Happy Birthday Polly girl!!

Good news for Polly

Today Polly and I went for her follow-up quick MRI and to see her Neurosurgeon.

We waited for almost an hour and a half for an MRI that lasted three minutes. But it was worth the wait. Her surgeon said everything looks good, there's no extra fluid and she is healing nicely. In six months we go back to Dr. Alden for a check-up and for another quick MRI and neck x-rays. At that time they'll decide to do another angiogram or wait a few more months. The angiogram will either prove or disprove new blood flow created by these surgeries.

So as it stands, Polly still has Moyamoya and she always will. Yes, she is staying on seizure meds and aspirin and yes, we are always on the look out for stroke and seizure activity. But, God willing, new blood flow can organically start anytime and our prayer is that it's sooner than later and that our girl won't have to struggle through any more episodes.

Please pray for Polly as she comes to mind, for new blood (not having anything to do with the Vampire rage these days).

We also have to keep Polly away from any major activities for the next three months as she heals (like, downhill sledding).

Between the MRI and the doctor appointment Polly and I had time for a quick lunch together at a cafe. Polly munched on chips and french fries (healthy, I know!) and gulped down juice. We talked about the snow and about the possibility of some snowman action this weekend. She babbled on about Evie and Lainie and Zoya and I smiled. A lot.

It was our first Mommy/daughter date. She was excited to do something with me on her own like Elaina and Zoya.

My heart is full.

Surgery at 1:30pm

Polly's second surgery for Moyamoya is today at 1:30pm.

Please be praying and I'll update later tonight.

Thanks!

Evie's EEG, Polly's insurance, Elaina's night terror and my sanity

It's been a couple busy weeks.

Last week we had four doctors appointments; Polly saw her neurosurgeon and got her stitches out, Elaina went to the allergist, Zoya needed her second H1N1 flu mist and on Friday Evie had an early morning EEG to check for possible seizure activity.

Evie does this thing where she clenches her arms up by her head and rolls her eyes back. She does it about five or six times a day. Even though these episodes could be behavioral we decided to check it out. We don't have a conclusive medical history for Evangeline and we haven't seen that much cognitive gain with her. I'd just hate for there to be something going on that can greatly alter her potential and not have followed up on it. So on Thursday I kept Evie up until midnight and then Sergei woke her up at 4am. They want her to be sleep deprived for the test.

Of course, she didn't fall asleep during the test at 7:15 am at the hospital even though the sweet tech and I did all our tricks to get her to snooze.

We received the results a couple of days ago which were normal (and that needs to be taken with a grain of salt b/c she didn't sleep). Our pediatrician wants us to get in with neurology and see what they have to say about the test and about Evie's behavior. So we'll see what we are doing with all that...

Elaina is not allergic to anything. We spent almost three hours at the allergist to obtain this information. After our trip to Ukraine this summer to adopt Evie (she stayed with me in Kiev for seven weeks), Elaina has complained of fatigue. Her glands in her neck are swollen a lot and she has bags under her eyes. Her ped treated her for a sinus infection with an antibiotic for ten days but it didn't help. She also had a full bloodwork up done and everything came back normal. So we were referred to an allergist and an ENT.

A couple weeks ago Lainie started having trouble falling asleep, which at times has escalated into two hours of screaming at the top of her lungs. She's nine years old and personality wise, is quite high strung and emotional. She's also compassionate, smart, helpful and happy most of the time. We've done back rubs and hot baths, tea, later bedtime but nothing seems to help. She can't fall asleep and she gets so frustrated...poor thing. Today we go to the ENT to see what he has to say about her glands. If anyone has any other suggestion to help Lainie, let me know.

So that was last week.

This week we've been on the phone with our primary insurance. They contacted us in the beginning of the week to let us know that Polly had reached her lifetime limit with her policy (read, they won't pay for anything else). Nice. And she has her second brain surgery for Moyamoya next week. Recently our insurance had to change to a lesser plan b/c we still are insured with our mission that sent us to Ukraine but support keeps dropping. This insurance is strictly medical and has a cap.

But Sergei and I thought it would get us through these surgeries as we figure out what to do next.

I guess not.

The good news is Polly does have secondary insurance through Illinois ALL KIDS and it's been confirmed that they will pay the claims if our primary declines. Ugh. So after phone tag and worry I think we are still on for Polly's surgery next Thursday, January 21.

At least Zoya got her 2nd flu mist without incident. That's something.

