Vanessa

May 30, 2008

VANESSA IS HOME! Vanessa went home with her forever family on May 30, 2008. Thanks to all who submitted home studies and provided us with resources to find her family! We are so excited to have found such a wonderful family for her.

February 11, 2008

An adoptive family has been selected for Vanessa. We are currently in the process of sharing additional information with the family. Should there be any further developments or we are unable to make an official match; we will consider additional families. We feel very encouraged and comforted to know so many families are willing to open their arms to children with special needs! We wish you all the best as you seek to build your family through adoption.

January 2008 Update

Vanessa is a beautiful one year old girl with a sweet personality. She suffered global brain damage due to being born with herpes simplex virus with encephalitis. Her prognosis is unknown at this time. She will more than likely have severe global delays. An appointment is scheduled with her Neurologist February 5, 2008. Presently, she wears a helmet to reshape her head, however this will likely be discontinued at the February 5th appointment as her head circumference has not changed since October.

She is seen by a vision therapist weekly. Although she has shown improvement, she has very little visual recognition and will most likely have severe visual impairment as a result of global brain damage. Toys with lights and sounds are best for her. She also likes to have a variety of textures.

Vanessa can now sit for a few minutes alone and roll over, but is not yet bearing weight on her arms when on her stomach. She can scoot on her back, but is much more content to lay on her back and play. She does not use her left hand. She has started playing with her feet and will use her right hand and pull her sock off. Occasionally, she will put her left hand to her left foot, but she does not hold anything in it. She also holds her left hand with her right hand a lot. Her foster mother reports that “Vanessa loves music! We play music when we put her to bed for naps and the night. She responds to musical toys and games we play with her. She will listen when we read her books. She loves to be held and play tickle games and nursery rhymes with hand movements such as patty cake.”

She laughs and coos and repeats some sounds. She needs lots of interaction and stimulation. Although she is content to be left alone and sometimes prefers it, her foster parents try to spend as much time encouraging play as possible. She is kept in the middle of family activities with the exception of nap time. She takes one nap in the afternoon and occasionally in the morning if she didn’t get a good night’s sleep. She goes to bed around 7:30 and sleeps until 8:30 or 9 in the morning. She is not a morning person and does much better in the afternoon. Too much stimulation tires her easily and will get fussy if you try to push her. She takes frequent catnaps for this reason.

She still takes 3 bottles of formula a day and is now eating baby food morning and evening. Since she has only two teeth, she is slowly being introduced to soft table foods. Testing from her most recent doctor visit showed she is anemic. She is currently taking daily iron supplements which will continue for 3 months. They will retest her at that time.

Vanessa receives a variety of community services. She is involved with the Early Childhood Intervention Program with LifePath Systems. In addition to her ECI Specialist, she is also seen by a Physical Therapist, Speech Therapist and Vision Therapist. She is seen weekly by the PT and VT. Her medical appointments include visits to her pediatrician, ophthalmologist, neurologist and regular visits to Dallas Star Cranial for her helmet.

Vanessa has already shown progress and needs a family who will work with her to reach her potential, as well as accept her and care for her. She is very lovable and giving and needs a permanent adoptive family who will love her in return.

For more information about Vanessa,  please contact Kim Lumpkin at Hope Cottage at 214-526-8721 or klumpkin@hopecottage.org.

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August 2007 Update

Vanessa is a beautiful 7-month-old baby girl. She was born healthy with Apgar scores of 8 and 9. At approximately 3 weeks of age, she presented at the pediatrician's office with seizures and was immediately admitted to the hospital. Tests revealed herpes simplex virus with encephalitis.

Treatment began immediately, but Vanessa's MRI showed considerable brain damage. Her last MRI was in July. Her visual recognition seems to be greatly affected. She does have developmental delays and her prognosis is unknown. She is being seen by a vision therapist, physical therapist, ECI specialist, nutritionist and speech therapist.

Vanessa is a very happy baby. She loves to be held, rocked and sung to. We read books to her, also. She enjoys being a part of the family and goes everywhere with us. She does smile, laugh and coo. She is very sensitive to loud noises. She is able to roll from side to side and to her stomach. We are working on lifting her head and bearing weight on her arms when she is on her stomach. She is not crawling or sitting alone yet. She has left neglect, so she uses her right side most of the time.

Vanessa had a video EEG done in July, and there were no signs of seizures so she is not on any medication at this time. She drinks approximately 28 ounces of formula per day. We are adding cereal to her formula as of Friday until the speech therapist evaluates her again next week. She may order a swallow study or allow us to start introducing foods with a spoon.

Vanessa has been very healthy since being discharged from the hospital. She will always have the herpes virus dormant in her body, and it could become active at any time. It would be more likely under stress or if she becomes ill. She has not had any outbreaks, but universal precautions should be taken to protect yourself and others that might come in contact with body fluids.