Friday, May 20, 2016

A family to care for him...

When people look at Jacob I hope they see him for who he is - a handsome, adorable, brilliant little boy.  Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, including China, people find it hard to look past a person's disability.  Surely, it was because of Jacob's special needs that he was orphaned to begin with.

Jacob has arthrogyposis.  Because of this he has limited use of his arms and legs.  We know he was loved by his caretakers in China, but his future there would be very limited.


Here in the United States, with a loving family to care for him, Jacob will have access to the very best medical treatment.  We will travel all the way across the country if necessary to get him the care he needs.
See Jacob's legs.  I know his caretakers loved him, but it's the Chinese government and not his caretakers that has the authority over orphans and what medical care they do or don't receive.  We have no idea what surgeries were done on Jacob, when they were done, who did them, etc.  We do know he was sent last summer from his home near Beijing to his original province of Henan for surgery.  It breaks our heart that he had to endure that surgery, leave a home where he was loved, and travel to a much poorer province for surgery.  Even the guides in Henan thought it odd he had to come there for surgery.  It's not a place one would purposefully choose to go for medical care!  An American physician that was traveling with the adoption group was shocked over his scars.

We don't know much about the medical care Jacob received in China.  We know he was loved by his caretakers, but caretakers don't get to choose medical care for ophans.  Orphans need parents who can choose their medical care.  Thankfully, now Jacob has parents who will do whatever necessary to get him excellent medical care.

Everything we've read and heard makes it sound like Shriner's Hospitals are the very best for kids with arthrogryposis.  We have an appointment set up for Jacob at the Shriner's in South Carolina just a few days after he gets home.

We've heard good things about that Shriner's but we've also heard the very best doctors for arthrogryposis are at the Shriner's in Philidelphia.  The good thing is the doctor from Philidelphia who works on upper limbs goes to the Shriner's in South Carolina every 3 months, so when we are there next week we will get Jacob set up to see that doctor the next time he goes to South Carolina.

Unfortunately, the doctor at the Philidelphia Shriner's who works on lower limbs has a waiting list that is now approaching 2 years.  We're not willing to wait that long to get medical treatment for Jacob.  He's already waited 5 years, and those 5 years he's waited have likely already limited his treatment options.

So we're looking into the Shriner's all the way across the country (and other hospitals also, but it seems like Shriner's really does provide the best treatment options).  Once we see the doctors at Shriner's in South Carolina they can consult with the doctors at other Shriner's facilities (including the reknowned one in Philidelphia) and help us figure out our next steps.

Though we don't know exactly what the future holds regarding medical care for Jacob, we know he now has parents to ensure he gets the very best care possible.  No longer an orphan, now our beloved son!

Click here to help get Jacob home!

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