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| Stephen's Story ( Through a Mother's Eyes) |
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| Sept 2, 2000
At this moment I am sitting on the plane waiting for takeoff. My stomach is all over the place. I can not believe we are really doing this. I am about to become a mother.
Yesterday was very busy. I planned for us to take it easy and get massages at the club. Dad would have none of it. He wanted to try to finish up some of the work. I think he just needed to keep busy.
Well he did get the blinds hung. The room looks great. We still have to make one more bookcase. This one is full of stuffed animals. I think the nest needs more shelves.
We took Shannon and Jason out to dinner for all their help while we are gone.
Mike said to say you could not wipe the smile off my face with a baseball bat all through dinner.
Jason came over this morning and I made a big breakfast, mainly to tide us over until dinner.
Sam was not happy today ( our dog). She knows what suitcases are for. They felt a bit better when they relized we had left over steak for them.
We left 3 hours before our departure, but of course there was an accident on I85 which slowed us down. So I did not have two hours to get to the airport before takeoff. There was a huge line for Swissair and it took almost an hour to get through. Fortunately lots of the passengers were in this line, so our flight was delayed 30 minutes and we made it with ease.
Jennifer and Randy came with Victoria as well as Jason to see us off. It made it very special.
I am still in a daze. In 48 hours I will be meeting my baby and Mike and I will be parents.
I can’t help but think, now that we are on our way, what do you look like, are you having a nice day, is someone holding you when you cry? Are you hungry? I can’t believe after all these years of trying to find you we are going to finally hold each other.
Sunday Sept 12:30 EST
The sun is just coming up over the horizon. It is magnificent. The last time I saw a sunrise from a plane was when I left for the islands and it was a new beginning for me then as well.
This sun rise is welcoming me to yet another new beginning. Like everything else about this journey, this is yet one more sign from the universe that this is a karmic journey for the three of us.
I did not sleep, of course. It is almost bed time for me in Atlanta now. Mike did manage to nap. I really miss the girls ( our dogs). I hope Sam is not too upset with us leaving. Jodi is probably just realizing now something is different.
Wow it is beautiful up here. There is a sea of soft billowy clouds below us. You can just see with the sun peaking over the horizon. Orange, pink and magenta.
We are on our way little baby. Not too much longer now.
2:45 EST
We landed about an hour ago in Zurich. As we came in I found myself humming “the hills are alive with the sound of music” There is certainly no drought here. All the houses we flew over had that chalet feel. Even the sun, once it rose seemed different. Of course on the ground it is raining.
Sunday 10:30 EST 5:30 UKT
Finally! We are here and guess what? We lost a suitcase. And of course it was the bag with all the gifts. I am sick about it. I spent so much time shopping for those gifts, plus all the pralines I made on Friday. Oh well, maybe they will find it.
Consequently it took us a little longer to get through immigration and customs. Thank goodness, besides Margo and Tony Kummer, we met another couple from Cathy’s group and we met the famous Joel. He and his wife are here to adopt the sister of 2 of the children they recently adopted. He was a great help getting us through. The good side of loosing our luggage, we had local airport help going through customs and that was a breeze.
Our translator is a young girl named Julia. Very sweet. Our facilitator/driver is a big hulking Ukrainian, named Paul. They gave me three white roses when they greeted us out front.
We are staying at Olga’s apt. I have heard a lot about her. She is about 60, very bubbly and proud of her apartment. It is very tiny. My studio in Pasadena was bigger. But it overlooks the river and a park.
The countryside is very green and pretty. Parks and flowers everywhere. But the town and the buildings look very run down.
Monday Sept4th 2000
1:15AM UKT
I am now switching to Kyiv time. It got too complicated and confusing the other way.
We went to bed around 8PM. Now I am awake and cannot sleep, so I thought I would write.
Our facilitator, Paul took us out to dinner. I really like the two of them.
Julia’s mom is a nurse and working at a hospital earns $20.00 per month, so even my mom is richer in their eyes.
Olga’s apt is so small. The livingroom and bedroom are the size of our bedroom. She has an old futon type couch, a drop leaf table, 2 chairs, 2 small corner tables and a long 60’s style hutch with a 19 inch TV. I only saw 2 pictures in her house. (1) 8 by 10 of a soldier I presume her husband & a small frame of a child, I assume a grandchild. She has beautiful crystal and china.
