We’ve been home with Zeke for two months now and it seems like he’s been a part of our family forever. He has really settled in, loves the other kids and they love him, has the greatest smile and a sweet personality.
Personally, Zeke seems to be really warming up to animals these days and is starting to put his fear of dogs behind him. It’s great hearing him bark and howl, grinning from ear to ear. He also does a great meow when asked.
We have found that Zeke is a “boy on a mission.” There is nothing too trivial for him to check out or be a part of. We have also found that if dad, or anyone else for that matter, is working on something, Zeke is going to be involved. Steve’s nickname of “Steamroller” still holds.
Zeke is also incredibly creative. He can build the most amazing things using his Mega Blocks. The things he builds are complicated, symmetrical, and typically have a color pattern. We’ve never seen a child create patterns with color like he does, nor have we seen a child build like he does. He truly has a gift in this area.
Medically, Zeke is doing well. He continues to take his medication for his tuberculosis infection and rarely complains. He has also seen two specialists concerning his hand. We’ve learned that the circulation is adequate in his hand, although we have to be careful to keep it warm, especially in the winter. We also learned that he would be a candidate for a toe-to-hand transplant. This type of a transplant requires the removal of the big toe on one foot, and its’ transplantation to Zeke’s hand to serve as a thumb. Luckily we had already researched his condition enough to have heard of this, deemed it an unsatisfactory option, so we weren’t shocked to hear it mentioned. We still chuckle at the doctors’ comment that “in my country (India) we don’t do this type of transplant often because we need our big toes since we typically wear sandals.” Well, we would kind of like to keep Zeke’s big toe where it’s at so we made no commitment other than to say we’d see the doctor again in six months. In fact, we decided if Zeke ever wanted to do something like this, he could make that decision himself when he was older and we’d support him. However, in the meantime, we think Zeke is just great the way God designed him.
Thank you so much for continuing to follow our journey to Ezekiel. We so appreciate your well-wishes and prayers through our long wait, our trip to China, and now home. Our plan is to provide two more updates, taking us through January and Zeke’s 3rd birthday. Again, thank you. Our whole family has been blessed by each and every one of you.
Zeke with his brothers and sisters
Zeke examines a pumpkin
Zeke creating with Megablocks
Zeke working on his smile.
Zeke checking out an ant at the Albuquerque Botanical Gardens
