A Girl And A Chair

There was a girl who had a chair.  The chair supported her as she watched the world go by.  Year after year she sat in the background and waited.

Then an amazing thing happened.  She was adopted!!  Now her beloved family and gentle new friends support her.  Life has opened and she is free to experience the joys of the world.  Still a girl and a chair, but not the same girl.  No, not the same at all.

Thank you Brandon!

The Ellison's wish to extend our deepest gratitude to all the service personnel who sacrifice so much so that we are free. Through their dedication we have the choices to build our family. We have the hugely blessed life we lead today. 

 We especially shout out to BRANDON ELLISON, the eldest Ellison child, who has shown through the past 13 years as a professional army man what it is to be brave and loyal. Brandon has been deployed numerous times in the Special Forces and has been in dangerous situations. We are grateful he has remained safe. Thank you for keeping us safe too Brandon!! 

May you continue jump out of airplanes and soar with the eagles.

We have a graduate!!

 Back when I knew everything (before parenting a teenager) I took it for granted that graduating from high school was just a given.  I have learned that this achievement needs to truly be celebrated.  So, I whole heartedly applaud my daughter Taisha who graduated with academic honors from Cedar High School last night.  That is a major accomplishment for anyone but particularly one who is hard of hearing.

Taisha first entered our family 16 years ago and has continued to bloom into a gentle hearted but iron willed young woman.  She stands up for the weak, for the lonely, for the people who others may not notice.  The little girl who was once labeled unable to speak has found her voice and uses it to make the world a more fair and honest place.  Because she has trouble hearing she has had to learn to listen very carefully and watch the world. She sees so many things the rest of us miss.  She may have trouble hearing but she can truly listen.  We have yet to see all the great changes in the world she will continue to make.  She has an academic scholarship waiting for her at the university.  A child whose feet once padded along the rural banks of the river Yangtze now will walk the halls of academia.   

Why did destiny require that she leave her native China and be grafted from one family tree to another?  We don’t know.  What we do know is that she is a child of two great cultures.  She carries the gifts that came from the countless generations of Mandarin ancestors before her and shares them at this time with the world when those gifts are sorely needed.

We adore and admire you Miss Taisha.  The very first night she was with us in a hotel room in Wuhan, China, she grabbed onto Daddy's t-shirt and held on all night.  She wouldn't let go.  Now it is our time to let her go and we don't know how we are going to do that.  She is going to create a spectacular life.

Robert is the next "graduate in waiting".  We are counting on you to get us to the next graduation ceremony Robbie.

MRI results.....

We got the call from the neurologist this morning about Meisyn's sedated brain and spine MRI taken taken last week.  Much to everyone's surprise it is basically NORMAL.  There is a retina/brain concern that comes out of left field.  We have been referred to our pediatric opthomologist who has put glasses on most of the Ellison children already.  Jaeya needs to go too because she goes cross eyed...ALOT.

There is also Meisyn's severe scoliosis that shows up on the MRI but we already knew that was there.

So, it is now Shriner's turn to figure out what may be the reason for MEISYN's complete floppiness from the waist down as well the contracture of her hands.  We see Shriners on 6/7.   I am so grateful that it doesn't appear to be any degenerative muscle or brain issue but we are still absolutely stumped by our little Meisyn's medical needs.

 I am very anxious to see Jaeya's full body x-rays.  The outside clearly shows years of broken bones.  The inside will be stunningly revealing I believe.

Meisyn has her MRI

We don't know why Meisyn has no muscle strength from the trunk down.  We don't know why her floppy legs are always cold and bluish.  We don't know why her hands are contracted.  We aren't sure what is causing her severe scoliosis.  We had an MRI to see if we can find some answers.  We are waiting for the results.

What I DO know is that God is good.  Meisyn shouldn't be continent and able to toilet herself.  I know that there are opposites to all things.  As horrendous as Ammon is with an MRI, Meisyn is angelic.  She was trusting and the model patient.  I was shocked by her compliancy.  So were the nurses.  Meisyn is so positive of her exquisiteness that when I explained she was going to the doctor so he could take pictures of her insides with a special camera, she squealed and told me the doctor would certainly think her insides were PRETTY.

I couldn't help but get emotional as she came into recovery. I am blessed to be her mother but I couldn't help but feel the loss that it should be her birth parents that had this gift.  I can take my child to the hospital and have insurance and payment plans help me AFTER the fact.  In China, all the money needs to be paid upfront before you are able to go in the door.  Its just so sad.  The circumstances of her abandonment tells my heart that this was the only choice they felt they could make.  I will do all I can to make sure our child gets the best of medical options.

Mother's Day

My older daughters took some pictures.  It reminds me that I am blessed to have 8 girls in the house.