that this is also an obligatory baby type picture (the sink bath), so now we can check that off the master list :)

We were planning on going swimming...



(that's a smile, by the way, not a grimace of pain)

but the water was really really cold (Stacy was brave enough to try it) so Sophie didn't end up swimming in the lake, but she get to splash in a wader pool that her grandma Orsund got for her.

We went out on the lake on the night of the 4th to see the Hill City fireworks.

It was really neat to see them from the lake, and Sophie did fine during the show (she stayed up, watched them, and didn't get upset). She really didn't show any excitement at the show, but she was really tired, so just staying up was a positive.

Sophie is doing very well with her leg - she was able to walk and sprint along the uneven ground at the cabin without difficulty. She falls some, as she is working on her speed and balance skills, but she gets right back up!

I have some video, still on tape, of her getting around - I'm gonna try to get that up soon.

Have a good night,

Larry

I have some video of Sophie walking with her leg

Video Extravaganza

Well, it's been a while since my last post - mostly because I've been very busy at work, but I made time to do a quick post tonight with a bunch of videos.

I can't find the tape that had Sophie's dedication on it - I'm hoping it's in the diaper bag or something. What I do have is stuff from Sophie's fittings, and even tonight when she took her own first stepd on her prosthetic leg - heretofore called her "super leg" - that's what we call it with her :)

Sophie kisses her kitty, Teddy:

Sophie Playing outside with bubbles on Memorial Day:

Sophie lays down in the kitchen:

Sophie's first fitting - this is prototype prosthetic for her leg:

The second fitting (Monday - June 16)

After working with her every night this week to just keep her prosthetic leg on for more than five minutes without a huge temper tantrum, we had our first big breakthrough tonight:

It's time for bed - I'll update again soon!

Larry

Sophie Meets Grandpa Cal

On Friday, Stacy's dad Cal came to visit us (mostly Sophie) from Virginia.

The trip was a surprise for him from grandma Julie.



Sophie has been having a great time with him, and has really become comfortable with him (she even let's him pick her up now!)



Cal will be staying with us until Sunday, so he's trying to get as much Sophie time as he can with her between now and then.

Grandpa Cal surprised Sophie with a very nice wagon as a gift - she loves it!



I think she's getting ready to tie Buddy up and have a good old fashioned dog powered wagon... okay maybe not for a couple of years, but you know it's coming!



I still have to pull the video from the dedication and get that posted - I'll try and get that done this weekend at the latest...

Everyone, have a great day!


Larry

Sophie's First Fitting

Well, at long last, another update!

First of all, on Thursday night, we had or first "crayon on the wall" incident...



Fortunately, it was the bath crayons, and they cleaned up with a little water and a little scrubbing - no big deal.

Friday morning, we finally had Sophie's first fitting for her prosthetic leg.



Sophie was fine as they put socks on her in preparation of the fitting.





But when they actually fit the socket on her, it was tantrum time...



Mostly it was because she didn't know what was happening, and she wasn't familiar with her tech, Kristine.

We made it through., and the socket fit very well.

Once we were done, I asked if she could handle the socket, so that she could get used to it and maybe settle her down for the future.

Sophie held the socket, played with it a little, and was even playing as if putting it on her arm and leg. So the plan worked - we hope that at the final fitting (hopefully in a week or so) she won't go into tantrum mode again.



They told us that her hand was already in (the arm socket is still in process), so we asked to see it and have Sophie hold that too. The more she gets comfortable with this stuff, the better off we all will be...

This is the actual hand appliance that she'll be using in a few weeks...



Again, we hope that they are able to fabricate the leg socket soon, so Sophie can be really running around.

More to come soon!

Larry

Hug Your Child Extra Hard And Long Today

I feel compelled to write this post, as I am very emotional about the recent news from Steven Curtis Chapman's family.

Steven Curtis Chapman is a well known and respected Christian musician who, like Michael W. Smith, has also had several crossover hits. Steven is also one of Stacy's favorite musicians.

On Wednesday, their youngest daughter, Maria Sue, was accidentally run over and killed at their home. Maria Sue was their third child adopted from China, and was adopted through our agency, America World Adoption.

It was Steven's involvement with AWAA that helped us to decide to go with them as our agency to adopt Sophie, and he and his family have been very strong advocates of adoption for quite some time, including setting up a foundation, Shoahannah's Hope, to help families afford to adopt.

When I heard the news yesterday (Thursday), I instantly felt tears in my eyes as I imagined the same thing happening to Sophie. My God, I can't imagine a more terrible thing in the world - just thinking about it brings the emotions and tears back.

Everyone reading this, please pray for Steven and his family in this tragic time.

If you would like to donate on behalf of their daughter, they have set up a special fund under Shoahannah's hope in memorial to Maria Sue:
https://secure2.convio.net/ccsh/site/Donation2?idb=1605530296&df_id=1560&1560.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr007=gvb9a64xz4.app8b
Every dollar goes to a family waiting to bring their child home.

I hugged Sophie extra hard and extra long when I got home last night.

Cherish every minute you have with your kids - every second is a precious gift - don't let it slip by!

Larry