Holding Abby

September 30, 2008




Even though Abby was in pain, she still wanted to picked up and held. It broke our hearts that she wimpered for us to hold her most of the first night. Today the nurses helped us get her out of bed and laid her in our laps and you have never seen a happier baby!



Mama's Baby



Here is Michael hugging Abby bye so he could go back to the Ronald McDonald house and sleep for a few hours. She just grabbed onto him and didn't want to let go....of course Michael broke down and cried. He is the best Daddy ever!



Yes, that is a tube coming out of Abby's head. The doctor had to drill a hole and place the tube to drain excess spinal fluid.



Abby & Maw-Maw Sonja

Post-Surgery

Here we are right after Dr. Blount came out and gave us the wonderful news that Abby
looked just as good neurologically post-surgery as pre-surgery! We were exhausted but very happy! Thanks to a great medical team, all of Abby's split spinal cord was placed back where it belonged with NO DAMAGE!



This picture was taken while Abby was still coming out of anesthesia. She grabbed Jawanna around the neck and patted her back. Did we mention what a precious baby we have?! She has been a little trooper! She had not been awake long when she was already trying to play Peep-Eye and Patty-Cake with us. She is in a lot of pain, but you would never know it from her attitude. She is one tough little girl!

Surgery Day - September 29, 2008

We would like to say a great big THANK YOU to Jawanna's parents, Freddy & Sonja Carter, for driving all the way to Birmingham from South Mississippi to be with us through Abby's surgery. They stayed with us for 2 days until the hardest part was over. Thanks, Mom & Dad! Also, we would like to thank Jeanne Anderson and Peppi Garrett for driving up from Mobile, AL, and staying with us all day the day of Abby's surgery. You guys were all wonderful and we couldn't have done it without you!



Waiting for Surgery



The Dreaded Hospital Gown....but doesn't she look adorable??!




Here is where we had to hand Abby over to the medical staff and walk away. Talk about crying your eyes out! But she was so good and even reached out for them. She never even cried...it was us that did the crying!

Today was probably the hardest day of our lives, but in the end we are SO BLESSED to say that Abby came through her surgery with flying colors! We serve a awesome God who took care of our precious Abby. The big spot on her back (the size of Michael's fist)is GONE and she still has full function of her right leg and both arms. The team of doctors and nurses here at Children's Hospital have been wonderful and they have taken extreme care of our Abby. Dr. Blount says that she is doing remarkable and expects her to recover to full function as before surgery. Isn't GOD SO GOOD!!!!!!!

Another prayer point: Dr. Blount first told us that she would for sure have to have a Shunt put in her brain next week to drain excess spinal fluid. But yesterday he said they were placing a drainage tube in her brain for after the surgery to monitor the output of spinal fluid to determine if a shunt is needed. We want what is best for daughter, but we are believing God that she will not require a shunt and ask that you stand and believe with us.

Also we are believing God to heal her left leg. Last week as Jawanna was doing some physical therapy with Abby and stretching her left leg she pulled it back, which is
amazing considering she does not use it all. So please believe with us that God will complete the healing process.

We want to thank all of you for standing in faith with us and know that your prayers were all felt. We are grateful to have so many people praying for us. Also thank you for all the e-mails and phone calls they have been so encouraging in a time when we needed all we could get. We love all of you. Cannot wait for everyone to meet Abby.

Abby's Dedication Service

As parents, we felt like it was important to dedicate Abby to the Lord before she had surgery. It was our way of committing our child to God in the Spirit because there is no safer place we can place her than in the arms of Jesus. The service was beautiful and Abby's Paw-Paw Freddy had the honor of dedicating her.




Abby in her new dress.





Paw-Paw Freddy Dedicating Abby



Jawanna's friend, Peppi came to the Dedication!



Here is Abby with her cousin, Bobby, who is visiting all the way from New Mexico.

Catching Up The Blog!

Hello, Everyone! Many of you are probably wondering if we have fallen off the face of the earth since coming home from China, but we're still here! I'm sorry we have fallen so far behind keeping the blog up. We were only home for 3 days before we started making the trek to Birmingham to see a team of specialists about Abby's medical condition. The news we received floored us because Abby had been misdiagnosed in China and her condition was much more severe than we knew. Because we were so devastated, it was hard for us to put a public post on the internet. Below is a letter we sent on September 28th to a few people asking them to pray. We will try to start from there and update our blog so you can see what our Abby has already been through and where she is today....she's an amazing little girl!

Dear Family and Friends,

We are writing all of you to ask for intercessory prayer for our Abby.

When her pediatric neurosurgeon initially examined her, he thought there was no spinal fluid on her brain because she was so smart and funny and had such good hand-eye coordination. But her MRI this past Thursday revealed that there was spinal fluid on her brain. So now she will be having 2 major surgeries in the next 8 days. The first surgery will be this Monday, September 29th, to fix the meningocele on her back (this is a milder form of spina bifida). Abby will be recovering from that surgery in the hospital for 1 week. Then the following Monday she will be having a second surgery to insert a shunt in her brain to drain the spinal fluid off.

Michael and I were both devastated when we received this news. We just didn't see it coming. But we have had a chance to catch our breath now and are trying to focus on the positive! There are many things that should be wrong that aren't. And Abby is doing a lot of things that she shouldn't be able to do with her condition. We are standing in faith and believing God for 2 sucessful surgeries that will restore her to full health.