With all this going on I get overwhelmed pretty much every day. And then I hear about something like Haiti and it all gets put into perspective.

My friend Mel said something profound Wednesday night at home group. She said that you may not remember what you had for lunch last Tuesday but you know you were fed.

In busy times like this I may not comprehend everything that is going on in our family and I may not be getting things completed, I may not be praying enough, or paying attention to all four kids equally or folding laundry and getting it put away in drawers. But I know we are being provided for, that God cares and that we are doing alright.

I know we're fed.

Christmas

I really needed this Christmas.

These last few days both with our church and with family have been like a thick layer of balm on our chapped lives.

Things were already looking up when Polina surprised us all by bouncing back from her indirect by-pass brain surgery for Moyamoya like a champ, basically strutting down the hallway and out the hospital door last Sunday morning. She came home happy to see her sisters and asking for pizza. Her recovery from this huge surgery amazes me. And the peace God gave Sergei and I encourages me. I dare say we're ready for round two (her next surgery is scheduled for January 21).

We had a beautiful service on Christmas Eve and had a few friends over afterwards to toast Jesus. On Christmas morning Elaina and Zoya woke the rest of us at 7am. Downstairs the girls were instantly buzzed by mounds of wrapped shinny gifts holding magical mysteries, Sergei brewed a quick pot of coffee and we gathered around the tree for a little bit of reading and prayer.

Presents were opened and we spent the rest of the day at home tinkering with new toys and gadgets, snacking on cinnamon rolls and playing Wii tennis.

I couldn't help but watch my children intently all. day. long.

My presents were appreciated; a candle from Zoya, bubble bath from Elaina, comfy jammies, a yoga mat and a crock pot cook book from Sergei. But my real gifts were unwrapped in my mind throughout the day; health and happiness. This weekend I decided to stop and look around and breathe.

OK, so we are in the midst of brain surgeries and pending tonsillectomies. Elaina is tired all the time and Zoya's eczema is bizerk lately.

Evangeline has yet to see all the specialists required; she really needs to get in to see a pediatric dentist and most of the time her eyes still look sad. She spits and pulls hair and bites. I can't read her cues and at night when I lay down to sleep I worry that I'm not doing enough.

Last year I sheepishly hung a stocking for the little girl we hoped to bring home from Ukraine. This year Evie is here, suspicious of the antics of her sisters and less than interested in her toys... but here. She seems more present too, passing out (albeit sparingly) hugs and cuddles, smiling here and there.

And tonight she let me rock her to sleep for the first time.

This weekend we had health and happiness. Sergei cooked a wonderful Christmas dinner, Zoya is turning out to be quite the little athlete. Elaina includes her little sisters in her games, is thrilled with her new outfit and text messaging gadget. I made high score on the Bop It (100, if you care to know). Polly loves her new caillou doll and her incision is healing nicely. Evie decided she likes animal crackers and has moved into a booster seat at the main table.

Health and happiness. One day at a time.

Merry Christmas.

Polly's HOME!!!

And she's doing great!

The doctors came to see her early this morning and everything looked very good. They said that she can go home and the surgeon will see her in two weeks to check the wound and schedule the next surgery.

Polly was excited to get dressed and walked all by herself down the hall and out to the elevator waving and saying 'bye' to everyone she saw.

The feeling of peace has been overwhelming this past week. So many people spread the word asking for prayer for Polly. Sergei and I are thankful and we praise God for bringing Polly through this surgery so well.

So what now? We rest up and Polly continues to heal and we gear up for surgery #2, probably mid January.

My Christmas list only has two things on it this year: Health and Happiness. I pray for health and happiness for all four of my daughters but this year, specifically, I ask God for Polly's continued health and ability to handle huge things like brain surgery with strength and ease. I surely desire for our kids to be happy day to day but this year my prayer is for Evangeline to be happy in our home. I am praying that the Lord binds us together and that she feels comfort, unconditional love and joy.

I'm experiencing a little bit of Christmas this morning as Polly sits in the kitchen eating goldfish crackers and drinking apple juice.

Day 3 post surgery

Polly continues to improve. All cords are removed except for her IV for liquids and this afternoon they moved her out of ICU into a typical recovery room.

The left side of her head has started to swell and now her left eye is almost completed closed. According to her doctor it's common after this kind of surgery and should go down in the next few days.

Polly's spirits are high but she is getting bored. She really didn't need any pain meds today.

