Special Needs

I have purposely postponed writing this post.  Why?   Because I want our daughter Sophia to be celebrated just like every new daughter and granddaughter is celebrated...with joy, anticipation, and excitement!  I don't want Sophia to be defined by her special needs.

No.  She is first and foremost a child of God described in Psalms as "fearfully and wonderfully made".  Her special needs were not a surprise to her Heavenly Father.  In fact, whatever challenges or obstacles she will face, she will do so with the help of the one true God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.  And as I've heard it said before, "God don't make no junk!"

Sophia was born with a cleft lip that was partially repaired in China.  Upon arriving home in the US, she will need a revision to completely close the cleft.  This is necessary for proper feeding and to aid in speech development.

In addition, Sophia has bilateral cleft hands. Cleft hand is a rare congenital birth defect that causes the hand to have missing fingers, a V-shaped cleft, and sometimes other deformities. Sophia is missing the middle finger on both hands and has deep V-shaped clefts on each hand. This, too, might eventually need surgery for improved functionality and cosmetics.

I don't think for a second that these special needs will slow down our daughter.  I've seen children with similar needs rise above difficult and challenging circumstances and succeed at tasks that were once thought impossible for them.  In fact, check out this video of a young pianist (with a hand difference) wowing the crowd with her beautiful music.  Incredible!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbhW_K3NvmQ&feature=youtu.be