Pre -Op Visit Goes Surprisingly Well

Akins started in with "I don't want to go to the doctor at lunch" and had a little anxiety as we pulled in to the parking lot of the hospital even though we have never been there before. I told him no shots. I was right and they actually did nothing too him at all so one point in the corner for doctor's today. Tonight at dinner he says "The doctor didn't shoot me". I guess to get shot you have to have someone shooting at you right?

Another funny scene - I am plagued with useless info in my head including things like old jingles from commercials, so I'm singing "a neat new spaghetti you can eat with a spoon...uh oh spaghetti-O's" over and over again (like it is in your head now) and Akins says "I want to swing" so I say "okay go ahead" he runs outside and a couple of seconds returns and says "Mommy, Mommy, uh oh spaghetti-O's.

Then the final one. Akins likes things spicy and refers to them as "pepa (pepper) hot". He also only ever wants chicken and periodically we try to sneak something else in on him. Lorea tried sneaking in some fish sticks in the place of chicken fingers for which he loves to dip in ranch dressing. She had made up a dip of tartar with some tapatio or tabasco in it. He said he wanted some in his sauce so she put it in his too. About half way through the meal he's complaining about the "pepa hot" and so she offers her dip to him, which is clearly much hotter and he makes the biggest frown and points at the two dipping dishes and says "pepa, pepa, pepa, pepa". Ya'can't trick the boy!

Akins cuttin' the rug!

For the waiting families

Today is a day to be grateful for Akins being home and to take some time to talk about the state of the other adoptions. There have been no children leave Liberia since Akins left on 8/15/07. My child was the catalyst to many changes and tougher rules. Because his case was so unusal and because not all of the paperwork was clear the new consular put many new stipulations in place. As a result the familes and more importantly the children that I had the joy of playing with, holding, hugging, dancing and laughing with are all still there. I am sorry for these changes and wish I could do something to change things. The families are beside themselves and are fighting a very tough battle. Families are taking control of their adoptions by directly dealing with government agencies, congressmen, senators and represenatives as well as directly gathering information from the Embassy in Liberia. Because these woman have become educated, tough and vigilant in their efforts, finally things are beginning to look optimistic these women should be proud of their fight but, until all of the children identified on this blog are home our journey is far from complete. Please I ask that regardless of how you pray or to whom you pray that you do it now for the following families and children:

Karen and Family - Ishamel and Angeline (Diamond)
Shelby and Lori - Gormah and Kuker
Sharon - Jemama and Princess
Jessica and Family - Florence and Diamond
Patricia - Alomiza
Jackie and Family - Jacob and Mardia

There are many others - for which I also have special places in my heart that I have not mentioned and in some cases they are related to the children above. In all cases they are friends and have lived as family, they too need to come home very soon!

Sue and Heather we are soooo lucky!

Important Man's Haircut!

Okay, Lorea is obsessed with cutting his hair. The VERY first thing she purchased when we started the adoption process was a clipper set from Sally's. So, she has been waiting a long time to use them and every chance she gets those things are buzzin'. These are the result of her latest creation. Akins thinks it's great because it looks like "An Important Man's" hair. Once again, an important man is anyone in uniform so we are thinking he sees this as equivalent to a police man or military type of official. Keep in mind he lived with a police man for a couple of months so this may be where the talk of the important man comes from, but also this is a common Liberian phrase when speaking of government officials. Also, for those of you asking what's the deal with the hernia one of the shots gives you a pretty good shot of what it looks like. If you haven't figured it out already you can double click any photo to get an enlarged view.

Doctor update ...

Akins was a good boy today. He only cried when the doctor made him take his clothes off and lay down. Hell this makes me stress out and want to cry too! He is scheduled for surgery on the 19th - yes next week. It was a bit more serious than we originally thought. When he laughs, cries etc it pushes out his belly button area and it gets very large and hard. This is caused because his internal organs, intestines etc. are pushing out through the belly button ring. He is at risk of his intestines and/or other organs pushing through the belly button ring and then potentially getting caught which is called umbilical strangulation. Essentially, if this were to happen whatever pushed through would lose blood flow and would then require emergency surgery. We don't want this to happen for obvious reasons.

Additionally, the circumsicion is more necessary than we thought as the sleeve is not pulling back naturally and is at risk of closing off the tip which would not allow him to urinate and then could cause kidney failure. Recovery somewhat depends on him and his tolerance to pain, no rough housing that would raise a sweat for two weeks. No baths for two weeks - showers are
okay. I guess it is good it is starting to cool down as he is a warm blooded boy so he gets sweaty pretty easily. She said this was the largest hernia she had ever seen and that being able to put two fingers into the ring opening on a three year old is alarming, in his case she can put four!

He is also at risk of this recurring simply based on his age and the size of the hernia. She is not going to use any articfical materials and so the ultimate goal is to have his own tissue hold everything in place. I good with that as I keep getting spam mail about hernia patch recalls!

So.... we are scheduled for pre-op Monday and surgery on Friday. We have to get it done. The sooner the better. Did I say that the visit gave me an incredible headache and I want to throw up....the thought of him having to endure more than being homeless on the streets of Liberia is killing me.

The dreaded doctor appointment - tomorrow

We continue to try to convince Akins that a new belly button would be an excellent idea. We tell him his shirts will fit better, his pants will fit better, he will have more room for chicken in his belly (I really thought that would seal the deal)etc. He is still not keen on the idea. We have not told him they will be looking at another part of his body as I can't come up with really great reasons why this should be happening too. Well at least not ones I think he will understand or is old enough to hear about. Is that bad? I almost feel like I am lying to him by omission, but also think talking about it creates anxiety that is not necessary. I would like to thank everyone for their well wishes and good vibes as we take off tomorrow for yet another "lay down and let me look at you" episode of hands and legs kicking and screaming. I think I need a sedative!

Getting his feelings hurt

It seems there is no way to forever avoid getting Akins feelings hurt. Last week we had his birthday party and the kids from next door were invited. Yesterday, Akins said he wanted to ride his cycle so we go outside only to discover the little girl next door having her birthday party to which he was not invited. BUT - she turned eight and she was having a girl party that appeared it would be turning into a slumber party. Oh course, Akins wanted to go over there to play and I had to explain to him that he was not invited and then go in to further explaintion around why she only wanted girls at her party, none of which made him feel any better - he cried and I felt horrible. The good news, he IS invited to a boys party from daycare for today. Now, if I can only get him to understand that he does not get to blow out the candles or open the gifts and that he must give the gift we have wrapped to his friend, we will be in good shape. It is truly like having an infant who is learning and seeing everything for the very first time and not all of the first time experiences are wonderful. So for those of you still waiting on your kids to come home, brace up for some difficult and painful times too.