Please Universe send us back our suitcase so I have gifts to give.
Now as to the adoption. 1). I am numb and scared. Not really scared but just that feeling of “what in the hell are we doing.”
Tomorrow. We go or today actually to the NAC. They told us we needed to buy a ring for $100 as a gift for someone named Irene who is in charge of referring the children. Ed was supposed to tell us this, but did not. I said I was aware that there were “expediting” fees and we paid it. It does make me nervous however. We are at their mercy.
I do still have the office supplies for the NAC.
They said they have a referral of little boy in Simferopol and hope to steer the NAC to there, but can’t promise. They said forget girls. That is okay I said, I know it is going to be Stephen.
The dinner, Sunday we had was okay. It tasted like pasties, sort of. Deep fried, filled with a meat. Heavy, not my sort of food, but okay. But my nerves, with the way they were going, I really did not feel like eating. Oh yea, Olga’s apt is covered with rugs. One on the wall, one on the floor and one small on each of the chairs. I know this is disjointed, but I am writing as I think of things.
Julia is going to the NAC at 7AM tomorrow to sign us up. Paul will pick us up around 9:00 AM. It opens at 10:00. They say Sept. is a busy month but August there was no one, so Monday Sept 4 will be a good day.
So far Mike is going with the flow better than I thought he would.
Julia has pointed out some of the differences with the two languages to me. One of the only words I learned was psceeba (thank you) well I say it the Russian way not Ukrainian. Priviet for Hi is okay. I also have “okay” horashow. Big word over here. I hear it a lot. Glad Elena taught it to me.
I forgot to mention the apt toilet. The toilet is in a separate room from the sink and the bathtub is in a separate room with her washing machine.
The sink is in the kitchen and the refrigerator is in the hall and is the size of a British one. The kitchen is the size of our master bath. Wow we Americans ARE rich in comparison. Maybe the experiences will help me with my money issues. We will always have more than these people. Olga’s apt is only bigger than mom’s because it has a kitchen, but mom has so much more. So many personal items from her life.
If we go to Simferopol it will be a quick trip.
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| The NAC. Monday Sept 4 |
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| 10:45 AM Kyiv time
We are at the NAC. We were 2nd in line. Tony and Margo were first. To repeat my husband," why did we have to be there?" Mrs. Kunko did not address us. I am sure she gave the standard speech. “There are no healthy children available.”
We are now waiting for Julia and Paul to come back. Something on our dossier was translated wrong and needed re-doing and re-notarizing. Hurry up and wait.
I did get some sleep last night but we still have not exchanged any money so all we have are the snacks I brought and not what my stomach feels it can handle.
Tues. Sept 5, 12:15 PM
Well we are still here. Now it is hurry up and wait, so I thought I would use this time to catch up.
We drove down last night, but lets back up to the NAC.
Fortunately we did not have to deal with Irene as she is not an easy person to deal with. She should be for the $100 ring. We saw Tatiana, I believe and she was pleasant. She showed us pics of 5 children, 2 of which were in Simferopol where our facilitator wanted us to come, because they had a lead on a child here. We said yes if they would allow us to see all available children. So after lunch & a short nap we headed off to the Crimea, a 10 hour drive. We left at 4:00PM, scrunched in the backseat of a compact car with two duffle bags, a camera case, and backpack. Thank goodness I brought those blowup pillows/neck rest.
The countryside and cities are very old and run down, but very little litter or trash. It is mostly flat here and almost all the country is farm land. I would love to see the sunflowers in full bloom.
Finally at 11:30, we stopped at a hotel. I was beginning to worry about Paul. He needed sleep. I won’t compare the hotel to the Hilton or even Motel 6, but it was clean and I felt some what revived after 5 hours sleep. What an adventure.
We got to Simferopol at 8:30 this morning. The other family we were trying to beat is still not even here.
First we had to wait until they faxed down permission from Kyiv to come here. That was not ready until 11:00 AM. Now we are just waiting to see the director. AAAGH!!!!!
The orphanage is very large with lots of play grounds. I’ve seen some really cute kids playing. I just wish they would show us our son soon.
