Adoption Update: Hospitalization and Other Updates

Wow!  We have been busy.

Amelia's final medical exam for her visa was last Thursday, her TB test was negative and everything else looked good so the doctor gave me all of the forms and paperwork that I needed and we were on our way.

On Friday, we took a trip to the passport office to get the form we will need to apply for her passport. They told us what we would need to bring and we scheduled an appointment for the 26th to come back and apply for Amelia's temporary (1-year) Polish passport.

We had a lazy day on Saturday because Amelia was really sick and Justin got shingles!  He has been miserable for over a week now.

On Sunday, Amelia suddenly had puffy eyes and a rash all over her body so we decided to take her to the emergency room. The second the doctor looked at her, he told us she would need to be admitted. Her white cell count was VERY high (so high that leukemia was mentioned, I was a mess there for a couple of days) and he could immediately tell that she had a ruptured eardrum. Sunday night they sedated her for a CT scan, and the ENT surgeon was called in to clean out her ears, sinuses, and throat (also under sedation). She also had a chest x-ray. They took blood, placed an IV, and cultured her ears, nose and throat.

Monday morning she had an abdominal ultrasound. They found gall stones. The results from her testing also started to come back.... she had pneumonia, a double ear infection, a BAD sinus infection, and tonsillitis. The bacteria was not a common one so they determined that she would need to stay in the hospital to continue receiving IV antibiotics and IV electrolytes as she was unable to swallow. She also received steroids and Pulmicort through the nebulizer, nasal drops, and a probiotic.

It was really difficult for me to see her in the hospital. I'm usually able to be pretty strong with things like this but knowing that Amelia already has such a hard time with touch and being around any kind of stimulation in general .... having to see her be held down, poked, and otherwise "tortured" was really difficult. She did not take it well at all and knowing that there was only so much comfort that I could offer made it that much harder. I'm so thankful that I could be there and that she wasn't alone (like she has been for all previous hospitalizations) but it was still very difficult. I did enjoy the 5 full days of just getting to focus on her and nothing else though, it was a blessing in the storm!

The rest of our stay was mostly uneventful... continued medications, doctor exams, daily blood work, and inhalations. She developed a pretty bad rash on her face from the inhalations so we treated it with a special cream. She was unable to eat for a couple of days due to how swollen her tonsils were, she would gag and choke anytime she would try to swallow but by Tuesday, she was able to eat a little more and by Thursday she was eating normally.

Thursday was her 2nd birthday (!!!!) and she was woken up first thing with another blood draw :(.... but the results were much better, she had another ENT evaluation and by Thursday night around dinner time we got to go home!!!!  She will continue to be on oral antibiotics, probiotics, and the nasal drops for another 10 days. They want us to follow up with an ENT and GI doctor as soon as we get back to the States to follow up, good thing we already know great ones!

She also has a thyroid disorder, nystagmus, and a heart murmur so we will also being seeing the endocrinologist, ophthalmologist, and cardiologist soon after getting home.

Justin ran out Thursday night and found a fruit tart and we sang happy birthday to her. She dug her hands right in and seemed to think it was pretty neat but she wouldn't so much as lick her fingers. I promised her that one day she would like food!  Claire loved it and was not disappointed at all to get to enjoy both her piece and Amelia's ;).

Friday we had another lazy day at home, catching up on laundry and giving Amelia a day to re-adjust to the changes.

Today we went to the zoo with the Simonsens who are also here adopting a beautiful little 4-year old girl with Down syndrome! Our entire family got into the zoo for $7 total!!! I will definitely miss all of the cheap activities, food, and COFFEE!

On Wednesday (11/25), our appeal period will be officially over, the judge's decision will be considered final, and we will be able to share photos of Amelia publicly!!!

On Thursday (11/26), the final court decision will be ready and we will be able to get Amelia's new birth certificate!  We have to go back to the court in Gliwice (3.5 hours south of where we are now) to get the court decision and then to the city where Amelia was born to get her birth certificate. We think Justin will go alone and take the train just to make it easier/faster. After we have those documents, we can apply for her temporary Polish passport and then once we have the passport, we can apply for the visa. Once we have the visa, we can come HOME!

Thank you ALL for your support over this last week. We appreciate the encouraging messages so very much and to those who donated toward Amelia's hospital expenses, we are so thankful! We had planned for Justin to return home after we had passed court to go back to work but with the girls continuing to take turns getting sick and them each being hospitalized, it just hasn't been possible. You helped ease a HUGE stress, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We cannot wait to get home and share Amelia with you all <3.

Here are some pictures.

We built a fort!

Amelia is sedated here, she had just finished her CT
and the ENT was cleaning out her ears

The kids visiting Amelia in the hospital

Claire borrowed Amelia's hospital crib for a nap

Claire enjoying Amelia's birthday fruit tart

Pelicans! The animals here are much more interactive/friendly
than at the zoos back home.  Very cool!

Jaguar.

[Some of the] Howells & [some of the] Simonsens