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I am SO EXCITED to report about all God has done in Esty's physical health!!
I've waited for so long…hoping that I'd have a good report but everything was always SO BLATANTLY FULL OF BAD NEWS.
As you may remember, when we picked her up from the orphanage back in January, she was sick.
Very sick.
So sick she was within 1-2 days of dying.
Seriously.
But God orchestrated all our paperwork, clearances, fundraising and plane tickets so we were there on the Monday before she died.
And God directed our steps all the way to the International clinic where she was given the medical attention that put a halt to the kidney infection that had gone into her blood.
And then, we came home to America.
And we began investigating all her renal health issues.
We did endless tests. We were at the hospital weekly.
And no matter what test was run, they all had bad news: she was in a desperate state of health.
Stopping the blood infection in China was not enough.
When we got the results back…it was hard to not cry.
For a solid 15 minutes, the pediatric urologist showed me test after test and each time would say, "Well, her bladder should look like a round ball, but this is how her bladder looks," and on and on through every test.
There was no good news.
Nothing.
I was just simply astonished.
And then, we went to the nephrologist.
He too reported difficult news. "She is a patient who is on the path to total dialysis and/or kidney transplant."
How does a mom take it all in????
I couldn't blog.
It was just too much.
Naturally, we began some intervention.
Fast forward 6 weeks.
Today, we had another serious test to see how the pressures are being managed in her bladder. You see, she already had Stage 4 reflux into BOTH kidneys. This is often solved by immediate surgery.
Our team wanted to try medication and daily self catheterizing. We've done that faithfully for the past few months.
Today, the test began and our urologist immediately exclaimed, "Oh my! Look at that bladder! It almost looks normal!"
:)
And fast forward to the end…she has NO SIGNS OF REFLUX INTO HER KIDNEYS!!!! The meds and cathing have WORKED!!!!
I was dancing around the operating room in my funny jumpsuit and hairnet!
GOOD NEWS FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!
Now the deal is, she must stay on this plan the rest of her life. Monitoring her progress with further testing will always be part of her life. We cannot reverse the damage already done to her kidneys by years of neglect…but…
The future of dialysis/transplant is now DECADES off into the future, no longer an imminent concern!!!!
Are you kidding me?!?!?!?!
CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And Esty? Well, she was busy playing an iPad game where she applies make up to a mermaid. She did look up and wonder at my silly dance party but then just kinda shrugged her shoulders and went back to choosing a nice party dress.
Someday I will tell her this story.
A story of a God who sees her. Who saw her broken and needy. Of a God who cared for her every step of the way, even when she felt alone. The story of a woman across the world who heard Him speak of a waiting orphan in great need. The story of how He lovingly matched their hearts. The story of how He rescued her just in the nick of time and provided all the right medical care at the perfect moment. The story of how she would be obedient to take her medicine and learn to self catheterize and He would work more miracles to extend her life. The story of how He wanted her named Esther…because He wanted her in place for the special work He has for her to do.
I will tell her this story.
She will know how the God of the Universe loves her. And how valued she is. And I pray that she will embrace Him wholeheartedly and live out the marvelous plan He has for her life.
What an honor it is to have a front row seat to watch this miracle unfold!!!
