GOTCHA Day!! (aka. Homecoming!)

"Gotcha Day" is a phrase that has been coined in the adoption community as the day of your child's homecoming...  the day that we finally 'gotcha.'

Our day came not anyway like what we had imagined it.  I thought that I would have a couple of weeks to plan for the specific day.  The house would be meticulously prepared for his homecoming  - well as much as it can be with 3 kiddos living in it already.  I would arrive in Haiti one day and head out the next for home.

As it was, I woke up about 4:50 am with no alarm clock and took my very last COLD shower.  I had been in Haiti for 12 days and experienced more than I thought I ever would have... but I had also learned so much in the process!

I learned that I did turn to God during times of great trial for peace, guidance and strength.  I realized how much I needed and depended on my husband, my partner.  There were days when I would have given anything to have him with me.  I also learned that I am a little bit stronger than what I thought I was.

Anyhoo.

Yes, he does sleep with his eyes a little open!

Our flight was at 9:07am and we needed to be at the airport by 7am.  My sleeping beauty woke up and the poor little guy had leaked through his diaper.... one more cold shower for him!  Trust me, they really are THAT cold!

We ate a quick breakfast and then said our goodbyes.

How bittersweet....

I have fallen in love with Haiti, with its people, the land and -yes- even the smells.  We love this extended 'family' that we have bonded with over these past two years.  I have never met anyone quite like Barbara Walker and I'm sure that I never will again.

I was a bit sad at not knowing when I would be heading back down to this 'Blue Heaven' we call Ruuska Village.

Two of our favorite church members road with us to the airport.  It was great to have friends there to see us off!

Now, I have to admit, this was another time of great anxiety for me.  When you are leaving the country with your newly adopted child, you are supposed to have an "Exit Letter" to give to the immigration officers at the Haitian airport.  It is a document from the Haitian child services confirming that this child has been legally adopted and can leave the country.

We didn't have time to get this after getting his visa so quickly!  I was in constant prayer during the whole time we were checking our luggage and getting our tickets.  I had a slight moment of panic at the security check when I couldn't find Sam's plane ticket!  Thankfully, it had been found and handed into a security guard.

After security came Immigration...

There were 4 lines open.  I started to go to the end line when, what I can only describe as the Holy Spirit's guidance, I was led to move to the first line.  So we did.

I handed the immigration officer my passport and Sam's visa and held my breath....  the guy didn't even bat an eye!  He stamped the visa and motioned us on.

Whew!  Thank you Lord!

Afterwards, we saw a family with two adopted children in the line that we were first in.  This immigration officer was going through all of their documents meticulously.

*Note:  Everything was/is completed with our adoption.  This is just an 'exit letter' stating that we are cleared to leave the country.

Now I felt that I could finally breathe!  We went up stairs to try the 'Limonade' drink that I have only had in Haiti.  We also took this time to go shopping at the little shops in the airport.  I can never go home without Haitian coffee.

As we were waiting to board the plane, Sam was mesmerized by looking out the big windows at all of the planes and luggage trams.

So many times at the orphanage, we would see planes flying overhead and I would tell him, "one day mommy and Sam will fly on the 'avyon'."

"One.  Day."  Had.  Finally.  Come!!

We were having so much fun watching his joy and amazement, in fact, that we almost missed our plane!  SERIOUSLY!  As we walked up to the gate they said "we've been looking for you!"  And then grabbed our carry-on bags and ran us to the plane.  According to my watch, we still had 10 minutes but I guess everyone was already on the plane.  Jet Blue passengers are early birds, apparently.

Wow, it was happening!!  We were on the plane and would be HOME within hours!

Sam had a pretty uneventful flight.  He slightly enjoyed the tv on the plane...

kind of liked the snacks...

but REALLY dug putting the tray up and down a million times!

Around 11am, we landed in Fort Lauderdale.  Our first stop was immigration.  Normally, this is a process that could take some families hours to go through.  We had about a 15-20 minute wait in the line before reaching the immigration officer.  There, we gave him a sealed envelope that was given to us by the visa team at the US Embassy in Haiti.  It had to remain sealed and the cover letter had to remain stamped on the outside.

The officer asked us to follow him to the 'secondary' processing room.  It was full of folks waiting to get their forms submitted so that they could get on their way.  For some reason, our officer decided to process our paperwork himself.  As I stood there, the man put a couple of stamps on things and then sent us on our way.

WOW!  What grace we were shown!

I heard several grumblings from people in the waiting room as we were leaving.  I felt kind of bad that we were in and out in under 2 minutes.

After a quick stop to pick up our one bag at the carousel and then breezing through customs, we were on our way!  He was REALLY taking it all in and a bit overwhelmed with his surroundings when we got out of the airport and onto the bus that would take us to the off-site parking.