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| Baby Igor. Sept. 6th, 2000 |
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| 2:30 AM
We have met our son. They finally came out to get us. I first saw him when he was scampering down the hall and I remember hoping he was one of the children they were going to show us.
We went in to the directors office, a nice man in his 40’s, he asked the usual questions, what we were looking for, where did we live, why did we want to adopt, how much did we earn, yadayadayada. Then the caregivers came in with the children. I immediately noticed Igor. They also brought in a younger boy, also cute, but Igor’s eyes caught me and I believe Mike's too.
He has blond hair and biggest brown eyes. He is 22 months old. His Bday is Nov. 13, 1998. He was a little timid but so alert and responsive. His birth mother was 18 and her second pregnancy. She left him at the hospital and they were unable to find her afterwards. That is a shame. I will try to get more info like a name from them.
He was a c section, but a normal weight, and healthy. He is small for his age but that is nutrition. His head is the size of a two year olds. He’ll grow quickly with food and love.
He loves his caregiver and she loves him, so I know he has not been deprived of love. We did not get to visit long with him because we had to run more errands and it was nap time.
We are finding out about expediting fees. Everyone wants a $100.00 here a $100 dollars there, US of course. The influx of adoptions recently has told people the Americans are here, but with any luck we can get to court on Friday then back to Kyiv.
I really like Simferopol. It is seems more prosperous. I would like to bring Stephen Igor back someday.
So far everyone seems so pleased and happy for us. And can you believe his name. I think the universe is telling us something.
Both Mike and I were afraid to give the definite yes. It was such a huge decision, but when we got back to the orphanage we went into their room to observe him more and he immediately looked up at us and smiled. He obviously recognized us. He knew we were there to see him.
They were definitely putting on a show for us. They were singing songs and teaching the children to dance. Stephen kept turning around and smiling at us with that wide grin.
Finally when we went outside he began to wander off so I followed. I bribed him with a cookie and finally he let me pick him up and cuddle him.
When Julia asked if we had made a decision, Mike kept saying I had the final say. It was making me angry, he was so noncommittal, but then I realized he was as scared as me. So I took a deep breath and said yes, start the paper work. So at 5:00 PM Sept 5, we became the parents of Stephen Igor Thomas.
Tomorrow we will go back to see the director and give him the cash donation, spend more time with Stephen, do more running around and hopefully get a court date for Friday.
We are staying in a very nice apt. This place is nicer than Olga’s in Kyiv. It reminds me off flats in the UK. This couple obviously has more money than Olga.
Thursday Sept. 7, 2000
Well yesterday was interesting. Shortly after picking us up, Julia informs us things have slightly changed in Ukraine or at least Simferopol. Because of Russia and the influx of families to Ukraine the “expediting fees” have gone up
1) We bought a $100 ring for Irene at the NAC. Now it turns out so do all the families working with Ed. Nice little operation she has going. Especially since the people at the NAC “do not accept gifts” Ha HA HA.
2) Tuesday we paid $100 to the woman in the local govt office, Minister of Education I think, who prepares and approves the papers in order for us to adopt and get a court date. Who also appears in court on our behalf.
Okay we are fine with that, but now a completely new fee.
3) The lawyer at the orphanage wants $600 to expedite the papers to Kyiv in order for us to adopt in a reasonable amount of time. In Aug. it was only $300, before that it was nothing.
We expect next month it will be even higher. A family who came before us were told $1500 because they adopted 2 and were not allowed to see their kids until they paid it. They did not have it and talked him down to $600 flat and then he refused to show them the healthiest kids there. Of which Stephen was one. So I guess in the long run it was another karmic sign but what an ass.
4) The Judge who used to be a gift for $35 to $50 then went to $100 cash is now $600 also.
5) The only fee about the same is to process the passport fast for $150.00 I knew that one.
If we do not pay these fees it could be weeks or months before the documents are processed if then.
Corruption has hit Ukraine big time and I fear it will get worse before it gets better. Before long it will be $20,000 to adopt here and possibly even close things down. And only the kids get hurt with this.
But on to Iggy. We officially named him Stephen Gareth Thomas yesterday.
