Foster2Forever

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TOP TEN DOCTOR VISITS SINCE I’VE HAD KIDS

Having kids totally changed my life!  As a foster parent, it changes with one phone call. (see my first call to foster)  We have had more than our fair share of doctor visits and even hospital stays.  The most recent – last week…

Oh Amanda is hosting a weekly Top Ten Tuesday, so I thought that this week I would list some of my most memorable visits to health care professionals in the last couple of years.

Before I list this Top Ten – let me first introduce you to the cast of characters:

  • Bubba (hey we ARE in Texas) – my teenage stepson
  • Stinkpot – our 2-yr-old that we adopted through foster care
  • Lil Bit – our 9-month-old foster baby

Without further ado – MY TOP TEN DOCTOR VISITS SINCE I’VE HAD KIDS

    1. My broken toe – Okay, not a doctor visit for the kids, but I did break my toe as my kids rode on my lap down a water slide the day of Stinkpot’s adoption.
    2. Bubba’s 3-day EEG after having a seizure at school – He was taped up like a lobotomy patient so that the wires would stay glued on his head. Quite a sight!  Lots of stares!  He showed up for his first day of work at McDonald’s like this – he was obviously sent home! This very expensive test gave no indication of the cause of his seizures. He has another one scheduled next month.  This time we will buy him a new video game to “beat” and allow him to stay up as long as he wants. [his previous seizures occurred after spending a weekend at his mom’s unstructured home life]
    3. Stinkpot’s first stay in the hospital – This 3-day visit was so frightening. First because the onset was so SUDDEN (crawling 1 minute then he couldn’t wake up). The doctors first thought it was meningitis -there had been a few cases in the area- I hated watching the spinal tap -thankfully not meningitis. Second, since the chest x-ray was clear for 2 days, the doctors were thinking something much more serious, like leukemia. On the 3rd day the chest x-ray showed pneumonia. He finally recovered and was sent home, but we were physically and emotionally exhausted!
    4. Stinkpot’s 2nd stay in the hospital for pneumonia – At a doctor visit for high fever, his oxygen level had dropped down to 82% and he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.  He LOVED it! He enjoyed the gurney ride as much as a buggy ride and was grinning and waving at everyone with the oxygen mask on him.
    5. Stinkpot’s visit to the pediatric pulmonologist – After 2 hospital stays, the insurance company actually contacted me to discuss Stinkpot’s breathing problems.  The insurance company wanted me to take him to an allergist; however, an allergist would not see him until he was at least 4 years old. So the insurance company suggested a pediatric pulmonologist. Stinkpot’s primary care physician wouldn’t give me a referral so I had to have the insurance company contact the doctor to get this done.  The pulmonologist looked at his chest x-ray and said that his chest was so full of fluid that he would be diagnosed with pneumonia again if he was running a fever (he wasn’t). The pulmonologist put him on a regimen of Singulair, Nasonex, and Zyrtec – he hasn’t been sick since!!!!
    6. Lil Bit’s 1st stay in the hospital
    7. Lil Bit’s 1st visit to the ER
    8. Lil Bit’s 2nd stay in the hospital for bronchialitis
    9. My allergic reaction to the flu shot
Impetigo
    1. Last week’s doctor visit for Lil Bit’s impetigo – a mosquito bite on Saturday evening gradually got worse and was oozing pus by the next evening.  Impetigo is a staph infection – the worst part is that when I saw this picture I realized that the baby got it from ME!!!  I thought the rash was another reaction from the flu shot.  After seeing how quickly that mosquito bite turned bad, I can see now how it can be deadly in a hospital setting.
    2. Honorable mention goes to LICE! Even though there was no doctor visit, I had 2 kids taken out of school until we got rid of those critters.  Although it doesn’t really belong on this list…I’d rather catch vomit on me than deal with lice again. That was the absolute WORST!!!

Y’all have a great week staying HEALTHY!!!!
Hugs!

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A STRANGE DAY IN COURT FOR OUR FOSTER BABY

Today we went to court in regard to the placement of our 9-month-old foster baby, Lil Bit.  In December, he was placed with us as a legal-risk placement meaning that, at the time, there was no foreseeable family members for placement and the mother’s parental rights had been terminated with her previous 5 children.

As foster parents, we had “intervened” with the court in the placement of this baby with an aunt of the mother.  You can read more of the details of the case on this post.

I have not been optimistic. Everyone seemed to be wanting this baby to go live with his great-aunt. In fact, when the Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) had visited last week, her last remark to me was: “he’s young, he’ll assimilate easily.”