Now came the real test.... a 2 1/2 hour drive in a car seat.  Sam has never been in a car seat before this!

We started out good.  Happy even...

After a quick stop for lunch, that changed his idea about the car seat...

After a quick driver change with Richard, I was able to sit in the back seat with Sam and hold his hand.  We found out why he was so grumpy...

Thankfully he slept for the rest of the trip.  I was texting Stephen and my friends that were waiting at the church's parking lot for us.  I was giving them updates on our progress home.

We had originally anticipated a 3:30 arrival but it ended up being a little after 4.  As we were pulling off of the highway, I started to wake Sam up.  I put his shoes back on and was trying to get my sleepy little guy excited to meet his family!  I didn't quite work but he gave it his best shot...

It had been raining most of the afternoon but stopped a little before our arrival.  How awesome it was to see all of our friends that braved the elements to welcome us home!

I am known for always having my camera on and ready BUT this time I left it in the car and let my dear friends -THANK YOU- take on the responsibility of capturing one of the most important moments in our life...

 And then to be reunited with my husband and kiddos.  I had missed them all more than I can express.  Stephen is my rock, my base, and it was oh so hard to not have him with me in Haiti.

The cutest moment came when Sam met Jack for the first time.  He reached out and hugged Jack immediately - although Jack wasn't feeling the love immediately.  I think everyone did a collective "AWE."

My mom had been so important during those 2 weeks that I was gone.  Stephen still needed to work and we had 3 kiddos that were needing someone home with them, helping with school work and shuttling them to activities.  It would have been impossible to do this without her!!!  And now she was able to meet the reason for it all... her new grandson!  She wasn't quite sure how she was going to feel or handle it all.  I think everyone goes through that question with adoption:  are you going to love them as much as all of the other children/grandchildren?  But one look at my mom and I knew she had seen that Sam is an important part of our family and has our hearts.  What a special moment for me!

There were so many friends and family member there to welcome us home.  We've put together a video of our arrival:
http://animoto.com/play/P1BSG3J5QY4LFcgMGJ1Irw

It was all so overwhelming wonderful to be surrounded by some of the most important people in our life.  We were able to chat for a while and then watch Sam and Jack start to warm up to each other.  They are so cute!  We knew that a little bit of fun would break the ice.

AND some time of "let's see what's down the storm drain."

We then decided to try and take our first family picture... well, it was a nice attempt at one!

After the last of our friends had left, it was time to load up and head home as a completed family.  WOW!!

When we arrived home, Sam walked through the front door and made a beeline for the sliding glass door, pointing at the pool the whole way.

We played in the backyard, introduced Sam to the animals and enjoyed a meal together.

After some more playtime...

It was time to put my kiddos to bed and Sam had his first warm bath EVER.  I cannot tell you how amazing it felt to kiss ALL of my babies goodnight.  To tuck them all into bed and know that they are all safe.  That they have been told that they are loved and that mommy and daddy will be here in the morning.

For over a year, I had to go to bed and ask God to send comfort to our son.  I had to trust that he was being cared for and that he was safe.  Now, I can go into his room before I go to sleep and SEE FOR MYSELF that that Sam is healthy, happy and home.  What a blessing adoption is!

Our Visa Miracle!

After Sam's return from the hospital, all of our attention turned to getting him back to the states so we could get some concrete diagnosis and treatment.

Our adoption was at the final stage.  We had been waiting for I-600 approval (immigration approval) from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.  After we got this approval, his visa would be issued and he could come to the US.

It was extremely difficult to maneuver much from Haiti.  I could communicate through Facebook and email but the internet could be spotty at times too.  I was relying on my wonderful husband to make first hand contacts with our Congressman Bill Posey's office.  Friends of ours were reaching out to their Representatives and Congressmen/women too.

Each evening, I would email USCIS with another plea to review Sam's file expediently... and the next day, I would still not receive a reply.

My days were filled with helping out around the orphanage as much as possible but, mostly, just taking care of Sam.

One day we did venture out.  We went to the Baptist Mission.

He was off of the Rocephin prescription and now on Amoxicillin - after the local doctor came to see him and also agreed to write a letter to USCIS on our behalf, since we were still concerned about a skull fracture that was diagnosed at the last hospital. Sam's energy level was starting to come back a little, as was his appetite.  It was a job, in itself, to keep him quietly contained!

His head was not swelling any further but it had not gone down and was still very large.  We did not want him re-injuring himself.

The odd thing was that the swelling did not stay hard.  After a couple of days it started getting a soft consistency.  Almost like Jell-o under his skin.  When he would run, his head would actually jiggle.  It was the weirdest thing that I have ever seen!

