Chrissy's Story

On December 29, 2000 our family received a call from our adoption agency asking us if we would be interested in driving to see a  baby girl born Dec. 26th and talking with her doctors. We were told she had massive hydrocephalus and her prognosis was extremely poor. They wanted to know if we would be interested in adopting her. The next morning my husband and I drove the 150 miles to the hospital. We had spent the previous evening talking and praying about this little child. I  knew that I would know when I saw her if she was supposed to be ours.

We met with the pediatrician who delivered her and were told that the birthmother had no prenatal care and had come into the hospital in labor. On ultrasound they discovered that the baby was breach and that her head was enlarged. She was born by C-Section and whisked away for an MRI. The MRI showed that her head was filled with CSF and they could not see anything other than a brain stem and "remnants" of her middle brain and cerebellum. She was tentatively diagnosed with hydranencephaly.

The birthmother had planned on giving the baby up for adoption, but when she was born with problems, the original adoption agency backed out and said they could not place her. The social worker at the hospital called several agencies and no one would place this little baby. The last agency they called was ours and in turn we were called. We had been on the special needs waiting list for a while.

When we met with the pediatrician he said "What can I tell you about this little girl?" Then he proceeded to tell us that she would be considered a vegetable and that she would likely not live long. We felt he was trying to discourage us from adopting her. His last comment was that she would be released from the hospital just as she was "if she had somewhere to go". My husband and I then went to the special care nursery to see this baby for ourselves. We walked into the room, washed up and moved over to where she was lying on her tummy. The nurses told me she was very irritable. I touched her back and spoke to her. At the sound of my voice she lifted her head all the way up and looked right at me! I picked her up and she continued to stare intently into my eyes. I knew right then that she was meant to be mine. My husband was in tears by then, so I was certain he too knew she was our daughter. She snuggled up against my shoulder and relaxed. The nurses said that was the first time she had relaxed since she was born.

The soonest we could bring Christina Ann (Chrissy) home was January 2, 2001. On Jan. 3rd, we took her to our pediatrician, who referred her immediately to a neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon looked at her MRI (the same one) and said hydranencephaly and a shunt would be for "care issues only". We told him to do it immediately. Chrissy had been suffering for eight days by then with so much fluid in her head that her fontanel was bulging and her eyes were cast downward and her head was so swollen you could see the veins everywhere. It is my opinion that she should have had a shunt put in the day after she was born, but no one wanted to do it because they thought she would not be adopted. At nine days old, on Jan. 4th, Chrissy had her shunt surgery. She came through with flying colors and was home two days later.

Chrissy is the most precious gift we have ever been given. She is a very good baby and all who meet her immediately love her. Her gorgeous brown eyes are full of light and life. She has already touched many people. She had a  CT Scan on Feb. 12th and when the results came back we had a new diagnosis - low and behold there was more brain than they thought! She has now been labeled with Schizencephaly as her official diagnosis. She is still considered to be severely affected and the doctors are still pretty pessimistic, but Chrissy is busy proving them all wrong already!

This little child that everyone was willing to give up on so quickly now weighs 12 lbs, can obviously hear and see, she is tracking objects with her eyes, is content and happy, feeds well, and is a doll! Though we expect there will be many challenges ahead in her future, we know that she will continue to be a light and an inspiration in our lives! We love her for who Heavenly Father made her to be and trust in Him to bring her as far as he wishes her to come. We love you Chrissy!

Feb. 2002 Chrissy is now 13 months old and doing so well! She weighs18 lbs and is 30" long. She continues to be the joy of our family. She is eating solid foods, drinking from her sippy cup, rolling over, and trying very hard to sit up. She gets Physical Therapy weekly and is getting stronger each day. She smiles often, and blesses us with sweet coos and an occasional "mama". Though Chrissy has developed seizures and has ONH (a vision problem), she is a happy, active little girl. She loves to lay on the floor and "bat" at her toys and to sit in her special chair and play with musical toys on her tray. She is learning to push the buttons that make them play! What a joy and inspiration she is to us all and we love her so much!

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