We finally got to see him at 5:00. He was very unsure and timid but once on the play ground actually came to each of us on his own.
When we took his picture he smiled, but only after the flash went off and he loved the bubbles and of course the cookies.
Finally got on the computer last night to let Nanny know she has grandbaby #7. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when she got the message.
Today there is not much we have to do so they are dropping us off in the morning to visit and hopefully in the afternoon again.
Sept 7, 2:30 PM
I received the most beautiful gift I have ever received before. Three pictures of Stephen from when he was probably 3 or 4 months and 2 from about 9 months. He is so beautiful. I have almost cried 3 x’s since first meeting him, but managed to hold back. I expect the flood soon.
The other couple we met at the orphanage was successful today and their adoption was approved.
Paul is at the court right now trying to get our court date. With any luck they will give us a date for tomorrow, even though our papers are not back from Kyiv.
Yesterday we had Stephen’s passport photos done. The photographer was very good with children, but when he got to Stephen, he had problems with the camera. I was sure he was going to let out one hell of a cry. But my trooper hung in there.
We just got the pictures back. They are so cute, but he looks so unhappy.
Friday Sept 8th
Yesterday we had planned to visit with Stephen 2x’s, but when Julia came to get us we found out our papers were ready early and if we hurried we could get them on an early flight to Kyiv, so we rushed over and made it. Paul’s driving became a little scary this time. I just trusted he really knew his car and driving.
It poured all day long. Julia said in her country rain was a sign of good luck, so I said let it pour. Plus they keep taking us to the Lucky Cafe to eat every meal.
We went to court. It took all day but finally he saw the main judge and arranged for us to have the same woman judge the Derry’s had for their adoption. And she is going to allow us to have a court date without the papers back from Kyiv.
So Tomorrow is the DAY!!!!!!!!
They say she is very nice, plus the last couple were successful. I guess the $600 has something to do with it. I hope we get to see the Derry’s before we leave.
So at 4:15 we left Paul at the court and headed over to see Stephen in a taxi. When we arrived at 4:45 the children were all on the potty. They said he had been upset all afternoon because we had not gotten there and was afraid we were not coming. They told us he stood at the door with his little arms raised, crying. When he came out all dressed, this time he still did not smile but he came straight into Papa’s arms. All the caregivers comment on how he has Mike's eyes. And he does. It is uncanny. But he does have my blond hair. He is very curious about everything. I played piggy wiggie with his feet and he kept giving them back to me and finally smiled when I nibbled on his hands, but when we bounced him in the air, BIG giggles came and lots of smiles. Papa finally saw his teeth. He had been afraid he did not have any.
I know I must just be a proud mama but I have the most beautiful child in the world. I know in my heart we were led to him. Although loosing Tad was the hardest thing I have ever been through, this beautiful child is the reason it happened. If I had not gotten pregnant when I did I would never have gotten here to find Stephen. So Tomorrow at 12:00 we go to court and officially become his parents.
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| Friday September 8, 2000
At 3:00 PM today we officially became the parents of Stephen Gareth Thomas.
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| But what a crazy day!
I still think Paul pushed us too hard, even though we did not make the 6:30 plane, it was still stressful. I appreciate that he wanted to make sure Mike got home before he had to return to work. But I also think he just wanted to get home too. Mike and I knew we would not make it. Now he leaves early in the AM. I believe we left a bag in his car and we are at the mercy of taxis. There is a possibility we still won’t be able to leave until Monday, because we still have to make our cash donation and that has to be to a bank. We would rather have waited until Monday anyway. Plus we really needed for two days now to get to a cyber cafe and we never did.
For the money we are paying, I think they should have answered our wishes more, but onto the most important event, OUR SON.
The nicest person was the woman from the office of birth certificates. Once they had the documents done, she took us into a special room and presented us with Stephen’s birth certificate. Guess what? I broke down and cried. She hugged me. Mike was a grin from ear to ear.
We finally arrived at the orphanage at 5:45. As soon as Stephen saw us he got a big smile and came running. He was holding his purple elephant we gave him. They said he had not let go of it since we gave it to him. Or the rattle. He knew they were his. When I sat down to write the info about him, all the other children gathered around me leaving Stephen out and he began to cry, so I called him over to hug me and he held onto my leg until I told his papa to pick him up.