I was able to put a TV in our room to help keep him occupied.  The first day, I played animated movies and he was NOT impressed.  So I then borrowed season 2 of the X-Files from Barbara and watched those every afternoon and night.  Sam loved the theme song.

The days blended together and I was starting to loose hope that we would have a resolution soon... and I didn't know what would happen.

My family back home was needing me.  Our 3 year old was sick with a cold and our 11 year old daughter got her braces on... AND mommy wasn't there for them.  It was killing me.  BUT when I thought about leaving Sam... that just didn't seem to be an option!

On Wednesday night, day 8 in Haiti, I had just written a message to a friend that I was "in despair" about the bleak outlook and what I was going to do - stay or go home without Sam - when IT HAPPENED!!

In a VERY odd way... At 10 at night... From Arkansas... Because God has perfect timing AND a good sense of humor!

My sister in law's sister (got that?) sent me a message on Facebook.  I had been inundated with messages, so it was a miracle that I even read it.  She said that she had received a reply message from a USCIS officer.  Apparently, she and my sister in law had been sending emails to different USCIS offices... and she actually got a REAL reply back, not just one of the automated ones!

The USCIS officer said that, according to her records, Sam's immigration application had been approved that afternoon!!

I still get goosebumps even writing that!

I was so excited that I even went and banged on Barbara's bedroom door to share the good news with her.  Thankfully, she shared my enthusiasm... because you didn't want to interrupt 'Rambo in a Blue Dress' during her shows for nothing!

Prayers were being answered and now our goal was in sight.

Thursday was our rally day.  We officially received our I-600 approval email from the USCIS office in Haiti.  It was time to gather all of our information and get our ducks in a row to -hopefully- have success with expediting Sam's visa.

We discovered that we didn't have a copy of the report from Sam's physical.  This is a must for his visa file.  It took us most of the day to get that from the doctor's office across town - since you don't go anywhere fast in Haiti.

I spoke to my husband about our Congressman's office and, thankfully, they had been in constant touch.  The visa stage is where Bill Posey's office could have an influence.  I also spoke with my father in law and he was booking a flight for the next morning to stay with us until we headed home... HOME!!

You know what was even MORE special about this day?  On Thursday, I was able to feel some of Sam's skull.  Previously, the swelling was so thick that we couldn't even feel his skull.

Friday morning was the start to our BIG DAY!

The group from our church showed up.  It just so happened that they were there for a mission trip that weekend.  My father in law, Richard, arrived on the same flight with them.  BOY, were they all a sight for sore eyes!

A portion of our church mission group

After some quick 'hellos' we were off to the Embassy!

Now let me tell you about the long shot that we were up against...

In a 'normal' situation, adoptive parents would receive an email that their child's immigration has been approved (what we received officially Thursday morning).  Then they wait for about a week for another email from the visa team to tell them when their child's visa appointment is (similar to us applying for a passport).  This appointment is generally 2-3 weeks out.  After the appointment, it is still at least 3 days before the visa is printed and ready for pick up.

Got all of that?  Usually, at least a 4 week process.

And we were asking for ALL of this in one business day.  A Friday none the less!

But we were determined.  Failure meant that we would be in Haiti well into the next week... at least!

Mirlande, Richard, Sam and I loaded into the truck for the 40 minute drive to the Embassy.  As the truck was backing out of the orphanage, I was describing to Richard our uphill battle for the day.  Mirlande stopped the truck outside of the gate and we prayed.  Prayed that God would move these HUGE mountains that stood in our way.

We arrived at the Embassy at 10:30am.  Now this isn't a building that you just waltz up to.  They have security out front, before you even get to the building.  If you aren't on their roster for the day or have an email print out showing your appointment, you don't get in.

I showed them the email that I had written to the Embassy stating my desire to come to their office that morning at 10:30.  AND THEY LET ME IN!  Not only did they let me in, but Mirlande and Richard too.

The waiting room at the Embassy is the size of an auditorium and there were only 2 other groups there.  One side of the room is lined with teller-like windows, where you speak to the Embassy employee or officer that you have a meeting with.

We were called up to the window after only about 2 minutes of waiting.  The visa officer was extremely kind!  She asked for the documents needed to complete his visa.  We discussed his medical situation and she was able to see him for herself.  We even had new visa pictures taken the day before because he now looked so different with the remaining swelling.

After telling me that she and the visa team were committed to doing everything that they could for us, there was a snag...

One of the forms had been recently updated and could only completed online.  Of course there is NO internet availability at the Embassy.  Plus, this document normally takes 4-24 hours to approve and the Embassy has no influence or control over it since the processing is done in Washington DC.

This meant that we had to race back to the orphanage.  Complete the form and race back to the Embassy and pray for its quick approval.