Today was NOTHING what I expected. The baby’s case was called second on the docket.

The CPS case worker was called to the stand. She was asked how the mother was doing and she stated that she was currently working services.  The baby’s ad litem attorney asked if CPS was still looking at placing the baby with his great-aunt and her reply was yes.

My attorney showed me a report from the CASA. He instructed me to look at the Recommendations on the last page. #3 stated: “The child should remain in his current placement.”

The judge then ruled that Lil Bit would remain in his current placement (WITH US)!

The next hearing is set for September.

WOW!  All I can say is…the miracle of prayer!
I want to say a HUGE THANKS to all our prayer warriors out there!!!

Y’all have a great week!
Hugs!

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I HEART MY FOSTER BABIES!!!

Tomorrow is the big day!  Tuesday, May 25th is when we go back to court to see if we will keep our Lil Bit, or if he will be placed with a great aunt.  I am not optimistic. CPS wants him with family – the baby’s ad litem attorney wants him with family – the baby’s Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) wants him with family.  However, the birthmother does NOT want him with family. You can read the drama details of the last hearing on this post.

If the judge rules for Lil Bit to go, my husband & I can use this reprieve to reconnect & regroup for our next placement.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God” – Romans 8:28

And for the IHeartFaces yellow challenge this week, here is a picture of our very first foster baby that was placed with us – now, this picture is 2 years later & he is now adopted.  He is such a Stinker!

Y’all have a great week enjoying your loved ones!
Hugs!
~penny

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ANOTHER COURT HEARING ON OUR FOSTER BABY

Many times when a child is placed in foster care, it is because there isn’t any stable family members available to provide a safe environment for the child.  However, albeit rarely, family members may argue over who will get to keep the child. This is quickly becoming the case with our 9-month-old, Lil Bit.

After having her rights terminated on 5 previous infants, the birthmother is actually working to reclaim custody of Lil bit; however, she does have an uphill battle considering that she is mentally-challenged.
Amazingly, while Lil Bit is in foster care, the birthmother does NOT want Lil Bit placed with any of her family members. She has actually sided with our family over hers in court. However, her first choice is for Lil Bit to be placed with her friends that are raising Lil Bit’s siblings – all 5 of them.  (I’ll call them the Cons) However, since the Cons are no relation to Lil Bit and haven’t even met him, the judge had previously ruled that the Cons do not have any legal rights to the child.

We have a hearing set for next Tuesday, May 25th, to determine whether the Lil Bit will go live with his great-aunt (against the birthmother’s wishes) or whether he will remain with us.

But that blew up a couple of weeks ago. I was driving through rural Texas for work, and my cell phone beeped that I had a message.  The voice mail was from none other than Lil Bit’s case worker (I’ll call her AB). She wanted to visit our home that afternoon. I was ticked! Why?

AB had finally set up her first home visit in the 4 months since we’d had the baby for the week before – and never showed! No phone call, nothing! I even called the next day to finalize arrangements for Lil Bit’s dental appointment for the next week, and AB didn’t even mention her missed visit.

And now she wanted us to drop everything for her convenience. I returned her call the next morning and invited her to come to our home that night. Ha! A Friday night! Plus the maid would have just cleaned that afternoon! Double ha!

When AB finally arrived for her first home visit, she told us the reason for her expedited visit – there was another court hearing scheduled for the next Tuesday!

At our last custody hearing in March, AB had to give testimony regarding the Cons. (Although their case had already been thrown out by the judge before that hearing, the judge went ahead and allowed Mr. Con to testify since the birthmother’s attorney had called him as a witness since she wants Lil Bit with her other children.)

In AB’s testimony in March, she had stated that the Con’s home had been closed. Apparently, that was the correct terminology to use since the home had only reached the “maximum number of occupants.”

Although Mrs. Con wasn’t at that hearing, she was apparently so upset about AB’s testimony that “trashed their name”, that she exploded at the Regional Director of Family & Protective Services – a special hearing was called.

At our home visit, I asked AB if there was anything that we needed to do or if we needed to attend this special hearing the next Tuesday. She reassured us that there was nothing we needed to do.

However, at 2:45pm on Monday afternoon, AB called and told me that we did, in fact, need to attend the hearing the next morning.

I quickly tried to contact our attorney. I finally tracked him down driving from a deposition in South Texas. I quickly briefed him on the hearing. He was livid that, being the attorney on record, he hadn’t received the required 3-day hearing notice. Not only very frustrated for the lack of hearing notice, but my lack of knowledge on the details of this hearing, and also his lack of cell phone coverage in the Texas coastal plains. {can you hear me now?}

The next morning our attorney attended this joke of a hearing – it was in the judge’s chambers only – nothing in the legal record.

