The Update

We recently asked our agency to find out if Claire was able to walk yet and if she has hydrocephalus (an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the cavities of the brain). Today our agency received an email from their Beijing office with an update from her social welfare institute.

They report that she does not have hydrocephalus! This is great news and hopefully it is accurate! We know that our neurologist will carefully evaluate her once we get her home. Unfortunately, she still can not walk. This may be due to the condition of her feet or may be related to her spina bifida. We believe that she has a variation of the club foot deformity (talipes varus) in which her feet invert so that only the outer side of the soles rest on the ground. This could certainly be the reason she isn't walking.

She is reported to be speaking only simple words and not complete sentences but she plays well with the other children and can play with toys. Of course, we were hoping for more progress but we feel fortunate that her condition is not worse than this. Our prayer is that we can get her home soon so she can receive the medical care that she needs and the therapies that might make a big difference in the quality of her life.