Before we left, the officer did inform me that we had some Congressional support.  Apparently, Bill Posey's office had been in touch with the State Department.  They had approved over time -if needed- for the visa team to get this done.

We made the decision to contact Stephen via international call on Mirlande's phone to get him to fill out this form.  Brilliance!

It took about an hour and several phone calls to the embassy in Haiti and Visa Center in DC before the form was complete.  Stephen hit the submit button a few minutes after noon.

Once back at Ruuska Village, we gobbled down lunch and then I put Sam down for a nap.  The visa officer, Christine, said that I did not need to bring him back to the Embassy because she was satisfied with his medical need.  Since our friends were now at the orphanage (including 2 of our regular babysitters from home) it was an easy choice for me.

Barbara and Mirlande ran an errand before we headed back to them Embassy BUT they came flying in at 2pm saying that Christine from the visa office had just called and said that I needed to get there to pay for the visa ASAP - before the clerk left for the day.  Again, we scrambled into the truck and Mirlande drove like a street racer or maniac - I'm still not sure!  She had her flashers going and horn just a blaring.

We arrived at 2:45 and Richard and I ran into the building -since we had been given a pass previously.

There was nobody in the waiting area.  This huge room and we were the only ones.  As I was filling out some additional forms, I gave an envelope to Richard for him to go around to another window and pay the $230 for the visa.

And then we had to wait.

The metal waiting chairs are not very comfortable but Richard was able to fall asleep in them... after I chewed his ear off for an hour, telling him about the past 2 weeks.  At 4pm, he was asleep for just a few minutes, when over the loud speakers, we hear "Pierre Bordin".  Richard jumped at least 3 feet.  Oh, how I wish I had a camera going!

I tripped over Richard, laughing, on my way up to the window.  Christine came over the window speaker and said, "I'm so sorry.  I tried to talk quietly... but I think you'll be happy with my news!"

And with that, she holds up Sam's visa!!  In less than 6 hours since we had, unceremoniously, showed up at the Embassy.  My laughter quickly turned into tears.  Richard and I both launched into a chorus of "Thank you's."

She was quick to point at the many people in the office behind her.  They were the "Visa Team" -our personal Dream Team for that day.  We asked for her supervisor to thank her too.

They both said that they had never seen anything like it.  Our Congressman had a hand in getting the ball moving faster and helping to get any over time approved.  The 'team' had agreed to stay 2 hours late on a Friday to get this done but they didn't even need it.  She said that the office clerk had stayed a few minutes into his own time to process our payment.

In addition, the form we submitted online - the one that usually takes 4-24 hours to process - was approved and back to us in 3 hours.

This was all a God-given MIRACLE!

And we were heading H-O-M-E!!!

I called Stephen on the way back to the orphanage to tell him to buy our son's plane ticket home.  The moment we arrived at Ruuska Village, I jumped out and yelled to everyone that we had it.  Oh, I couldn't wait to get my hands on my boy!

I don't think that I stopped smiling all night.  We had a great feast with my church friends.  Looking back, it is so fitting that my our last meal in Haiti was shared with many of the mission friends that I had started this journey with 2 years ago.

Poor Richard had been awake the entire night before, traveling to Haiti, and fell asleep at the dinner table.

I was thankful that one special lady came by to say 'good-bye'... Sam's nanny, Ecefi.

I took Sam back to 'our' room and gave him his last COLD Haitian bath.  After he fell asleep, I packed most of our luggage.  We were booked for the first flight out of Haiti.  Woohoo!

What a day!!  One that I will never forget... a day that I saw, first hand, the power of prayer!

Up next:  Our Gotcha Day!

Day 2 - 6: The Cuban Hospital

The next day, Wednesday morning, we were up and going by 5:45.  Sam had been stirring most of the night, in pain from his swelling and/or fever.  I kept him upright most of the night, on my chest, and continued Tylenol every 4 hours.

We had gone to bed around 8:30.  Sam was up several times and I had woke up once with bug bites.  I got up to check the time -praying that dawn was near!- and it was only 10pm!!  That was how that night rolled.

Anyway.

Our group was packed in the van and ready to go on time.  Ecefi, Sam's previous nanny, was asked if she would like to join us.  She loves our little guy and wanted to be there for him.  Like I said, I love this woman.

We all agreed that the swelling had gotten worse over night.  Our anxiety was high to get him treatment and answers.  Quick.  The 2 hour drive, north east of Port au Prince, over the mountains to the town of Mirebalais - the location of the Cuban hospital - was a quiet one.

Normally, I would have completely enjoyed the views but it was not to be on this journey.

We arrived a while before the 8am opening of the hospital and took up real estate on some benches outside with the rest of the Haitians waiting to be seen.

