T-Minus One Week

In one week we will be gracing the halls of the Sofia Airport and begin our return home.  Until then, I have one more week in single parenthood with Soshko in a foreign land.

Today, we have the next step in our immigration process.  Actually steps.  We have to go pick up Soshko’s and Levi's passports and then subject them to the medicals.  Marty and Dani will be our guides (and mind you, I am in this journey as well with the Clauses – so in more than one way I am not alone in this journey).  

So, I am opening the betting window for number of smoke breaks for Marty and/or Dani.  I’ll set 6 as the line for both of them and tell me if you want to go over or under.  Well, by the time that I send it out, I’ll have an answer, but I’ll give the answer in the next post.

A couple things that I am learning about Soshko:

-          Likes to sleep with a light on.  Drives me nuts, but if that is how he rolls, I’ll work with it.

-          Totally fascinated with playing in the sink water.

-          Insists on changing a diaper if he is even the slightest bit wet.

-          Lives off of yogurt currently.

-          Break dances in his sleep.

-          Loves all things to do with food from implements and containers to the actual food stuff.

-          Really wants to go in a car, but I have to keep telling him that I don’t have one.

-          Exceptionally careful for a four year-old.

-          Thinks it hilarious when I throw a diaper at the bin and miss.

-          Has good hearing.

-          Loves music.

Well, the first order of business is exercise, both will and lungs.  Soshko had the most strange form of exercise where he yells at the top of his lungs while simultaneously squirting water out of his eyes and riding an imaginary bicycle.  I had to help him with the bicycle part.  He loved it so much that we did that until lunch!  He will be one fit little dude.

Obviously we were dealing with a tantrum, and I expected to run across several of these along the way.  Even though, it still wasn’t easy.

Well, we had some lunch down in the PECTOPAHT around 12:30ish, an hour away from when we had to meet Marty and Dani for our next steps.  After wolfing down some tarator and some bread we got ready to meet Marty and Dani.

For some odd reason, we tend to be late meeting Marty and Dani.  For almost anything else, we are totally on time.  I wonder why (here’s looking at you Soshko!).  Anyway, they had the passports already, which were, guess what, Bulgarian passports!  I wonder if we get to keep them…that would be kind of cool.  Well, we’ll see.

Anyway, on to the adopt-o-mobile to go pull blood and some other stuff.  Our transport for today (and also on Monday) was a van that had, oddly enough, seven seats.  That isn’t the odd part – the odd part was the configuration of those seven seats: 2-3-2.  Soshko and I were in the caboose, Clauses in the middle, and Marty and Dani up in the front.

The hospital was very inconspicuous; it looked like a store front.  It was like a hammer-space (example for Dr. Who fans: the Tardis).  Once inside, it was suffocatingly antiseptic.  Hospitals must have universal standards on how to make it feel like this is a place for sick people or make you feel sick if you are not.

First step was the poking of the kids for blood.  This is a “surer” test for TB than the often used skin test.  The US requires that all adoptees must be tested for TB and, I believe, be negative.  However, because the skin test can show a false positive for those vaccinated against TB, the blood test is preferred to reduce the chance of false positive readings.  For you statisticians out there, which test has a higher power?

Anyway, Levi and the Clauses went first.  I’m pretty sure they just got Levi, but not sure, so I was a little nervous for myself.  It went really quick, like less than five minutes.  Then it was Soshko’s and my turn.  I took a deep breath….I hate needles.

We sat in a chair while this doctor/nurse/hospital worker (but probably not janitor) readied the needle.  I held Soshko and hoped that they were only going to stick him.  They applied a tourniquet above the arm and proceeded to stick him in his arm.  He squirmed and screamed.  And then he stopped.

“Is that it?” I asked.

“No, we didn’t get enough,” Dani replied.  Oh yeah, Dani was in there to translate.

That meant they probably needed a juicier vein.  I began to sweat.  I held onto Soshko just hoping that they would go for his other arm (“hey guys, he has two arms!”).  They must have read my sign language well, so they applied the tourniquet to the other arm.  I held him tight as the need approached.  Again he screamed and squirmed.  But this time when it was done, they had a vile of his blood ready for testing.  Those vampires.

Slightly reminds me of a scene from Johnny English.

Playing with Levi's musical toy

But hyperbole aside, I felt sorry for the little guy and a little miffed in the lack of communication to me during the process.  To cheer up Soshko, the Clauses gave him a musical toy to play with while we went to our next stop.

Which was the pediatrician.  There was no waiting room like in the USA.  It was a waiting corridor and was shared with other doctors in the hall.  Actually, there was a waiting room for the pediatrician, but it was more like a bullpen; the next kid and family hung out while the rest of us hung out in the hall.  Actually Soshko and I were in the stairwell.  

It took a while before Soshko was seen to, but he did fantastic waiting.  He would press the button on the little musical toy and would intently listen.  At the cadence of a piece, without missing a beat, he would push the button again.  It was as if he knew what the end of the piece of music was on the little toy.  

Oh, and by the way, that toy is one of the better “music” toys that I have ever run across.  The pieces were standard classical pieces with rather accurate harmonies and rhythms.  Not only that, but there were several pieces, not the standard two or three.  I just might need to track down one of my own.  You know, for the kids….not like I’m going to take it to work…really….I….wouldn’t....

Another amusing incident was while the Clauses and Levi were with the pediatrician.  Soshko and I were in the bullpen ready to head in to the pediatrician.  There were a few kids there that were also waiting, but there was one in particular that caught Soshko’s attention.  A girl of about 3 or 4 was there playing with some of the pediatrician supplied toys.  Soshko was spellbound; a smile would periodically grace his angelic face.  I think that he likes girls and women in general because he was taken care of by mostly women at the orphanage.  But I think that it was more than gender – I think that it was that she was his size.  I really wanted him to know that he will have many little people to play with at home.  And not just the Fisher Price toys.

The pediatrician exam was pretty quick.  The doctor, who was very nice, just looked at him and said, “He looks fine.”  They measured him and weighed him to get a better look at his current health.  The last time he was measured was around December of last year.  According to the charts, he was around the size of an average 4 year old.  Granted, an average Bulgarian 4 year old and he is actually closer to 5 than 4.  So, he is probably still on the shrimpy side, but I’m working on that everyday.  It looks like he's gained about 6 lbs in weight and an inch in height in the last 9 months.

After a little downtime which consisted of Soshko running water in the sink and waving his hands in it, we were finally able to go to the Billa grocery store.  I wanted to go earlier which is what spawned the temper tantrum earlier.  Specifically, I wanted him on my back or in the stroller, and he didn’t want either in the morning.  He accepted the stroller for the afternoon walk.

Which was somewhat problematic.  In order to get to the Billa, there are several flights of stairs to get there.  Elevators were available but not always operational.  Luckily, with the use of two elevators, I only had to manage one set of stairs to the Billa.

Afterwards, the trip back was somewhat perilous: I had two bags of groceries a kid in a stroller and my now quite sizeable man-purse.  Taking it slow we made it back just in time to Skype a bit with the family before going to supper.

This is Soshko's position of choice when he finishes eating.

Although the day started really stressful, we found a good end to the day.  Supper was good – I got a tip from the waiter that there was a secret dish not on the menu, curry chicken with rice.  Not only that, it was at a good price (6.90 BGN).   Sam has been a tremendous and wonderful support as I’ve been exploring the adventure of taking care of Soshko.  I miss her and all the family.  I am consoled knowing that there is only one more week before we are home.

St. Christopher, Pray for us!

God bless,

Sean