Tess's Story

Tess's Story: We belong to an adoption group that places special needs children/babies. I saw a post for Tess (Teresa, the bio parents named her). I sent in our profile to the agency and within a few hours, we were told that we had a daughter! The post that prompted our submission included her medical conditions: Tess had already had heart surgery for pulmonary atresia, VSD, and PDA. She had a low birth weight. She was baby B of a set of triplets. She had a GTube for feedings and a preliminary diagnosis of SCID. She would need a thymus transplant at Duke Hospital in North Carolina. She needed a family where one parent stayed at home, where there were no other children, and parents willing to travel for up to six months with her to NC. Tess had been in NICU for most of her life, in isolation. In order to see her, we had to put on gowns, gloves and masks. She would be discharged from the NICU with the Gtube feedings; she would require IG infusion once a month for antibiotics; she had three meds to also go into her feeding tube, and they thought that she would come home with a pulse oxometer (she didn't!). Genetic testing had been sent off and the results are still pending. And the hospital mentioned what a sweet baby Tess was (they were not kidding!) And so, with this information, we decided to go for it. She sounded perfect for Mark and I and for our parenting experience. And she is...just perfect! We kept the name the bio parents chose for her (Tess as a nickname) and gave her a name to honor my little sister, Kathy Jo, who passed away when she was eight when we were hit by a car. And so, she is Teresa Katherine. Everything happened SO quickly, we have yet to finish her nursery. We've been blessed to have friends and family send things for our Tess. Thank you so much! We are registered at Babies R Us, for anyone feeling so inclined. I hope no one gets sick of me posting about our daughter. And if you do...tough!!

Not ungrateful!

Our visiting nurse helped us figure some things out today. Love visiting nurses! This is going to sound like an ungrateful post and it's really NOT meant to be that way at all! Tess has no more room in her closet or bureaus for clothing. She is maxed out on the clothing gig. What we really want/need for her is in this registry. She needs storage in her room, mostly for all the gifts people have sent to her! She needs crib sheets and changing table sheets. She needs (more of a want) some pretty artwork for the walls of her nursery. She needs a swing and a high chair and an extra car seat (yes, too expensive, we know). She needs batteries for all the gifts that everyone has bought her! There is a beautiful floor mat that would look awesome in her room and allow her more cushioning during tummy time and physical therapy. She needs the wedge for her crib because she's likely to get torticollis if we don't start getting her to turn her head to the right. Lots of needs, unfortunately not lots of money to fulfill her needs. The recent adoption expense plus the very expensive travel, rental car and being away from home for two weeks has maxed us out. We have what we absolutely NEED right now, and certainly don't feel obligated in any way. But this list has things we'd still LIKE for her. Thank you and have a nice day!

Life is crazy

I wouldn't change it for the world....I just wish we had more time to just BE with Tess. All day at the hospital, all day on the phone, all day with therapists. Overwhelming. Tomorrow, only one at-home appointment, I think. Tomorrow, we shall cuddle. Here is the link to our online baby shower for Tess. http://www.toysrus.com/registry/myregistry/index.jsp?tab=myRegistry

Welcome Baby Tess!

Mark and I are the proud parents of a four-month-old baby girl. Her name is Teresa (honoring her birth parents chosen name for her), Katherine (after my little sister who passed away). We spent the last two weeks in Texas with her in the NICU and finally flew home on Friday the 28th. Tess's first full day in our home was also the 35th anniversary of the car accident that took my little sister Kathy-Jo's life. Meant to be. Tess is medically fragile. She has had heart surgery. She is missing a thymus and will need a transplant done at Duke University in NC. Tess and I will be living in NC for six months or so, with Mark flying in when he can. Once transplant is complete, she should be a "regular" child and lead a normal, long life. For now, she is living in a glass bubble. Mark and I, and her specialists, are the only ones to see and hold Tess. She can catch things very easily and we are not exposing her to germs. She will only leave the house for doctors' appointments. We received the phone call on Friday Nov 14 and I flew out on November 15 to San Antonio. Mark flew in on Thursday. An hour after the phone call, and the submission of our profile, we were told that we had a daughter. And she is beautiful. And she is very well loved by everyone! Not even a month after our home study was complete, we are now a complete family. It's amazing how life works, isn't it? Here is a link to Tess's baby shower online: http://www.toysrus.com/registry/myregistry/index.jsp And here is our beautiful Tess!