A few minutes before 8am, Ecefi stood up and said that we needed to be by the entrance to the hospital to make sure that we could get in... AND THIS IS WHERE OUR JOURNEY TOOK A TURN FOR THE BETTER!

As we walked up to the entrance of the hospital, a Cuban nurse was sitting in the only chair.  She immediately stood up and offered me her seat (seeing that I was carrying a 40lb boy that was in obvious need of care).

Haitians tend to be very curious by nature and not shy about it.  Many came up and asked what had happened to Sam.  Mirlande was explaining that a rock had hit him in the head while he was playing on the play ground.  I could tell that the Cuban nurse understood a little bit of Creole because she kept on listening to them and then looking back at Sam.

As we approached 8am, more and more nurses and doctors started arriving.  As one doctor arrived, the kind nurse that had given me her seat approached the doctor and started talking with her.  I could tell that they were discussing Sam.  As she walked by, they motioned for me to follow.  I quickly did!

As we entered the hospital, the ladies led us to the first office that had 'Director' above it.  This was the director of the hospital!!  Hallelujah! She didn't waste any time.  She grabbed her stethoscope and checked Sam out.  She sat down and started writing out scripts for blood work and x-rays.

This was the interesting part. The doctor only spoke Spanish and some Creole (no English).  We had picked up Mirlande's sister-in-law that was fluent in both Spanish and Creole (also, she didn't know English).  Mirlande, herself, is fluent in both Creole and English.  Me?  I just knew English.  Boy was I wishing that I had payed attention during my one semester of Spanish in high school!!

So, our conversations went kind of like that old game of telephone....

The Cuban doctor would speak in Spanish to the sister-in-law.  She would translate into Creole for Mirlande, who would then translate into English for me.

We were quite the sight, I bet!

The Cuban doctor, Claudia the sister in law and Mirlande

The doctor escorted us down to the laboratory for blood draws.  There was a line of people waiting but the doctor walked us right up to the technician, grabbed a chair and had me sit down.  Instead of trying to stick him with a needle, they did a finger prick and drew a few small viles - like what they use at the blood bank when you are donating blood.

Compared to the day before (which I could see the bruising on his arms from) this was a breeze!

The technician then personally walked us over to the radiology department.  They explained that we had to wait for about 15 minutes before they could do the x-ray.  Why, you ask?

I hadn't noticed before this time but, apparently, this hospital had no running water or electricity.  I'm serious!  They were waiting until 9am, when the generator was turned on.  But within a minute of the generator turning on, a young Cuban doctor stuck his head out and motioned us in.

I walked out of the room while they did his head and chest x-rays.  He only wanted to be held by me and my presence was making the situation worse BUT I ran back in the moment that he was done.

They didn't process his head x-ray right away but the technician handed me his chest x-ray (still dripping) and escorted us right across the hall to the director again.

This was all so amazing, organized and FAST!  All of this was completed by 9:45!

The doctor looked at his chest x-ray and then started the translation line.  I might have gotten things "lost in translation" but from what I gathered Sam had pneumonia and the doctor thought that this was somehow connected the the infection/swelling in his head.  I believe she said that because he had the infection in his lungs, that triggered this EPIC swelling when he got hit with the rock.

It didn't quite make sense BUT that's the way of the telephone game, folks.

The end result was that they wanted to keep Sam for 2-3 days to give him a strong course of antibiotics.  My first thought was that there was no possible way that we could make that happen.  I was trying to reach out to the Embassy daily and couldn't do that here with no electricity/internet/phone, plus there was NO WAY that I could leave Sam alone there.

Then Ecefi spoke up, "I will stay with Sam, if that will make him get better."  Oh, Ecefi, was our knight in beautiful shining armor!

Ecefi is the woman on the right

Again, everything moved fast from this point on.  They walked down to another short hallway that had 6 hospital rooms.  Each room had several beds but Sam's was the only one that had cribs.  Mirlande and Ecefi left to go to a market and buy a change of clothes for her and Sam (we weren't anticipating them staying.)

Once they returned, my friend Tina and I went to the food vendors on the street to get something for Sam and Ecefi to eat.  There we had an interesting experience with a woman who was not thrilled to serve us food at all.  I'm assuming because we were not Haitian.  We were asking for mamba sandwiches (similar to peanut butter sub rolls) and she just handed us the bread and wouldn't even look at us.  A very nice, bilingual man came up and took control of the situation - and, I think, told her off too.

So we left Ecefi and Sam in their room at the hospital.  Ecefi was given a blanket to sleep on the concrete floor with, bless her heart, and she never complained.

 

I remember thinking that I was VERY at peace with this course we were on.  I felt some-what good about the competency of the staff and the care that they would give Sam.  He would be getting some antibiotics that would, at least, help him get rid of the pneumonia.

