Day 2 started very early - 2:30am Addis time. After tossing and turning, I finally go up to check the time and considered going downstairs to the computer since I could not sleep. When we finally got up, we grabbed a quick breakfast then met the others for our 8am call time to leave for court. Much like everything in Ethiopia - 8am was a "range" so we left around 8:30am. We entered a small room where we were to meet the judge. It was a long wait (or at least it seemed) before we started.
The room was full - I would say at least 30 families from various agencies. One by one, they went exiting in less than a minute with tearful eyes of excitement until it came to our turn...the judge was very unemotional and straight forward. She asked us a series of questions that we basically answered "yes" or "no" then mentioned something about another court date. We sat there confused then she and the lawyer spoke in Amharic - turned to us and said "thank you." Are you kidding? In my heart, I really wanted to hear" she is yours" like the rest of the families. I was confused and disappointed. We asked the lawyer afterwards and he assured us everything was fine, but I wasn't convinced. I know that she isn't anymore ours than is our son BE. They are God's children. I had just longed to hear those words. This has been such a long process of waiting yet it appears He plans to keep us there longer. Sadness. Confusion. Disappointment. At that point, I just wanted to go home. I was tired, missing Ean and beginning to emotionally detach from it all.
After court we went to the guesthouse to change close then to have lunch at a small coffee shop. OMG! It was so bad. I think I've learned how to stay away from meat...since there are so many hidden "mysteries" :)
We then went to the care center to say goodbye to our children. It was hard to imagine leaving Evy there
. We played and enjoyed her - then felt rasping when she was breathing. We were all a bit on edge about sickness with the kids. Two in our group were hospitalized after we arrived and one dear family lost their baby the same week.
Needless to say, we were on edge and not feeling extremely confident. We asked if the doctor could check her lungs (since we were concerned the Pneumonia could return). After a while, they came in and said we were taking her to the hospital. I was so scared. I was able to carry her to the car and be with her the entire time. It was crazy thinking about how they drive - jerking her from here to there and no carseat! I held her tight. Another family brought their child as well and one of the nannies joined us.
The hospital was definitely that of a third world country...but the doctor was so nice and you could tell he really loved our daughter. She knew him and was very at peace with him. He reassured us that overall she was doing well but needed antibiotics for a respiratory infection. Good news - just hard to think about leaving her knowing how easily those kids pass sickness around in their full bedrooms and just praying that everyone there will be attentive if she gets worse.
As I was sitting there talking to the doctor, I discovered she had a massive poop. Super nasty and smelly and of course I ended up with a handfull - yuck! The doctor asked if I would change her, but I didn't have diaper or any supplies. He looked at me like I was crazy. We finally got her cleaned up including new clothes. We walked outside and discovered the rest of our group. All of a sudden the head nurse took her from my arms - and she was gone.
I didn't realize that was goodbye! Emotionally exhausted I asked the driver if we could please skip the shopping and return to the guesthouse. As it turned out, it was fine. We shopped a bit then headed back. We found some great stuff!
So, back to the bag. After all the calling to the airport, we decided to go there in person. Our bag was nowhere to be found! Ugh. Later, we joined two other couples for a dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. It was fun and gave me a little sense of being home which was certainly reassuring after the stress of the day.
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