Carlie’s SOD Blog

Home!!!!!

June 23rd, 2009

Well we are finally settled in enough to write our coming home post. So many of you who read this BLOG have sent e-mails enquiring how everything is going so I did not want to leave you hanging.

We arrived home with very little complications. We only had one delayed plane and it was in San Fransisco. I was just relieved that we were in in the US. We enjoyed sitting around the airport eating familiar food and listing to the familiar language. Even Carlie commented on how weird it was to hear a language that she could understand. Then I think I passed out on the seats in total exhaustion. But the real treat was arriving in Houston. When we were exiting the plane, Carlie had to go to the restroom and yet we were so excited to see the boys. So we stopped to go to the restroom before heading down stairs. I was thinking in my head hurry up but I did not say it out loud!!!!!!!!!! As we went down the escalator all of a sudden Christians head popped up, then we saw Colton holding my moms hand. I could not believe it….there were my parents and my 2 boys. I had waited so long to see them. Skype just did not do them justice. We all ran to each other and gave the biggest hugs. Christian was crying and so was mom and I. Colton grabbed me and kept saying my mommy. Thenhe looked at me and said why you crying mommy? He grew up while I was away. When I left he did not talk in sentences, and he certainly was not potty trained. I came back to a boy who went potty, sang his abc’s, counted, and talked in full sentences. Christian looked so good too. They all had on American flag shirts and that was awesome. I had never been so glad to see the flag before in my life. That reunion was the highlight of the night. My parents did such a good job taking care of the boys. They looked so healthy and happy. I could not ask for anything else. As a matter of fact Colton cried 2 nights after we got home to go home and sleep at Nina’s house. I had to tell myself not to get my feelings hurt because they were his life for a long time.

It took about 4 days for us to finally get back on Houston time. It was really hard to be on the 13 hour time change for 30 days. Three days after getting home, we went with our family on a short family vacation. It was really nice to get away and not think about anything!!!! We really enjoyed ourselves.

In terms of the stem cells…it is now a waiting game. The stem cells have 9 months to a year to grow in her brain. Our job now is to keep her healthy so they have a place to thrive. Fever is the one thing hat will kill stems cells so we must keep her well. Time will tell what they will do for her. It is already looking promising. We did a series of test before and after stem cells. Her acuity did improve by about 1 foot in the left eye which is really good for that eye. Her left eye is the really bad one and she usually never depends on it. Also, her VER test showed improvement as well. This test shows how fast images get to the brain. Also, she was able to perform the peripheral vision field test after stems cells which she was not able to do before because she was just not strong enough to hold the eyes still. She had to sit with herface in this box and stare at a dot. It was very challenging for her because of the difficultyshe has holding her eyes still for so long but she did do it after her stem cell therapy. We will now follow up with her Opthamologist and endocrinologist every 3 months to look for changes. 

I am so tankful to everyone who has prayed for us and e-mailed. This has been an amazing journey and I thank you for being a part of it. Even when we were all alone in China, we could feel the love and prayers of people back home. Due to the mass quantities of e-mail, I was not able to answer everyone. Please know that it overjoyed our hearts to receive your kind words, and we read in delight every single one. Of course this trip had ups and downs but we are so thankful for this opportunity for Carlie. The Lord is working in our lives and Carlie’s little body. Thanks again from the bottom of our hearts.

I will update her progress after we see her doctors here in Texas.

Love,
The Smith Family

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