During the discussions, our attorney did have to remind everyone that the testimony regarding the Cons occurred AFTER the judge had already thrown out their case when AB testified.

The judge stated that to resolve the issue, Child Protective Services (CPS) could put a memo in the legal record; but, the next custody hearing for Lil Bit would still occur on May 25th.

Whew! What a mess! It’s hard to believe that when Lil Bit was removed from the birthmother, CPS was looking for a legal risk home to adopt this beautiful baby boy.

As we approach next Tuesday’s hearing date, how much are you willing to wager that the Cons will be in the courtroom, still trying to stake their claim on Lil Bit? Will Lil Bit’s great-aunt show up to this hearing? If she does show up, will the judge award custody to his great-aunt?  CPS always prefers familial placements.  {read my first post on the custody of Lil Bit}

We are grateful for your continued prayers!
Hugs!
~penelope

{all photos excepts Lil Bit’s gorgeous eyes are from
Flickr’s Creative Commons group
– please click on the photos to visit their wonderful works of art}

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I HEART TEXAS BLUEBONNETS!!!

I love the bluebonnets in the spring here in Texas!
Two years ago, we were blessed with a beautiful 8-month-old baby boy placed in our home for foster care.
Last summer, we finalized his adoption and became his forever family.

Here is his picture in the bluebonnets I took recently…

I entered this picture in this week’s iheartfaces photography challenge for the theme “flowers”.

I took his first picture in the bluebonnets 2 years ago, when he was barely 9 months old,
not long after he came into our home.

I love this little boy!
You can read the story of his foster-adoption on this post!
Thanks for visiting!!!

Y’all have a great week!
~penny
http://foster2forever.blogspot.com

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UPDATE ON LIL BIT (Part 5) – HOSPITAL STAY

A few weeks ago, we had yet another health scare with Lil Bit (our 8-month-old foster baby). I had noticed that he was beginning to wheeze again. We gave him a breathing treatment of albuteral with his nebulizer, and began watching him closely.

Late that evening, after the other kids had gone to bed, he was becoming extremely fussy and crying out. His breathing was worse. Looking at his chest, I noticed that he was “retracting” (the skin was pulling in & out between the ribs with each breath). The scariest part was when I looked at his round, little face — he was turning BLUE!!!

With tears in my eyes, I sped to the hospital with him crying out the 10-minute drive. I was so scared & trying to comfort him in the back seat with tear-soaked words. I drove over 50 mph through a residential zone & ran 2 red lights. I didn’t care – I just wanted to get Lil Bit to the hospital!

I pulled up to the ER & frantically rushed inside.

Something was different — Would you believe it?

This is the moment Lil Bit stopped crying.

I immediately told the young man at intake how this baby I was holding was struggling to breathe. The young man looked at this little angel quietly lying there and calmly replied,

“Please fill out this form, and I will need a copy on your insurance card.”

“Uh, sure,” I sheepishly replied.

I self-consciously picked up Lil Bit to find a seat in the crowded waiting room as everyone was quietly watching me. (I actually believe I heard an IV drip down the hall.) It was as if everyone’s eyes were saying, “What a nutcase of a mother – wait your turn.”

Just then, before I had made my way across the room, Lil Bit began wailing again. Strong & LOUD! Not that I wanted him to cry, but it did get the attention of a nurse that rushed to us.

“Let’s check his oxygen level. Come with me!”

By this time, Lil bit was really screaming now! With his arms & legs flailing about, it took several trys to get any type of reading for his oxygen — finally 92%

“Let’s find an exam room so the doctor can see him,” the nurse told another.

We quickly got settled into the ER exam room & them we had to..
WAIT
Doctor exam
WAIT
Blood tests
WAIT
Chest x-ray
WAIT
IV (this is the worst with an infant)
Steroid injection
WAIT
Breathing treatment
WAIT

DIAGNOSIS
Bronchialitis

At 2 a.m., the doctor returns and says, “He can go home now.”

WAIT

45 minutes later, as the nurse begins to take the IV out of Lil Bit’s arm, I exclaimed, “Look at his chest!” He was retracting again.

The nurse rushed to get the doctor. From the doorway, the doctor said, “Let’s go ahead & admit him.”

WAIT

At 5 a.m., we finally arrived at our room on the Pediatric floor of the hospital. We could finally get some sleep!

WAIT

30 minutes later, the nurses had completed the admissions paperwork and lowered the lights as they left the room.

