Texas Children's Hospital Visit

I know I've been just plain terrible at blogging lately.  Down right bad.  While I have been less overwhelmed, since I started trying to make the choice to NOT be overwhelmed, I am still very limited on "extra" time, so I am trying to keep my priorities straight.  Once things are all prioritized, blogging usually falls under the line of things that must get done on any given day.  Not to mention, that the END of the day is usually the only time that I actually have the opportunity to blog, and the majority of the time I am way to tired to put my thoughts into words that would make rational sense.  I just so happens that the stars have aligned tonight so that I have the opportunity to blog.  Since this opportunity is unexpected, I have mentally prepared a blogging topic.  In light of all that, I guess I'll talk about the kid's doctors appointment yesterday.

Yesterday Alik, Danil, and Josslyn had their first appointment at Texas Children's Hospital.  For those of you who aren't locals, Texas Children's Hospital(TCH) is the leading children's hospital in Texas(those in the Dallas area might argue this, but the fact remains, it is. *wink*).  Anyway,  we got there at 8:30am and didn't leave the hospital until 3pm, so it was a long day, but we got alot accomplished.  The kids did amazing.  They were such troopers.  My sister live in Houston(which is where TCH is), so we spent the night with her on Wednesday night.  This was my first overnight trip with all six kiddos, so I was slightly nervous, but things couldn't have gone smoother.  My sister has 4 sweet kids of her own(in the same age range as my kids), so it took a little planning to figure out the sleeping arrangements.  My old kids(can I reffer to my bios as my old kids and not offend anyone??) are used to spending the night at my sister's house, but I was nervous how my new kids would manage the different scenery.  Since we have been home, they have spent every single night at our house and in their own beds, so I wasn't sure what they would think about sleeping on pallets at Nana's.  They shocked me and acted like they have been doing this their whole life.  I don't really know why I was shocked though, because they seem to handle every new situation that way.  I think they are pretty much to the point where they feel safe in almost any situation, as long as we are doing it as a family.  I guess since Alik was in a sleeping bag on the floor between Luke and Ray, and Josslyn and Danil were on a pallet next to the bed I was sleeping on, made everyone feel safe.  They sure are troopers.

On Thursday I took my new kids to their appointments at TCH and Hannah(my sister) took my other kids to VBS with them.  Since we were there for 6 and a half hours, I can't cover everything that we did, but I'll try to hit the highlights. 

First off, the doctor was great.  The first thing(after height and weight) was the doctor assessed their developmental level.  I, personally, don't put a lot of stock in a strangers assessment of my children's development, I think that she was mostly right.  Except for the part where she assessed Alik's verbal skills on a 4 year old level.  That kid is AHEAD on his verbal skills, not behind(and No, I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom).  The reason she did that though, was because we had a Russian translator there and when he tried to talk to Alik in Russian he complete froze up.  His eyes glazed over, he shut down, and he wouldn't so much as make eye contact with the translator.  His verbal skills definitely got a bad rap.  Oh well.  Josslyn didn't really want to talk to him either, but she would follow his commands(draw a circle, etc.).  Danil is the only one who would chat with him.  Imagine that.  Danil is my little social butterfly.  That kiddo will talk to anyone.  It was interesting that the translator actually knew what he was saying though.  We kinda just though that Danil was babbling, not really saying anything in english or russian.  But when the translator asked Danil what color a red bead was, Danil said that he didn't know.  Wow.  That really gives me hope for communication with him in the future. 

After the developmental part, the doctor examined them all.  It was quite a sight.  First she lined them all up on the examining table.  Alik. Danil. Josslyn.  And then me. You know that mama just has to be up on the table, right?  As soon as the doctor lifted up Alik's shirt to listen to his heart, Danil and Josslyn lifted up their shirts so that they were ready and waiting.  We all cracked up.  After she listened to their hearts she listened to Alik's back.  Danil and Josslyn immediately turned around on the table so that she would have easy access to their backs.  Once again, we all cracked up.  The hilarity continued.  Everything she did to Alik, the other to were prepped and ready for.  It was very entertaining to watch. 

After the physicals, came the shots.  I brought the kids Ukrainian shot records. There were a few shots that they needed to be caught up to where they would be in America.  We are exactly vacciniation people.  I don't bring that up to be a point to be argued(basically because you aren't going to change my mind....).  I bring it up to explain how that fact made my kids getting shots all that harder.  Danil got 5.  Alik got 4.  And Josslyn got 3.  It wasn't fun for them, and it was even less fun for me.  I had to hold them down, even though Josslyn is really the only one who needed it.  It was so not fun.  The nurse even had to stop towards the end and ask if I was ok to continue. 

Danil got his shots first, then Alik, then Josslyn.  The doctor came back in the room while Josslyn was getting her shots and Danil told her off.  He started talking and shook his finger at her and then pointed to his legs, and then he pointed to her again and pointed to Alik and Josslyn, all the while he was jabbering.  It helped to lighten the mood.

After shots was blood work.  Luckily, they put numbing cream on the kids arms before hand, so they didn't even so much as wimper while they had their blood drawn.  Good thing too, since they had 8 viles drawn a piece.  I was also sent home with orders for more blood work.  It was too much blood to be drawn out of Josslyn's tiny body in one day.  So they just split it up in to 2 draws.  I'm bringing them to a local lab on Monday to have the rest drawn.  I also have the joy of gathering stool sample.  3 different samples for each child.  If you do the math you will see that I have the pleasure of getting 9 different stool samples.  Right now I'm at one.  This should be fun.  I really don't mean to complain though, because I like the fact that they know what they are doing and are checking them out from tip to tail.

HIV:  I learned several different new things about HIV.  I've done alot of research, but some things just need to be explained by a doctor.  And,(for a mama), I just need to hear them for a doctor, instead if just reading them.  The doctor was great, very knowledgeable and very informative.  In a nutshell, she said that if Alik and Joss's blood levels stay the same as they are now, that they are looking at a completely normal life.  They are not at a higher risk for any illness, cancer, or disease that any other person in the general population.  They are also fully able to have full and long lives, full of marriage, sex, and makin' babies.  Their life expectancy is that of any other person on the planet.  When they get the sniffles, if is just that, the sniffles.  Nothing more to be worried about.

While all the things she said, were pretty much things that I have read, it was really good to hear it from a doctor.  And not just any doctor, but someone who specializes in this field.  I know that doctors err on the side of caution, so to hear it straight from the horses mouth was quite a relief. 

Overall, the day was filled with lots of great news.  The doctor thought that the kids were doing amazing.  She is super impressed with Danil's developmental level.  And she was very impressed with how bonded the kids are to me.  At the end of the day I was one tired, but very proud, mama.  Our doctor said that we were her most favorite family ever.  And then at the lab, the nurse said that my kids were the best kids she had ever drawn blood from.  I'm not kidding when I say that all three of them laughed at some point during their blood draw.  It might have been because mama climbed up in the tiny chair with them, but regardless, they were laughing, when the kids in all the rooms around us were screaming bloody murder.  My kids are awesome.  I'm still not sure what I ever did to deserve them.  That is just God's grace at it's finest.

Well, now that I've written too much and stayed up too late, it is time for me to go to bed.  Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to blog again soon, but I'm not making any promises.