Alesha, did well during the night and only needed one bottle during the night and then slept until morning. I had filled our thermos with hot water before going to bed so I wouldn't have to disturb the entire house boiling water during the night when she woke up. That thermos was a lifesaver MANY times on our trip :-)
After we were all awake, we were greeted with another delicious meal prepared by Yaman. While I was finishing up my breakfast, Darin, got on the computer to check on email and facebook. During his facebook check, his youngest brother instant messaged him and said that he had some bad news and felt awful in having to tell him over facebook, but didn't know what else to do. He then proceeded to tell Darin that their oldest sister had died. He told Darin he didn't want him to come home and find out and wonder why nobody told him. In the end we were glad he told us while in India so we had a few days to process it before getting off a plane back home and being given this news. As I entered the room Darin explained to me the news he just received. This was a devastating blow to say the least. We went from the elation of bringing our daughter into our family and then we receive news that another family member had died. The gamut of emotions were all over the board. Shock, grief, disbelief were all in the forefront of our minds. Keep in mind this was first thing in the morning, NOT a great way to start the day we ahead of us.
As we were working though our emotions we packed up our things to head BACK to the Embassy doctor. This car ride seemed to last forever. So many thoughts were swirling around in my head. A couple of days after our arrival home we will now be attending a funeral. I am thankful that we have Alesha and that she will bring some joy to such a difficult time in our families lives. We just felt helpless being thousands miles away from all our family who were grieving. It was just a heartbreaking situation.
Upon our arrival at the doctor's office we were escorted to the same room as the day before. Alesha, began crying the second we entered the room. Three more shots were on the horizon. The nurse had me lay her down again on the table to stab one leg (we did the same holding down procedure as before) and than I had to hug her really tight while she was sitting up to keep her still as she stabbed her in each arm. The tears were flowing from all of us and Alesha pretty much checked out at this point. It was heartbreaking to see her shut down. This is what we had feared would happen splitting the shots up into two days. I gave her another bottle and tried to soothe her as we finished up the paperwork and paid our bill. It was interesting to me to watch the office staff as they counted our money. They inspected every bill and put each one under this light before accepting them. They spent more time and were more concerned with the money we gave them then they were with our baby girl. This was irritating and disappointing. Upon exiting the building we were relieved to know that we would NOT be returning to this horrible place again.
When we arrived back at home we were greeted with our daily afternoon Chai that Yaman had made. After Alesha woke from her nap I went to change her diaper and as I layed her down on the bed she began to scream and cry. It was then that I realized she thought that I was going to hold her down for another shot. It broke my heart to see her so upset. To think that now every time I would change her diaper or lay her down on her back she had this flood of memories coming back that she was going to get hurt. After a bit she finally calmed down and she decided she wanted to show us that she could crawl. It was so cute to see her come out of her shell a little bit.
The time came for all of us to load up and head off for Uma's pediatrician's office. Uma dropped Yaman, Darin, Alesha and I off at the front of the building and took the rest of kids so they wouldn't have to wait for the appt. As we entered the pediatrician's office I was struck by how tiny it was. There was a small desk as you entered the room and chairs were along the 3 other walls. There was a tiny door leading into the doctor's office. When our name was called we entered the office where we met the doctor. She was very sweet. We looked around the small space and saw her desk, a couple chairs, a scale, and an exam table. This was such a tiny room for all of these items. We sat down and she began reading the medical files while asking questions and making lots of notations. We were able to ask her some specific questions we had and her answers brought relief to both of us. One thing that got cleared up was our file had said that Alesha had humming when she would breathe. Our doctor said she had never heard that term and figured it must be like wheezing and that she might have ashema or something of the like. When I asked this Indian doctor she said that the humming was actually a heart murmur and that it is cleared up now. CRAZY how one word can mean two completely different things in two different countries.
The next step was to give Alesha an exam. Alesha, of course freaked out and didn't want anybody to come near her. We explained that she already had 3 shots this morning and yesterday she had 3 as well. The doctor was very understanding, gentle, and sweet with Alesha. Her final thoughts were that Alesha was VERY tiny, but was a very strong and healthy girl considering all that she had been through since birth. She wrote out a prescription for some iron and vitamins, congratulated us, and wished us luck. This was more what I had expected from a doctor. This visit was so meaningful and a wonderful blessing to our family. To top it off the total office visit was like $13.
Our next stop was to hook up with the kids and head to pharmacy to fill Alesha's perscritions and buy additional boxes of formula and cereal. We then all headed over to a super fun restaurant for dinner. This restaurant was all in neon colors and had really cool shaped tables, chairs, light fixtures, etc. I can't remember the name of it, but they had really good Chinese food. They had several brain teaser type games for the kids to play and our Martin won a free drink. The kids had a great time. Darin and I were still reeling from all the information we had taken in that day and all the emotions that went along with it. Eating with friends in a fun place was a nice way to end such a difficult day. As we walked back to the car in the sweltering heat, we piled in and listened to some Toby Mac as the kids danced about belting out the songs.
