It is now 8:45 pm and Josie is sound asleep in her crib next to our bed. When they called Josie's name and had us come forward (3rd of 12) she started to let me take her but soon began to cry. We learned quickly that she likes to throw herself backwards when unhappy! But we had learned a trick from Grandpa Riddle and had some fruity treats which quickly worked and had the tears stopped and an interested, if not content look on her face. We were able to meet her orphanage director (left in picture), Half-the-Sky Grandmother (the older lady of whom our reports said Josie was closest to), a nanny, and Coco-the assistant/interpreter for the orphanage director. I was able to ask many questions such as, what is special about An Hong? (She's smart and has a great smile.)
Josie was in a daze much of the day. She hates going into places because she loves being outdoors. She cries when she doesn't get her way and right now this is the only way she has to communicate, so we are getting a lot of it! But tonight we gave her Hawiian pizza and she did well. (Did you hear that Chloe and Michael; won't she fit right in?) After a piping hot cup of milk, she was even giggling! She is frightened of so much; there are so many new things: the gold fish in the elegant hotel pond, a real bath (instead of a sponge bath), stores...
Health: She has one ear with a smaller hole; I have not yet looked in it. She does not seem to have an ear infection or any trouble with upper respiratory!! Her skin is a mess. The nannies say it is very sensitive, even for an Asian child and that it scars very easily. I'd say. Her body has little marks all over-possibly scratched bug bites. But the bath and lotion helped. Her hand is doing well. She has full range of motion in the fingers and a functional grip. She lacks some supination actively (turning palm up) and her shoulder is quite involved. It will be enlightening to see X-rays in a couple of months. Her scapula is winged and I don't yet know if it I can get it to retract passively. She also has some bony involvement in the back of her hand at her wrist, pinky side. Again, perhaps an X-ray will help figure out what is going on there. We are looking at lots of therapy. Surgery may be necessary, but I'm pretty clueless about that.
Bonding: She is making great eye contact! It is a little difficult for her to relax, but the low tone helps (she can't maintain the muscle tone to support herself away from us when we're feeding her a tippy cup of hot milk). She is smiling and watching us and prefers us to the strangers around her, even the Chinese.
Thank you for praying for us. I am feeling much better; not sick today. The food we can happily eat here is limited (lots of eel, chicken feet, duck liver...), so pray for our nutrition/strength. Every day our scheduled activities are different and at different times, so you can also pray for Josie's sleep and for us to still try to get to some sort of schedule. A friend is adopting an older boy who is very active and having a difficult time fully accepting his mom because of the language barrier. She is here by herself. Pray for strength and wisdom for her. We hope to tour the orphanage and also go to Josie's finding site. Please pray that works out for us as there are six other families our guide is also working with. And continue to pray that Josie will bond with us and quickly learn our limits (ie. not push them constantly or throw fits).
Chloe and Michael, it has been great to talk with you on the phone. You are going to love Josie. She is precious. We are showing her lots of pictures of you two and she cannot wait to meet you. We can already tell she is a bit ornery, stubborn, and loves to read. Does she sound like a Riddle?
PS: On the plane yesterday from Beijing to Nanjing, a travel mate read about Greensburg.