Thankfully, Sam was resting peacefully when I left.

I was hoping to go and see Sam on Thursday but they were not able to take us for the 4 hours round-trip, which was very understandable.  So I kept myself busy with things that needed to be done around the orphanage.  This day, we were told that the head x-ray reports came back and showed a 2cm wide fracture from his forehead back.  The hospital also told us that they would be willing to write us an official letter stating that Sam needed to get out of the country to seek medical treatment for this. THAT was something that we needed to plead our case with to the Embassy.

Friday was Valentine's Day and I was excited to go and see my Valentine!

The swelling had not gone down on his head BUT he was able to open up -slightly- the one eye that had been severely swollen.  The doctor came by to see us.  Actually, a lot of the hospital did.  People were even standing outside of the windows looking into Sam's room.  I didn't know if they were looking at Sam or us but Sam would just wave to them... oh yes, his personality was starting to come back!  He was quite the favorite with the staff too.  The original nurse, the savior on our first day, took quite a liking to Sam and would bring him a treat... a big bottle of Coca Cola.  I kid you not!

Anyway, the doctor said that she didn't know what treatment would be needed for Sam's skull (surgery or not) but said that he seemed to be stabilizing.  However, they wanted to keep him for one more day to continue the antibiotic.

I was not expecting that and was heart broken.  We visited with them for a while and then made the 2 hour trip back to the orphanage empty handed.

I told Barbara, the orphanage director, that she would have to be my Valentine's this year and she bought me a glass of wine.  She must know me well!

Anyhoo.  I was up and ready to get our little guy on Saturday.  Wild horses could not keep me away!!  With it being a Saturday, the hospital had no one it in.  Literally!  Ecefi and Sam were the only ones in there.  We gathered their stuff, scooped up our boy and headed out the door!

There was a quick setback when we noticed that the letter from the hospital didn't have any official stamp or seal.  That took about 20 minutes to get a doctor to come over to the hospital to do that.  Interestingly, the doctor's quarters are right beside the hospital in these little bungalow-looking buildings. 

We made that last 2 hour trip back to orphanage with Sam sleeping on our laps.  My momma's heart was happy... now we just needed to get his immigration approved and him home for treatment!

*Most of the pictures from this post were taken on our Friday visit.  Thank you, Audrey for taken them.

My LONGEST Day...

This Monday went as all others:  schooling in the morning, a short break and then off to Isabel's American Heritage Girls meeting where I'm her Explorer leader.  We got home, ate dinner and was in the middle of putting the kiddos to bed when our world was rocked...

I was passing by the computer and saw that we had a new email AND it was from Barbara, the orphanage director!  In the adoption world this is always big news.  There was only one sentence in the email that said "Urgent call me NOW".

I jumped to my phone and called her immediately.

We were told that Sam's head had been swelling all day and that the doctor they took him to thought that it is Hydrocephalus.  I don't know much about that condition but I knew it wasn't good and I surely didn't want my baby to have it.  Barbara said that she thought it would be best if we came down to Haiti as soon as possible.

Fast forward 10 hours - past many phone calls & emails, online plane ticket purchases, 2 1/2 hour drive to Fort Lauderdale, ZERO sleep and an hour and half flight to Haiti.

I stepped off the plane in Haiti a little before 8am on Tuesday morning. What was usually an exhilarating feeling for me, when arriving in Haiti, was replaced with anxiety.  I did not know what I was walking into to, how my little boy was going to look or what was even going to happen.

Five minutes later, the truck pulled up to the airport to pick me up and I got to see Sam for the first time...

It. Took. My. Breathe. Away.

His head was about twice the size as normal and one eye was completely swollen shut.  All I could do was cuddle him and whisper in his ear that momma was here now and everything would be alright.

But I feared it wouldn't be.

He was very lethargic and running a slight fever.

We went directly to a local hospital.  We had been told that this was a great hospital, with many American doctors, and that people had good experiences with them.. Unfortunately, that would not be the case with us.

Sam and I were joined by a friend of mine, Tina, who happened to be visiting the orphanage during this time and Barbara's right hand man, Lucien.  Upon arriving at the 'hospital', I was surprised to see that it was mostly outdoors.  There were buildings here and there but the waiting and lines were outside.

We went to the office of the 'secretary' and were told that the nurse that specialized in hydrocephalus was not in on Tuesdays, so we were out of luck.  When I explained that was NOT an option, we were instructed to sit outside (actually we were sitting exactly in the spot at the top picture above) and we may get the chance to see someone else... once they called our name.

We waited.

After sitting there for too long, Tina and I decided to come up with a new game plan... stop as many American doctors as possible and try to find one that would help us.

