Philip

Philip is the name WACAP is using for the Taiwanese child to help keep some of his information private on online databases, but probably also to make it easier for us Americans to say and connect with. Philip turned one in May. That would make Liam and him closer in age than we were expecting. We've thought about it a lot, prayed about it some (...I know, we may have that reversed), but in general we think we could handle the closeness in age. It would be crazy for us as parents at times, but the we think we can do it, and the boys could have a blast being so close in age.

The harder to figure out is Philip's physical situation. They gave us some medical records which we did not understand. Gratefully, we have a doctor friend, and he was able to explain more to us. It turns out Philip has some fluid/swelling in his brain which can affect his motor development. According to his records, his upper body is weaker than his lower and he's been receiving physical therapy to help strengthen various areas of his body. He seemed to be showing improvement in that regard, but the last update was when he was eight months old. The fluid/swelling could be helped with a surgery that gets performed pretty regularly. What our friend did say was that it would be hard for him, not being a neurologist, to know how much of the damage is reversible with physical therapy, etc. He said, chances are, this child will not be a normal child. I know he was trying to warn us of the possibility, but I still don't know what that means. He doesn't necessarily either. He said Philip could end up being fine, but he could also have some irreversible effects. Not the news I was hoping to hear.

Matt tried calling URMC's neurology appointment, but they said that they were not allowed to talk to us about someone else's records. So, we're thinking we may try to talk to them again in general terms (what if someone had such and such, what would the worst case scenario be? etc), and if that didn't work, maybe our doctor friend could ask some questions on our behalf.

We're not really so sure what to think about all of this. I haven't really felt strongly "yes" about Philip. I'm not sure if what I do feel is "no". We still don't really have enough information I think. It's hard because I don't think I'm equipped to adopt a child that I know would die young, or would need me to take care of him or her for the rest of our lives, but what can I really handle, I don't know. And honestly, I hate wondering that with an actual child looking for a home. I keep trying to remember that God can provide and does, and just because we are connected with Philip now, doesn't mean we are the ones He plans on having adopt him. Just as well, we could be. So, all that to say, prayers would be appreciated.

That's where we are in a nutshell. I hope to keep you up to date as we go forward.