Mike lifted him onto his shoulders and he let out a squeal of delight and had a big grin. When we took him out to play, he kept coming up to hug me. Of course I was eating to pick him up. But the best moment was when Julia and I were taking him back in and he said his first word.....PAPA and of course Mike missed it. But I had a witness.
If you could only see Mike’s face when Stephen is in his arms. It makes the wait worth it.
Sunday Sept 10th, 2000
Stephen is now with his mama and papa. We got to the orphanage just after 11:00. I took pictures with Irene, his special caregiver. When I handed him back to her to take their picture, he reached out and cried for me. For four days it was the reverse. So I guess he knows I am his mama now.
Since it was Saturday and the banks were closed, we had to take the lawyer out with us to buy needed items for the orphanage, with the cash. We gave $400. Actually I feel better doing it this way. Then the race was on again. The shopping excursion took longer & the taxi cab took a very long time to arrive. I thought Julia was going to loose it. She is really beginning to feel the stress. So off we ran to the airport to catch the 1:40 flight only to find out it was delayed. So I taught her another American expression,
“the hurrier I go the behinder I get”
Stephen wants to eat constantly, now that he knows he can. He keeps pointing to the diaper bag where the cookies are. Plus two bananas and a pack of oatmeal and juice and bread.
He liked the bus ride out to the plane and the plane trip, but towards the end got a little cranky, because he had to stay on my lap and had missed his nap.
Back here at Olga’s apt., he has plenty of food. I swear she will put 5 lbs. on him in the next two days.
He is very attached to his Taco Bell dog and the caterpillar, Mariette gave him. He likes to throw them and then chase after them. I think the knowing they will be there for him and not taken by another child is exciting.
He has become a little chatter box running around the flat.
He slept with me last night. So between his squirming and Mike’s snoring, I did not get much sleep.
Mike has yet to change a diaper. I think he lied to me about how he’ll also share this task.
It looks like we can leave for Warsaw Tuesday afternoon. Go to the Embassy on Wed, fly home either Thur or Friday. Either way have a weekend to recover.
Tomorrow, Monday we go to the hospital and Tuesday the US Embassy
Flying into Kyiv was beautiful. The Dneipre River is huge. It rivals the Mississippi. It is a shame Chernybyl ruined it forever. The locals fish and swim in it but I bet cancer is very high here. I’m so glad Stephen was born in Simferopol, as far away as possible from here.
It is a pretty city, though. Lots of parks, and walks along the river. Very clean.
We are sightseeing today. Right now dad and Stephen are taking a stroll. He got agitated when he saw his stroller.
I’ve prepared all the gift packages and hopefully Cathy can take them to the orphanage for us when she gets here. Other wise we will give them all to Olga and Julia.
Stephen already commandeered one bag to put his two toys in. That is until he realized how much fun it was to tear it up.
He is so cute when he is sleeping and cuddling his new dog. So far he does not want a security blanket, but that may change once home.
Today, Julia took us into the city to sightsee. I did a little shopping at the fair. That is until I could hear my son screaming for me over all the noise of the city. I figured it was time to give my men a break and stop. We strolled around the city for awhile longer.
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| Kiev, Monday September 11, 2000 |
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| Monday Sept 11th,
We joined the Derry’s for the rest of the trip and running around. Today’s stop is the hospital. Stephen has began to get anxious about everything. He
screamed the whole time we had to wait in the lobby of the hospital. It was jam packed with people. There was barely any room to move. Someone gave me their seat because of my screaming child. Then a little Ukrainian girl came over to try to comfort Stephen and talk to him. She was around 8 to 10. Her mother obviously told her why we were there and to try to make him happy. She was so sweet. Of course the Derry’s two boys are perfect lambs.
The doctor barely did an exam and gave him a clean bill of health. He was good in there. I think he senses I am a bit nervous and unsure about being a mommy.
Next stop The US Embassy. They have a nice little play area for the kids. Two other families are there. One we did not know, (not using Cathy, but agency) bet they paid a pretty penny for their adoption. The US staff are very nice and warm. We needed this. Everyone is feeling a bit drained right now.