Someone asked how we are doing. That's a tough question b/c I am so exhausted I can't really put a thought together. I think Sergei is probably more tired than I am. He is pursuing a Masters Degree in Historical Christianity and this week he had two finals and a twenty page paper due. Not to mention a full work week at Church and a sermon to prepare. Oh, and his daughter's surgery. We are both tired. Tonight when he came up we talked for a few minutes and I left. It didn't occur to me to stay and visit, all I can think of is getting home and getting some sleep. I guess he and I will catch up next week.

The other three girls left yesterday to spend the weekend with my parents. We are very thankful for help so Sergei and I can concentrate on Polly and split up our time at the hospital. I'm doing days and Sergei comes up after a work day to spend the night with Polly.

It's working out, I think, but I do worry about Evangeline being away from both of us for a few days. She absolutely LOVES grandpa and I know they are taking great care of her. I just worry about my own bond with Evie. It's still so fragile. I'm finding it difficult to focus on all four girls right now and I hope that once Polly's home we can have a few weeks of normal (whatever that is).

Pray that our relationship with Evie won't regress during our separation. And of course, we'd love continued prayers for Polly's recovery.

Better today

Polly is doing better today. She was awake and alert most of the day even asking to eat; managed a few bites of cheerios and later for lunch peanut butter and jelly and juice.

The side of her head with the incision is beginning to swell. The doctor told us this well happen and it could even swell to the point where her eye will be closed. We'll see.

Tomorrow she should be out of intensive care and into a typical recovery room.

She's enjoying her TV shows and we read lots of books today. Polly is such a great kid...she is handling all of this like a champ.

Thanks for your prayers!

Surgery #1 is marked off the list

What a day!
We left the house this morning at 6:30am. Polly was in good spirits...she was excited to go out with Mama and Papa. We told her we were taking her to the hospital and she was all for it. She didn't have a clue about what the day would bring even though we've been talking about it for a while.

My mom came from Michigan a couple days ago and she was up to see us off this morning. Her help has been such a blessing. She makes meals and cleans and plays with the kids. She's really taken good care of all of us this week.

So we got to the hospital, parked and before we knew it (really, it was like an hour), Polly was changed into a surgery robe and she was sleepily carried away, through the double doors and out of sight.

Leaving children for surgery reminds me of flying in an airplane. You know it's coming...the plane speeds up and everything starts to wobble and out of nowhere you're up in the air...and there's not a darn thing you to do except ask God for safety and trust the pilot isn't the same dude out of Chicago who recently was caught flying drunk.

We handed Polly over to the surgeons with a kiss and a prayer...'Here you go, Lord. It's all you.' (Even though I am aware that it's always him.)

Sergei and I grabbed some food, talked, waited. Eventually he pulled out his laptop to work on a paper and I read a book. I felt a lot of peace and was thankful so many people were praying for Polly.

Around 11am the surgeon found us in the waiting room. He said that everything went well. We breathed a sigh of relief and settled back to wait to be called to recovery to see Polly.

We waited a while.

And then we heard her name. "Polina Marchenko."

We grabbed our bags and followed a polite gentlemen around a corner and into another long hallway. And then we were once again with Polly.

She was in and out of sleep and fitful. Cords and tubes were tucked in all around her body, hands, feet, a draining tube from her head. But we were with her...she was looking around and ticked...we'll take it!

The rest of the day was up and down for Polly. She's in a lot of pain but it's being controlled. Her incision was much bigger than I expected, she's nauseous and fussy. It was decided later in the day to give her a blood transfusion. She lost quite a bit of blood during and after surgery.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

We thank God for Polly's surgery and continue to petition for a full recovery.

I'm going to sleep. Need to be back up at the hospital tomorrow at morning at 9am.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Polly's brain surgery is tomorrow at 7:45am

I was doing fine this week preparing for Polly's first brain surgery for her Moyamoya. And then about a half hour ago a nurse from Children's called and gave me the needed info about tomorrow's schedule.

Now I am shaking.

Polly's surgery is scheduled for 7:45am tomorrow (Thursday, December 17th). It should last for three hours and then Polly will probably be in the hospital recovering for three or four days.

I've heard that there will be some swelling and recovery will be challenging for Polly. Some kids are nauseous at first and other have headaches.

But the time has come for this surgery and I know that although I can barely breath right now, God loves Polly so much more than we do. He is holding her in the palm of his hand.

Please be praying. We so appreciate it!

I'll try to update tomorrow.