Lots of Celebrations ~

Happy 8th Birthday to Alex on the 12th! She was so excited that she finally got her Nintendo DS that she had been begging for. Wow, I can hardly believe that she is this age! The expression on her face was absolutely priceless.... Alex was speechless and that never happens!

Happy Gotcha Day my little Janie today! What memories from 5 years ago as we waiting not so patiently waiting for those elevator doors to open. What a scared little baby you were that day - it didnt take you long to come around :)

Tuesday, Alexandra will celebrate her 7th Gotcha Day with us! You showed no fear when you were placed in our arms but sure did fool us ..... you were all quiet and then the 3rd day you popped out of your shell and have been running non stop every since! I think 5 years has gone by quickly.

Quinn came down with a nasty cold and fever Wednesday night. Is doing better now but still a little on the low grade fever side with a cough. I had to miss my first day back to work Thursday. I guess tomorrow will be my lucky day pending no more troubles.

Uncle Brian was sure missed this week! Without fail he was always here to celebrate the "your little peanut's" birthdays! Christmas time is harder yet ~

Another Dr. Appt

Friday we had a monthly follow up with the Hematologist and a shot update. First we started with the shots. He did really well but cried. I say well because the first trip he became furious with me for allowing them to give him shots. So, progress with that!

Next stop was Hematology. He bled quite a bit this time from the shots and had to bandage his arm up with guaze and tape it up tight. I looked again once we got the office and it had bled through so we had to wrap it again. This time, they used tape that is used for bone marrow patients and seemed to work well. This morning I looked again and there was still a small amount of fresh blood so put Amicar on it and tape it up tightly. Tonight, it was fine. The doctor was impressed with the changes in him both physical and emotionally. His weight was 35.6 lbs today which is a step in the right direction. She seemed to feel like his small size is due to the bleeding disorder and anemia. They ran labs on his hemoglobin and found it to have dropped 1 gram to 9.8. Which is still good. In China he was running around 7.9. We will do another follow up appointment again next month. The doc's will continue to monitor him due to the type of disorder he has.

School is going well and he seems to like going. He is an amazing little boy and is learning all kinds of things. He is using the "sticker system" for doing a good job and am seeing them everyday.

Quinn is so excited about all of the Christmas lights and pretty's! I usually wait until Thanksgiving time to put our tree up but think we will do it next weekend while Daddy is deer hunting. I have tried to tell him a little about Santa Clause but think that a little movie would be more explanatory for him. When I told him that Santa would bring gifts for the good little boys and girls his eyes lit up and he was speechless! Too cute ~ Today, Daddy and Quinn went to Home Depot to buy some lights and a reindeer for the yard. He loved that! I am really looking forward to the holidays this year ~ he will be so fun to watch! My boy's first Christmas ...

Fishing ~

My boy loves to fish with his PaPa and Daddy!!! He has asked several times for PaPa to come back :) Hint Hint PaPa!!! I will try to post pictures soon for you. He has some awesomepictures. He is now calling our boat "Quinn and Daddy's boat!!"

One Month Home ~

Wow!!! I can hardly believe that it has been another month of being home. Alot has happened since my last journal entry.

Quinn had a bleed and was in the hospital for three days one month ago today. He had a nose bleed that would not stop and brought us to the ER one day and to the hospital the next day to be admitted. The first visit he quit bleeding while we were there so they released us. The following day he was still bleeding and was getting weak. Honestly, the doctors did not take me seriously the 5 times that I called in 20 hours. Finally, they told me that if I was uncomfortable to bring him in - WHAT!! So, after being in ER/Trauma for one hour with continued bleeding they drew blood and started an IV. The bleeding became more persistant and Afrin was only working for a short time at that point. He started becoming lethargic and had to have a sternum rub to wake up. Finally, the administered RBC and was talking about giving platelets if the RBC werent enough. After many conversations of describing what his diagnosis and treatment had been in China they finally decided that packing the nose was the way to go. Hello!! Immediately after packing his nose the bleeding had slowed down and finally stopped after a short time. The pressure of putting the packing in the nose stopped the vessels from bleeding. We stayed another 24 hours so that observations could be made on his bleeding and to run a few more blood tests. I think we had every Hematologists in the hospital there to check up on us. We received good care once we were in the hands of the right doctors. With Quinn being anemic, his blood was already thinner then the IV thinned the blood out more which caused more bleeding. Anyway, you get the picture. At the end of our visit they assured me that the next time I called I would be taken more seriously when I told them he was bleeding! I guess it was difficult for them without having an "American Diagnosis".

After several more lab tests it has been determined that he has a very rare bleeding disorder and is the 193rd person in the US to have it. Thrombasthenia is our culpret! The physicians are checking internationally to see if there is further treatment or testing available for it. After persistance, they gave me meds to help him in the event of another bleed!!! Yeah for Mommy!!

Quinn lost a tooth about 2 weeks ago and now has another loose. It was 12 long hours of bleeding and took 3 doses of meds and multiple packings to get it to stop. What a strong and brave boy we have!!

This is our second week of school and he is doing well with it. It is amazing how well he is doing and the handwriting on this little guy is awesome! He writes like he has been doing this all his life. Math and telling time are also strong points too. We are working on a reward system both at school and at home with stickers and a calendar so that he can visibly see good behavior. This seems to be doing well for him the past couple of days. We have had a few bumps and bruises along the way with differences in customs, house rules and the grieving process.

Funny story ~ tonight he wasnted to call his friend in Texas so we did. While I was on the phone talking with her Daddy aroudn the corner Quinn came running "Mommy come here now please!" He sounded a little shaken so I hurried up. He opened the door to the microwave to a blaze of fire!!!! What ~ I couldnt believe this ... it was our medicine that I had picked up today!!! It was printed in blue and white like a popcorn back so am thinking that is what he thought it was and popped it in. It took several cups of what to put the fire out!!! I have let him use the microwave with my direction supervision only. I guess he was feeling independent and thought he could do it himself to! We will have a little conversation about that also. Owen said, well I guess my medicine with taste a little dry tonight!