We wanted to take the three kids out to play on the playground this afternoon, but miraculously, they have all decided to take naps. Heaven forbid I interrupt this. Julia did take me around the corner to get some baby things. Food, cereal, jar food, juice. Lots of diapers. Still mom’s job.
Tuesday Sept 12,
We are not sure what we had to wait around for today, but Ed #2 dropped us off at the monastery while he did paper work. This made us mad as we, Susan and I, wanted to get back to the market to get some things. As it turns out we were right next to it and could have gone there instead. Oh well.
Then they took us over to the McDonalds near the Intourist Hotel to eat before the airport.
Tragedy almost struck. As we were crossing the street, A VERY BUG BUSY STREET, Stephen dropped the Taco Bell dog. We did not realize it until were all the way across. No way was I going to go the rest of this trip with out his dog. This child was distressed enough without loosing the one thing he refused to let go of even while sleeping. So mommy dashed across the street practically stopping traffic. (I exaggerate a bit.) Just as I see the dog, some woman bends down to pick it up. I run, screaming in my best Ukrainian and English that this is my babies toy psceeba, give it back to my little boy. Thank god I met one of the other friendly Ukrainians in this country because she smiled and gave it back to me without incident. Had she not I was ready to do battle right there on the street. I held on to the dog the rest of the time we were walking across streets.
THE AIRPORT NIGHTMARE
Ed dropped us off way too early for our flight. They did not want to even let us go through customs, but finally did. About this time, my son begins wailing. His diaper is dirty and there is no where to change him. They told us it was too early to check our luggage and everyone is giving us dirty looks because Stephen is screaming at the top of his lungs. Finally out of anger and frustration, Mike stood guard daring anyone to complain as I sat down right in the middle of the floor and changed my son’s diapers. Hey, if you are not going to let me go somewhere, where I can do this in private I am going to do what I need to right here.
Just as I finish an airport attendant comes over and ask if she can help us to the international waiting area and help us check our bags. I guess dirty stinky diapers will do the trick every time.
Once upstairs to the nice clean area things momentarily improve. Becca’s older daughter Kendal helps calm Stephen down. That is until we board the plane. I felt so sorry for the man sitting next to us, because Stephen began to cry as soon as we took off and did not stop until we landed in Warsaw. About 2 and a half hours later. Nothing would console him. I tried so hard not to cry and to choke it back but I do not think I did a very good job of it.
We arrived barely in one piece at the Warsaw airport. We had a reservation at one of the better hotels, that I made back home and got a good discount at. But since the other two families did not have reservations, we all decided to stay together and go the Polonia, a reasonable hotel. Becca got the info for us but did not make the reservations from the airport. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!
We were at the airport forever, because we had to change our departure dates and get Stephen’s ticket. It is amazing that since his ticket was only 10% of ours and we paid just over $600 yet instead of $60.00 his was over $200. They must use a different math in the airline business.
Also the Derry’s had a real hard time getting their departure dates changed.
So by the time all 11 of us got in the taxi and headed to the hotel, we were
FRIED!
So of course once at the hotel, they do not have any of the rooms available at the price they quoted to us at the airport. How convienent! Now they only have suites available for the same price we would have paid at the better hotel. I do not care any longer. I just want a bed and bath and let Stephen calm down. He has been doing pretty well since the airport and I do not want to push our luck.
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| Warsaw...The Night From Hell |
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| As the dads headed down to the hotel bar for a QUICK ONE???
The moms and kids met in the Derry’s suite for pizza and the bottle of Baileys I got in the Kyiv airport. Boy we needed that.
All seemed to be going fairly smooth once we got back to our room. That was until I tried to get Stephen to go to sleep. I then experienced something I never want to do again. He began screaming and carrying on like a few other parents described over the Internet. The people in the next room began banging on the wall. I started crying. When he would not stop and it was 2 hours later and "The Dad’s" quick drink still had not ended, I was at my ropes end. I do not know who was crying more me or the baby. He was banging his head, biting his arm and screaming. I knew in my heart this was just part of it and he was over stimulated by all the new experiences i.e. sounds, tastes, no one spoke his language, he was in sensory overload big time and I, with all my preparation was not PREPARED!
