Another Surgery for Luke

We have wonderful news about Luke. We just went to see his ENT surgeon last week for his check-up and he says Luke is ready for his next surgery on his other ear.

On August 26, 2013 Luke will have surgery on this right ear to remove the old implant and replace it with a new one.

I didn't expect it to to be so soon, but since Luke is doing so well the doctor would like to do it right away. The goal is to get him hearing in both ears as soon as possible. He is 5 years old now. It is very important to do this while he is young, so that he will learn to talk and be accustomed to sound.

Please pray the insurance company will cover his surgery costs. The cochlear implant will be FREE! It is amazing that the surgeon "went to bat" for us and convinced the manufacture to give us the second one for free. Our God Is AMAZING! God can do more than we ever ask or imagine.

A BIG THANK YOU to Luke's surgeon, Dr. MEGERIAN,at University Hospital's Rainbow Babies and Children for all you have done for us.

Happy 1st "Gotcha Day" Luke

One year ago today we were united with Dang Fengzheng to become a forever family. We were so excited and blessed to have you as our son. We can't imagine how scared you must have been to meet us. We sent pictures of our family to you in order to help you understand, but communicating to a deaf child about what would be happening to him must have been nearly impossible. It is difficult for any child to understand the how and why their world is being turned upside down, but can you imagine what was going through Luke's mind?

By the way, he had already been abandoned when he was 2 years old. He had already adjusted to a new life, and now he would be taken away from everything he was accustomed to and loved.

Thankfully, we have a God who can do more than we could ever ask or imagine. His specialty is changing the impossible into all kinds of possibilities. That is what he did for Luke. At first Luke didn't want anything to do with us but, after a half an hour or so he actually allowed me to pick him up and hold him. That's our God! I believe he whispered in his deaf ears that he was safe and these people loved him.

We are thankful to everyone who prayed, loved and supported us. We thank you and we love you for all you have done for us.

We thank all our family and friends who gave us financial support. We thank you for answering God's call.  

We also would like to thank our adoption agency, European Adoption Consultants, and especially Uncle Zhou, Chris and Karla for all you have done for us. We couldn't have done it with out you. Also, a big thank you to Adoption Family Legacy for the grant and loan you gave us. You are all a blessing and very special to us. We love you.

A huge thank you to the director and all the caretakers of the orphanage, and especially Levi for your wonderful care of Luke. He wouldn't be so well adjusted and bonded to us if it wasn't for your love for him.
May God richly bless you always for your love and kindness.

Today, Luke has become a sibling to his brothers and sisters. They play and have lots of fun together. We can't imagine our lives without him.

Also, we will never forget all of the families we traveled with. We love you and will never forget you. You all have a very special place in our hearts. It was wonderful to see Jim, Beth, Scott, Lisa and their little ones at the EAC picnic this year. We hope that we see all of you again.

Update on Luke's Cochlear Implant

Today Luke had his third mapping session. He'll have one more in August and he'll be finished for awhile. He is doing well with his new processor, keeping it on all the time. It will take some time before he learns to talk because he needs to process language. It's the same way a baby learns to talk. He is receiving speech therapy every week. His wonderful speech therapist is leaving for another position, so next week will be her last week. She is very special to us (she's originally from Hong Kong) and we wish her God's blessings.



Luke will probably have his other surgery this year. I was told the doctors' feel he is progressing nicely and should be ready to have the other implant put in this year. We pray again for the insurance company to approve it. It would be beneficial for us to have it done this year.