Lil Bit & I finally slept….HARD!

The treatment Lil Bit received worked wonders!
His breathing improved tremendously throughout the day.
Lil Bit was released from the hospital late that afternoon.

I’ve since requested that Lil Bit be referred to a pediatric pulmonologist (worked great for Stinkpot). No one is balking at this request; in fact, the doctor and insurance company have been very helpful with the referral.

Lil Bit is on his way to receiving specialized care to prevent these health scares in regard to his breathing.

Have a great week enjoying your family!
Hugs to y’all!
~penny
http://txpenelope.blogspot.com

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UPDATE ON LIL BIT (Part 4) – Another Hospital Visit

Thanks to an obstinate dairyman, I had a meeting scheduled out-of-town at 4 pm on Good Friday. Making lemonade out of lemons, my family traveled out of town with me on our way up to the Metroplex to visit cousins during the Easter holiday weekend.

That night, Lil Bit began coughing a horrible cough throughout the night. I called the local hospital to see if he could get RSV again (he was hospitalized with it for 4 days in February). “Yes!” was the reply. At 4 o’clock in the morning I dressed and headed to the small-town ER with Lil Bit coughing the entire way.

My thoughts were racing – if Lil Bit needs to be hospitalized:

  • Can I take him to the hospital back home or would they want him to stay here?
  • Would he have to ride in an ambulance as Stinkpot did last time he was hospitalized?
  • How long would we have to stay in this small-town hospital?
  • Would he need to spend another 4 days in the hospital like the last time he had RSV?

I arrived at the ER and the doctors were quick to examine him. The doctor’s thought was that with his throat being so red that he may have strep throat. The nurses came in and tested him for strep & RSV.
The tests results came back quickly: No strep, no RSV, just a common cold. YEAH! We can leave!
When I got back to the hotel, everyone was up & ready for breakfast. Ready for an Easter egg hunt!
A funny thing did happen in this small-town hotel though. I thought it only happened in the movies, but….
the elevator broke down with my kids inside!!!
After that fiasco, we finally were able to head to my sister’s house & the cousins had such a good time together on their Easter egg hunt. They were so proud of their findings!!


Have a great week with your family!
Hugs to y’all!

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BABY FOR FOSTER CARE ONLY…LATER ADOPTED!

On Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at around 3pm, I received a call from CPS for an 8-month-old baby boy that needed a foster home. “Foster only“, she repeated twice. “Sure!” was my quick response.

If you recall, that was election day. My husband & I were planning to attend our precinct convention that evening & were excited about the possibility of attending the Texas Republican convention again, this time in a presidential election year.However, this call from CPS changed our focus from that night forward.

A CPS investigator from an adjacent county arrived at our home at 6:45 that Tuesday evening carrying in her arms the cutest baby boy. His bright eyes lit up as he smiled at us for the first time. His bottom 2 teeth gleaming. He was wearing an olive corduroy jacket over his navy onesie with the cutest navy & white striped pants. He was wearing navy tennis shoes! So adorable!


I can only rely on my memory as I didn’t have the foresight to grab my camera.
(A mistake I haven’t made again!)

As the CPS investigator began telling us the story on this baby, we were thinking “how can anybody neglect a baby that way?” He came with next to nothing & had been kept in his car seat & dirty diapers. What a horrible diaper rash he had! (This is one reason we are having such a difficult time potty-training him now!) He was 8 months old & couldn’t sit up or even roll over! He was also very sick. (Look at those poor little sick eyes!)

JD’s sick little eyes when he arrived

That first night was TORTURE! He was so congested that he could only sleep 15 minutes at a time – ALL NIGHT LONG! It was the most exhausting night of my life!

The next morning I drove 1-1/2 to pick up my mother-in-law to help me. I had no idea how to care for an infant! (When pregnant, you have nearly 8-9 months to prepare.) I was an instant Mommy!
For the next 2 weeks, we had DAILY trips to Walmart to pick up some type of baby paraphernalia that we needed. I was absolutely, totally FRAZZLED for at least 6 weeks solid – overwhelmed by the incredible responsibility of instant motherhood!
As time went on, it became more apparent that this baby wouldn’t be going back to his mother. He did have a full brother 2 years older that was living with his paternal grandmother. The baby would have been sent to live with his grandmother, but she was already raising SIX of her other grandchildren!
Once the mother’s rights were terminated, the grandmother realized that we could provide more for the baby than she could & decided to allow us to adopt him.
Here he is on the day we adopted him!
What a handsome little man he is!
What a blessing he has been to our lives!

I’m Clever

Sway