From this point on he subsided on cookies, juice and bread. This holistic, organic eating mom was feeding her child a diet of pure sugar. I am sure this did not help.
Needless to say dad got "hell" when he finally got home. However he was not the last to leave the bar. That honor went to Becca’s husband, but only after a mad Russian tried to pick a fight with him.
Sept 13th US EMBASSY
We all got up early to go to the Embassy. We had an 8:30 AM apptointment, followed by the Derry’s. As we are getting in the taxi to go overthere, the cabbie begins to drive off before Susan is all the way in the car. Just like what happened to Janice on her trip. It must have been the same driver. At least this time he did not run over anyone’s foot.
There were hordes of people waiting outside the Embassy obviously waiting to get visa’s to go to the US. We were let right in where as they had to wait all day and then might not get in.
This is supposed to be the straight forward part. WELL OF COURSE IT IS NOT!. I am already a bundle of nerves. Instead of having a child with the orphanage rock, I HAVE IT. I can not stop rocking. I am barely holding back the tears let alone sanity, when the first agent I see, tells me I do not have all the necessary papers. 1) I forgot one of the tax returns. I only have two of them but I do have all the w2’s. Next we do not have the original birth certificate. We told Paul we needed this but he refused to get us a copy. Plus other papers were missing. Now I loose it. The woman calms me down and says it will be okay this is not the first time and to please tell Cathy about this, as all of Ed’s facilitators are doing the paper work incorrectly.
So again we wait for the papers to be completed and get our receipt. This time the agent is an American Immigration officer and guess where he is from? Atlanta. And went to school in Druid Hills right next to the club. That helped make me feel better. For the time being anyway.
Then they told us, me that is, as I am the American, to come back at 2:30 and our papers will be ready
It is now raining like crazy. Where it has been so nice and warm in Ukraine all week, Poland is just that much farther north and with the rain we are freezing.
But we got the papers back and the missing documents were not a problem after all or they just felt sorry for the screaming, crying, hysterical woman, with the adorable kid. He behaved himself at the Embassy.
Then night came.
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| The Flight Home |
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| We are home now and the last 48 hours are not an experience I care to repeat.
I called Dr. Mason from Warsaw because I was scared that Stephen would hurt himself and that he would not eat anything other than cookies. Okay, and to calm myself down. He told me to give him a full tsp. of Benadryl right before we take off. He said it was not going to be a fun trip home, but not to worry. It would soon be over and life would calm down. Boy was he not kidding.
The flight from Warsaw to Zurich went fairly smooth he was restless but did not cry much. Problem was by the time we took off from Zurich the Benedryl effects had worn off as he was so stressed out but it was too early to give him anymore.
The attendants gave us a row to ourselves. Smart Move!!! But just as we took off all hell broke loose. He cried for about 6 1/2 of the 8 1/2 hour flight. And I do mean cried. Better yet SCREAMED! Where did he get that kind of lung power. He would not even eat the cookies. I must have brought 10 bags of Polish cookies for the trip. Up until then this was all that calmed him down. Well that wore off. He wanted nothing. Thank God it was a day time flight. Several people were coming over to see if they could help. There was a group of people on a church trip and they were wonderful. This one woman, I wish I had her name and address to let her know all is okay after all, as she kept reassuring me it would be. But when she first came over and offered help, it opened the flood gates and I let it all out. Mike was walking with Stephen at this point, the only thing that calmed him down.
I am sure Swiss Air would prefer that we never fly with them again. Actually when we explained that we had just adopted him, people became very interested and helpful and sympathetic. Once the flight was over and the passengers were leaving you could tell which ones had heard our saga as they gave us a pat and a nod as they left and the others. They just glared. Oh well.
We were so drained. When we got up to the immigration counter I told the officer I had never been so happy to be on US soil in my life. He asked if I would like two stamps for my passport. I said yes.
Vicki was there to meet us at the gate with her camera. To capture the first moments of the Thomas Family's return home. However at the Baby shower she lost the camera and thus all the photos. I think I am glad as I am scared to see what we looked like after that flight.
I want to end on this note. As rough as it was at times and as many tears of frustration that I shed. I shed many more of happiness. My son is the most beautiful and precious child in the universe and I never knew I could love one little being so much.
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