A bitter battle

18 months.......18 beautiful, wonderful, incredibly blessed months getting to know my children....

18 horrible, wretched, painfully gruelling months with an unwanted guest....(and no Jodi, I'm not talking about my in-laws).

His name starts with an A.....His Latin name I do not know......he is an Amoeba.....a parasite.....an intruder in my home.... and today I found out that he is winning the battle....but I intend to win the war.

I came home from the Dr.'s office and pulled out my microscope and located a slide with an Amoeba on it. Oh how I would love to poke some pins into his eyes and rip his little body apart piece by tiny piece..........instead.....I talked to the little bugger (yes, Justine, I'm using that horrible word). I told him he was no longer welcome here.....that he has met his match. That he had better leave with this new course of Antibiotics or I will climb up the colon and physically take him out myself. Maybe I am going crazy......all I know is I have had enough.

Our physician put his head in his hands today and said, "holy crap" (I thought, literally buddy, and lots of it!).......interesting for a man whose second language is English. When asked how old his son is he responds with , "free". Every bone in my body wants to start dancing and every word in my brain wants to start singing "now I'm free, free falling".....but I'm afraid I may embarrass him.......so I respond with, "Three is a nice age". Brycen is stifling a smile. He then proceeds to explain to us that the next course of action is not going to be pretty. Obviously, this critter is endemic to Tsega. He did not die with a powerful antibiotic. We must be willing to commit to a long course of treatment. He knows me.....he sees the writing on the chart, MOTHER IS PIA (pain in ***). He knows I will question every antibiotic he prescribes....he knows I will request liver panels and blood work to make sure the doses are not having a negative effect on her liver........and he is ever so humble in acknowledging that he does not know if this will work. But he is willing to try......and I am ever so grateful.

Some of you know the issues we have had with our Tsega. Many of you have been party to my tears when the Drs. starting mentioning Autism. I became a pseudo expert on neurological disorders....reading every book I could get my hands on. Infant development made weekly visits......wanted me to attend playgroups with other children who were "struggling". Then....I requested they check the stools again.....and they found this rare African parasite that attacks the liver....causing large amounts of ammonia in the blood......affects cognitive function.....delays motor skills.....what a blessing that discovery turned out to be!!!!!!!

After treatment, Tsega began talking, making eye contact and interacting with us! She is doing so well. But alas, the diarrhea has returned and we must kill the little critter that is native to her body or the Dr. is convinced she will regress.

The rest of the family? We may die from the smell. It seems to permeate the pores of everyone living in the house.....we live with the stench of each other. (I know only one other person who may be able to relate to this part of my life, another adoptive mom, L). I have candles burning continuously so visitors will not be forced to sniff our odor.....Brycen gags quite frequently....and the room clears when the babies have a bowel movement. Then I am left alone......with the dirty diaper......desperately trying to scrape some off with a pooh spoon and deposit my golden treasure in the sample containers. (have you ever tried to scoop diarrhea off an absorbent diaper???? painfully slow process.....with the fumes rising and stinging your nostrils). And I have learned (not willingly) to make sure the lid is tightly closed before shaking the mixture together. Then off to the lab....where they know me by name.

I am very thankful for those who have prayed for our little Tsega through this ordeal. I can not explain in words what an incredible gift it is to have your child call you by name. I am also very grateful to our physician, Dr. G. for his willingness to investigate when all others said it was useless to complete any more tests as there is no cure for children on the Autistic Spectrum. And I am eternally grateful, to my God, for healing our little girl and blessing us with such a precious little wonder.

Please keep her in your prayers over the next few months as we wage war on this army of organisms......we will be victorious!!!!!

As always,
WW