Tuesday 3/25
8:30am – Janet’s appointment with Dr. Mericle went great! He basically gave her the “green light” to do as much as she feels (including international travel J and work). The green light only has one catch: she has to get one more MRI in mid-May to make sure no infection has returned. It’s kind of hard to comprehend it now, but this really is a big deal. Assuming there is no infection still in her head, Janet is officially recovered her craniotomy, even though she gets tired easily. The aneurysm has been clipped and we can finally move past it. Technically, she’s healthier than ever before!
9:30am – From the parking lot of the Starbucks on 21st Ave, we called Donna, our contact at the agency working on our Russian adoption. Donna has a great Rhode Island accent, by the way. We tell her the good news about being cleared to travel. Her next step is to call Russia to tell them to set up a date for us to come.
10:30am – As Mark is walking in the door at our house, the phone is ringing … it’s Donna again. She has bad news and good news. The bad news is that the Russian authorities are no longer holding our original referral for us. They said that they would while Janet recovered, but they changed their minds. The boy we thought was going to be our Spencer is going to someone else’s home after all. We’re still not sure what to make of this—it’s confusing and disorienting. One thing is for sure—that little fella is not coming to our house, so we wish him the best and trust God has the right home prepared for him. Pray for him and his forever family.
The good news is that Donna had a new referral for us immediately …
Wednesday 3/26
At lunchtime we received the information on our new referral from Russia and sent copies of it to be evaluated by our Russian physician consultant.
Janet went back to work, but really just to visit for an hour or so.
Thursday - Friday 3/27-28
Janet started going back to work gradually for a few hours at a time. We both stayed pretty anxious about hearing from the Russian doctor, but he would call soon enough …
Sunday 3/30
We both went to church together for the first time since early January.
Monday 3/31
Finally got a call from the Russian doctor, who said this little guy seems to be fine except for a low weight and delayed development. These are common for children in orphanages, so he will just need some “extra calories and care” when he gets home. (We had already planned on that extra care part; he is going to get smothered with love). He will turn two on June 7th. His report seems to indicate that he has a sensitive spirit, so start praying for his transition to our home.
The Russian doctor also gave Janet his professional recommendation concerning her tendency to encounter unusual problems: [in his heavy, heavy Russian accent] “cut it out!” It was pretty funny, guess you had to be there.
Now we are wondering if we should give this new little guy a different name. (Sorry, Uncle Nathan, not “Boris, Kenneth, or William”)
We should learn more information about expected travel times soon.
