17 Feb 2009 – 6pm (St Petersburg)
Last night after talking to our international adoption doctor, there was some question about a diagnosis and the timeline of his labs. So, we sent out to get some copies of some of his medical records and try to resolve the issue. We would try and solve the mystery between visits today.
Today was a long and emotional day. We went to the orphanage at 10am (left our hotel at 9:15am). When we arrived, his group was going outside to play. So, we stayed outside playing with all the kids for about 45 min. They were all bundled up like snowmen and when they fell over, most could not get up on their own. We spent quite a bit of time picking them up and putting their mittens on them over and over. Tyoma really didn’t want anything to do with us, but the other kids wouldn’t leave us alone. He was always watching us and did finally warm up to us. Then we got to take him into a room by himself and we gave him a cookie like yesterday. He really nursed all the cookies we gave him (you can see it all over his face) and every little crumb that was on his hands, he made sure to eat that too. One thing that was really interesting was he loved having his face and hands wiped off. He was just soaking it in and then he played with the wipe afterwards. We had to leave at 11:15am, but before we left we were given the copy of his maternity hospital report and his 2008 labs. We went to a local post office and faxed these 2 documents to our IA doctor (not too bad about $10 to send 2 pages to the US). Then we went to eat at a local mall and set out to try and figure out how to call our IA doctor at 2pm with no pay phone. Our driver let us use his cell phone to call our IA doctor and we called her at 6am (her time). She said she would check the fax and we could call her back. So 30 minutes later we called her back using our translator’s cell phone (we had used all the credits on our driver’s phone) and the IA doctor said ”I’m very pleased with the information” which we took to mean the labs said what they were supposed to say. After paying the driver and our translator for the calls so they could recharge their phones those 2 calls for a total of 5 minutes cost $25. However, it was a huge relief and another way we saw God working in this adoption. Now we are pressed for a name because we are supposed to have a name picked out when we go to the notary tomorrow to sign the official paperwork to request the adoption. When we returned in the afternoon, he cried when they brought him in, but stopped in about 30 seconds. He sat on Britt’s lap eating his cookie and playing with a little red car we had brought along with the nesting cups. By the end of the 45min we saw our first hint of a smile and he shared his cookie with me. He is a very serious, cautious, but content boy. He is walking well and can say what sounds like “ball” which means “fall” in Russian.
Our day tomorrow: We have a 9-doctor medical appointment, blood work, EKG and chest x-ray to make sure we are healthy enough to adopt. Then we will go to the notary to sign some paperwork to file for the court. Then the rest of the day we’ll have on our own to do some sightseeing (we have had no time so far). Then we leave Thursday morning from the hotel at 3:30am to fly back home.
Last night after talking to our international adoption doctor, there was some question about a diagnosis and the timeline of his labs. So, we sent out to get some copies of some of his medical records and try to resolve the issue. We would try and solve the mystery between visits today.
Today was a long and emotional day. We went to the orphanage at 10am (left our hotel at 9:15am). When we arrived, his group was going outside to play. So, we stayed outside playing with all the kids for about 45 min. They were all bundled up like snowmen and when they fell over, most could not get up on their own. We spent quite a bit of time picking them up and putting their mittens on them over and over. Tyoma really didn’t want anything to do with us, but the other kids wouldn’t leave us alone. He was always watching us and did finally warm up to us. Then we got to take him into a room by himself and we gave him a cookie like yesterday. He really nursed all the cookies we gave him (you can see it all over his face) and every little crumb that was on his hands, he made sure to eat that too. One thing that was really interesting was he loved having his face and hands wiped off. He was just soaking it in and then he played with the wipe afterwards. We had to leave at 11:15am, but before we left we were given the copy of his maternity hospital report and his 2008 labs. We went to a local post office and faxed these 2 documents to our IA doctor (not too bad about $10 to send 2 pages to the US). Then we went to eat at a local mall and set out to try and figure out how to call our IA doctor at 2pm with no pay phone. Our driver let us use his cell phone to call our IA doctor and we called her at 6am (her time). She said she would check the fax and we could call her back. So 30 minutes later we called her back using our translator’s cell phone (we had used all the credits on our driver’s phone) and the IA doctor said ”I’m very pleased with the information” which we took to mean the labs said what they were supposed to say. After paying the driver and our translator for the calls so they could recharge their phones those 2 calls for a total of 5 minutes cost $25. However, it was a huge relief and another way we saw God working in this adoption. Now we are pressed for a name because we are supposed to have a name picked out when we go to the notary tomorrow to sign the official paperwork to request the adoption. When we returned in the afternoon, he cried when they brought him in, but stopped in about 30 seconds. He sat on Britt’s lap eating his cookie and playing with a little red car we had brought along with the nesting cups. By the end of the 45min we saw our first hint of a smile and he shared his cookie with me. He is a very serious, cautious, but content boy. He is walking well and can say what sounds like “ball” which means “fall” in Russian.
Our day tomorrow: We have a 9-doctor medical appointment, blood work, EKG and chest x-ray to make sure we are healthy enough to adopt. Then we will go to the notary to sign some paperwork to file for the court. Then the rest of the day we’ll have on our own to do some sightseeing (we have had no time so far). Then we leave Thursday morning from the hotel at 3:30am to fly back home.
Yay! Cookies! That's my kind of guy! It looks like you're going to have to stock up on cookies when you get home! : )
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