When we arrived home we settled in for an early night of sleep. A rest day was on the horizon for tomorrow. We were physically exhausted (the heat was really taking its toll and Luke and I were still weak from our illness) and we were emotionally spent. Hopefully a good night sleep would make tomorrow look a bit brighter.
After we were all awake, we were greeted with another delicious meal prepared by Yaman. While I was finishing up my breakfast, Darin, got on the computer to check on email and facebook. During his facebook check, his youngest brother instant messaged him and said that he had some bad news and felt awful in having to tell him over facebook, but didn't know what else to do. He then proceeded to tell Darin that their oldest sister had died. He told Darin he didn't want him to come home and find out and wonder why nobody told him. In the end we were glad he told us while in India so we had a few days to process it before getting off a plane back home and being given this news. As I entered the room Darin explained to me the news he just received. This was a devastating blow to say the least. We went from the elation of bringing our daughter into our family and then we receive news that another family member had died. The gamut of emotions were all over the board. Shock, grief, disbelief were all in the forefront of our minds. Keep in mind this was first thing in the morning, NOT a great way to start the day we ahead of us.
As we were working though our emotions we packed up our things to head BACK to the Embassy doctor. This car ride seemed to last forever. So many thoughts were swirling around in my head. A couple of days after our arrival home we will now be attending a funeral. I am thankful that we have Alesha and that she will bring some joy to such a difficult time in our families lives. We just felt helpless being thousands miles away from all our family who were grieving. It was just a heartbreaking situation.
Upon our arrival at the doctor's office we were escorted to the same room as the day before. Alesha, began crying the second we entered the room. Three more shots were on the horizon. The nurse had me lay her down again on the table to stab one leg (we did the same holding down procedure as before) and than I had to hug her really tight while she was sitting up to keep her still as she stabbed her in each arm. The tears were flowing from all of us and Alesha pretty much checked out at this point. It was heartbreaking to see her shut down. This is what we had feared would happen splitting the shots up into two days. I gave her another bottle and tried to soothe her as we finished up the paperwork and paid our bill. It was interesting to me to watch the office staff as they counted our money. They inspected every bill and put each one under this light before accepting them. They spent more time and were more concerned with the money we gave them then they were with our baby girl. This was irritating and disappointing. Upon exiting the building we were relieved to know that we would NOT be returning to this horrible place again.
When we arrived back at home we were greeted with our daily afternoon Chai that Yaman had made. After Alesha woke from her nap I went to change her diaper and as I layed her down on the bed she began to scream and cry. It was then that I realized she thought that I was going to hold her down for another shot. It broke my heart to see her so upset. To think that now every time I would change her diaper or lay her down on her back she had this flood of memories coming back that she was going to get hurt. After a bit she finally calmed down and she decided she wanted to show us that she could crawl. It was so cute to see her come out of her shell a little bit.
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| One her way to mommy.....or probably Mickey Mouse:-) |
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| She made it! So proud of her. |
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| This was a common sight. If they were not playing cricket or swimming you would find the kids together in the entertainment room playing games, watching TV, or listening to music. |
The next step was to give Alesha an exam. Alesha, of course freaked out and didn't want anybody to come near her. We explained that she already had 3 shots this morning and yesterday she had 3 as well. The doctor was very understanding, gentle, and sweet with Alesha. Her final thoughts were that Alesha was VERY tiny, but was a very strong and healthy girl considering all that she had been through since birth. She wrote out a prescription for some iron and vitamins, congratulated us, and wished us luck. This was more what I had expected from a doctor. This visit was so meaningful and a wonderful blessing to our family. To top it off the total office visit was like $13.
Our next stop was to hook up with the kids and head to pharmacy to fill Alesha's perscritions and buy additional boxes of formula and cereal. We then all headed over to a super fun restaurant for dinner. This restaurant was all in neon colors and had really cool shaped tables, chairs, light fixtures, etc. I can't remember the name of it, but they had really good Chinese food. They had several brain teaser type games for the kids to play and our Martin won a free drink. The kids had a great time. Darin and I were still reeling from all the information we had taken in that day and all the emotions that went along with it. Eating with friends in a fun place was a nice way to end such a difficult day. As we walked back to the car in the sweltering heat, we piled in and listened to some Toby Mac as the kids danced about belting out the songs.
When we arrived home we settled in for an early night of sleep. A rest day was on the horizon for tomorrow. We were physically exhausted (the heat was really taking its toll and Luke and I were still weak from our illness) and we were emotionally spent. Hopefully a good night sleep would make tomorrow look a bit brighter.
1 comment:
April, I didn't realize that you had such a shocking blow to your family during your trip. I'm so sorry you had to deal with losing Darin's sister on top of all the other upheaval and illness. You are one tough mother! I can guess that you're probably thinking, "No I'm not!", but you got through it all with tenderness toward each other and love for your children as the first priority. And that shows such strength of character. I'm sure God purposefully made it possible for you to stay with friends to soften the blow a little. Thanks for sharing your trip with me -- you'll never know how helpful it is as we reach the 18-month waiting mark.
With love,
Nancy
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