We are asking anyone out there who is willing to please fast and pray for Abby the next 2 Mondays, even if you are only able to fast for one meal. We could not have made it this far without all of the prayers and support. Even though we feel anxious, we are still excited to see the great things God will do for our little Miracle Girl.

Blessings,
Michael and Jawanna O'Quin
(and Abby too!)

Daddy's Girl

GREAT REPORT!

God is good! We received a great report from Abby's neurosurgeon today. She will have a new MRI and surgery by the end of September! Most likely there will be a follow-up of some physical therapy to strengthen her legs, but her doctor gave a completely positive prognosis. Thank you all for the prayers!

Michael, Jawanna & Abby

HOMECOMING!

We came home on September 11, 2008, to an army of family and friends! What a wonderful and joyous homecoming! Thank you everyone for all of the prayers and support....it has been a wild ride but we would do it all over again for our precious Abby. We will post more pictures as we can, so be on the lookout. Also, we would like to let all of you know that Abby has an appointment with her pediatric neurosurgeon this coming Monday morning, so please keep us in your prayers.

With Much Love and Grateful Hearts,
Michael, Jawanna & Abby-Rae

Famous Red Couch Photos

Yesterday afternoon we had a photo session here at the White Swan. Many many adoptive parents stay here on the last leg of their trip. There is a red couch in the lobby where everyone loves to have pictures taken of the babies. We have 11 families in our adoption group, so it was mass chaos trying to get all of the babies on the couch at the same time! Abby was so enthralled with the other babies that we never could get her to look up at the camera. Hopefully the photographer got some better pictures than we did! ha ha

Welcome Home Abby

Abby's Aunt Carla made this beautiful Welcome Home sign for Abby. She used Abby's dress as the background. Thank you, Aunt Carla! That was really a sweet gesture! We love you.

Abby & Reagan Meet!

Tonight we were able to connect and have dinner with our dear friends, Margie & John Creel. It's hard to believe that we all finished our adoptions together and ended up in Guangzhou at the same time! Both of us couples had delays right at the end but it was a blessing in disguise after all. Our daughters met for the first time, and here are a few pictures!


Reagan & Abby ordering their dinner.




Abby making pretty eyes at whoever will look!


What a beautiful little doll! Congratulations Margie & John!

A proud daddy, Savannah & Austin.

Margie's food didn't come until the rest of us had finished eating, but she took it all in stride!

Little Miss Lilli zonked out!

Margie, who would have ever thought we would share this moment together?! New mommies with precious little bundles to love forever. WOW!

Qing Ping Herbal Market

The Qing Ping Herbal Market is the oldest section of Guangzhou. It may look rough, but actually it's the place where most of the restaurant and hotel owners come to buy goods for their businesses. Everything can be found here from lion paws to live (yes, live!) scorpions to dried snakes. And the smells vary from that of herbs we take in the States to rotting seafood.

It's late and I'm really tired :0) so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

A Heartfelt Thank You to Family & Friends

Our time here in China is coming to an end. We will be here tomorrow (Wednesday) and then fly home on Thursday. Yipppppeeeeeeeeeee! There are no words to describe this experience. We've only had Abby a few days but yet we can't remember ever being without her. She has always been in our hearts.

We ask that you all pray for us on the long flight home. Abby's medical condition is quite delicate and we have to be so very careful with her. Many people have wanted to pat her and hold her and we have turn away to keep her from being injured. So we would appreciate your prayers for our flight home as we will be awake for well over 24 hours. If anyone has questions about our Abby, please email us directly and do not post your questions on the blog. We are happy to speak with you in private.

We also want to thank all of you who have emailed us and posted comments to our blog. Your kindness has meant so much and has encouraged us more than you will ever know. We are planning to have this blog made into a book for Abby so that one day she will see how much she was wanted and loved. If anyone out there would like to say something to her, please post a comment on the blog within the next 24 hours before we leave for home.

We will be posting a few more pictures for you all to see tonight and tomorrow. Thank you all for joining us on our journey "To China for Abby."

With Our Love,
Michael, Jawanna & Abigail Rae

A Happy Happy Baby

Everywhere we go people ask the same question over and over: "Is she ALWAYS this happy?" And the answer is YES! Her Chinese name is Wu Ming Xiao, which means Little Shining Star and that's what she is.


Playing with Daddy

She's finally getting used to the bow!

Helping Daddy shave.

Abby and her new friend, Alex.

Fun Pics from Today!

Here is Miss Abby and her new toy. Since we got her, this is the only toy she has asked for...how could we resist?!



This is what the Chinese equivalent of Wal-Mart looks like. And yes, it is scary and we couldn't wait to get out of there!



Me & Abby outside China's "Wal-Mart"



People on their bicycles waiting for the green light. Wouldn't you hate to be the guy with all of the water jugs? They were full of water, too!



Yes, I got desperate enough to actually use one of these today! To my surprise, there were no Western toilets at all at the pearl market. And for that matter there was no toilet paper, either. It's called a "squatty potty". Enough said!

Employee at the pearl market stringing up pearls.

Bride & groom at the park having their photo shoot.

School kids having their morning exercise class.

And last but not least...Three Men & A Baby! These guys are a part of our adoption group here at White Swan. Their group consists of the father-in-law, new daddy, brother-in-law, and baby Brandon. The mama is at home with their 5 year old sister. These guys have been great with this baby!