And it worked!!!  Only he was Canadian and not American - but YAY!

We said that we were hoping to get a CT Scan of Sam's head to see where this swelling was coming from and what it was affecting.  He returned to us a few minutes later and said that there was a woman that may be able to help us out.  He led us to another building where there was an office with 2 desks in it.  She told us that she could have the CT Scan ordered for $150 US.  Alrighty then.

We were told to go around to another building to pay.  Apparently, you had to show a paid receipt for all care before anything was done.

While Tina and Lucien went to pay, that same Canadian doctor came over and said that they would look at Sam over in the triage/ER room.  This was the break we were looking for!

The room was no bigger than a standard living room.  It had one hospital bed and several chairs.  I sat in a form of wheelchair with Sam on my lap since there was a lady receiving IV fluids on the bed.

And then we waited.

 

An American doctor and several American student doctors came to look Sam over.  They seemed to be in a quick agreement that Sam did NOT have hydrocephalus and agreed that he needed a CT Scan and ordered blood work for him - which again we had to go stand in the payment line for.

While waiting for the CT Scan, they tried to draw his blood.  I don't know if he has difficult veins or if there was a lack of skill but it was close to torturous for them to even get a few drops out of him.  I think one of the main problems was that they were using adult-size needles and syringes!  But I bit my tongue.  For now.

Tina and I heard a commotion by the doors to the room.  One of the Haitian nurses was trying to shoo away a woman when a doctor stopped her and pulled a baby out of her arms.  The baby looked to be about 8-10 months old and in a pretty pink dress.  The doctor rushed over to a table, listened to her heart and then started performing chest compressions on her.

All I could think was to hold Tina's hand and say a prayer for that baby girl.

I remember hearing him count to 10 in French over and over again.  As they were bringing over the paddles to try and stimulate her heart, we left the building.  The mother walked out of the building immediately after us... with her receipt to go and pay.

I wish I was kidding!!!

Her little girl died while she was standing in line paying.

I was heart broken for her.  I had never seen anything like that before.


After at least another hour of waiting outside, we were told that the CT Scan was ready for Sam and that they were going to give him a sedative to calm him for it.  I was listening to the doctors discuss what to sedate him with and heard that they had decided on Ketamine.  My mind was racing.  Isn't this an animal tranquilizer?  Isn't this a street drug too?  But I decided to go ahead and let them treat Sam.  It took only about 15 seconds for him to be completely knocked out.

I was in the other room and saw the scans as they were taking place.  It was obvious, right away, that the fluid (the doctors thought that it was blood) was on the outside of the skull.  This was great news because that meant that there might not be much pressure on his brain.

We were instructed to go back to the triage room and they would come in to tell us what they thought would be a good plan of action.

And we waited.

More blood work was ordered -and paid for.  The doctor that performed the CT Scan came in and didn't really give us any answers:  he wanted to admit Sam to the pediatric unit and drain the fluid in his head.  I asked him if we could have a report of the scan and he told me that I would have to wait 3-4 days before his report was ready.  Fair enough.  How about a copy of the scan?  He told me that I could go and get a blank disc and they would burn it onto it.

Seriously.  Where was I going to find a blank disc?  For those that haven't been to Haiti, there is NOT a Walgreens on every corner there.

After waiting some more, a Haitian nurse came over to draw Sam's blood.  He was just coming off the sedatives and she was NOT gentle with him at all!  I kept on explaining to the nurse that knew English that she was using too big of a syringe and was just collapsing any veins, if she was even finding them and she was WIGGLING the needle back and forth in his arm!  Even worse was that she was pulling the syringe in and out.  Now I'm not a doctor but I do not think that his a good practice.  By the third limb, I screamed at her ENOUGH!  She was done and was not going to poke my son one more time. 

I was through.  It had been almost 8 hours and we had accomplished next to nothing.  Two rounds of blood work was paid for and attempted.  A CT Scan was paid for and done but we had no report and no copies of it.  All we had were some good-hearted Canadian and American doctors that were wanting to help us but were not in a position to make that happen.

Finally, we put our foot down and said that we were leaving.  There was no way that I was going to let them 'treat' Sam there any longer.  They had no clear plan of how they were going to treat him anyway.  So we asked if they would at least write us some kind of letter stating what they thought Sam's condition was so that we could share this with the US Embassy - as we were appealing for them to continue to review our file as quick as possible so that Sam could be seen here in the US (and receive proper medical care).

After waiting for another HOUR, we were told that the head Haitian doctor would not allow them to write it.

We were utterly deflated, infuriated and frustrated.  We left the hospital after over 8 hours with very little show for the day and Sam's head was continuing to swell.  Our only knowledge was that this fluid (maybe blood) was on the outside of his skull which meant that it was NOT hydrocephalus.

Once back at the orphanage, I could barely eat - even though I had last eaten at the airport in Fort Lauderdale.  I had a few bites of white rice and then just sat there with Sam.  I had not slept at all the previous night and had no energy to do anything else but sit on the kitchen floor and hold my boy.

That is where Ecefi found us.  Ecefi was Sam's nanny, until her retirement just 3 short weeks before.  She had loved and cared for Sam since his sickly arrival at the orphanage a year and a half ago.

Ecefi came in, sat on the kitchen floor and cried with me.  I love this woman.

I was scared for Sam.  We didn't know what was going on in his head.  Was there irreversible damage going on?  Was there going to be long term effects?  Could we even find treatment in Haiti for him?

I talked with Barbara and her right hand woman Mirlande about our plan.  They had heard of a good Cuban hospital about 2 hours away and suggested that we take Sam there early the next day.

OK.  We had a plan and I trusted them FULLY to lead the way.

Sam and I went back to our room for the night but sleep was not in the cards for me again.  The swelling was very painful for him and he couldn't sleep very well.  His best position was leaning against my chest as I sat up.  It was a VERY LONG NIGHT.

But at least we had a plan and tomorrow was a new day...

The Home Stretch!!

As many of you know, we are -hopefully- in the home stretch of our adoption.  We have had a lot of questions about 'how close we are' or 'how soon until he comes home' so I thought that I would tell you all about these last few steps before Sam can come home.

One thing that I have learned with Haitian adoptions is that you truly do not understand the steps of the process until you are in the actual step - or even through it!

On January 15th, we received a copy of Sam's passport.  This was the last step of the Haitian-side of the adoption and the first time that we have actually seen a document with our last name on it.  Hurray!!

Two days later, Sam went to have a physical.

The report from the physical and his passport were the last 2 items that we needed to complete his USCIS file - our next step.  USCIS = United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.  That is where our file is now and this is what we are waiting for...

We are waiting for the US Immigration Services to declare Sam as our immediate relative.  We have been granted to bring an orphan into the US, now we are waiting for USCIS to approve Sam as that orphan.  THAT is what we are waiting for right now.

Please, friends, pray with us that they give us approval soon!!

Once we get our immigration approval, we will be sent his Visa appointment date.  This would be similar to us going to an appointment to file our passport paperwork.  Usually, this appointment is scheduled about 2 weeks out.

I will likely travel to Haiti around this time because Visas are typically ready 2 days after the Visa appt... and then Sam can come H.O.M.E!!

Home!!  The thought of him being home makes me want to jump up and down with joy!  This past year has been such a roller coaster of emotions... extremely high and extremely low and sometimes changing on a daily basis.  We were told a couple of times that it didn't look like we would find a way to process this adoption because of the changing laws in Haiti BUT God never let my heart believe that.  He comforted my heart, held my hand, and kept my mind determined.  Additionally, we have been very blessed with a particularly fast timeline.  Our file didn't even get into the Haitian government until May, so this is amazing to even be talking to you all about him coming home!!

We are still hoping that he will be home by the end of February.  As of right now, that is still possible.  Our family hasn't decided which family members will make that final trip for the homecoming.  There is a very strong possibility that Stephen will stay home with the other children while Michelle makes the trip.  We are VERY excited about our homecoming plans...  We are planning on flying into Fort Lauderdale and head straight to our church's parking lot where we will have a 'meet and greet' of sorts.  So many of you have been extremely supportive and instrumental in this adoption and we want to share this glorious celebration with you all!  Please let me know if you would like to be on our email or text list for the day/time of Sam's homecoming.

Here is a look at the many different steps that we have gone through and those that are hopefully coming soon:

• Identified Sam as our intended adoptive child - December 2012
• Dossier/File arrived in Haiti - January 24, 2013
• Dossier enters IBESR (Haitian Child Services) - May 17, 2013
• Dispensation (presidential signature) and exit IBESR - September 28, 2013
• Parquet (Haitian courts) - October - mid-December
• Minister of Interior - mid-December - first week of January 2014
• Passport delivered January 15, 2014
• Entered USCIS January 21, 2014 **where we currently are waiting**

Steps Left:

• USCIS approval for Sam's immigration
• Visa Appointment
• Visa in hand = HOME

We are SO VERY READY to have our son home!  And by the looks of it, he is practicing on getting filthy with his brother, Jack.

  PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYER FOR A QUICK APPROVAL FROM USCIS!!  This, we humbly ask from each of you.  Thank you to every one of you for your continued love and support!

As always, feel free to shoot me questions if you have them.  I love, LOVE, talking about adoption and this great experience.