The pediatrician met with us this morning. She basically read us Gracie's medical file which was information we have already read. She was very positive and nice and said that Gracie has only ever been sick twice of respiratory illness. "Other than the condition of Down syndrome she is very healthy" the doctor said. Well...ok. She did say her hearing was shown to be deficient and she discussed that she has a thyroid problem. She said Gracie was not well and not progressing until they began the thyroid treatment. Well I did hear what she had to say, but it was difficult to listen since Gracie had just been put into my arms. I just wanted to visit with her. Our visit went well. She was less vocal this morning than yesterday. I have a feeling she is more of an afternoon person. She seems happier after her nap and meal. Aren't we all?
After the visit we were walking toward the van and noticed our driver was patting his pockets and searching his bag. We knew what was about to happen. We got to the van and he looked into the window and said "Oh no. How did I do that?" The keys were in the ignition and all doors were locked. I kept thinking about the memories we were making and wondering if they even have locksmiths here. The driver and my handy husband pried and scraped at a window latch until they broke it off and they were able to open a window on the van. Very handy guys they are. I was impressed.
When we got back to the hotel I checked in with the babysitter. This is what had just happened at home...
The babysitter locked my keys in my car!!! Hmm...interesting how things happen. She had to call one of my "emergency contacts" who then called for help. The situation was resolved easily. I just don't know what to think of that happening to us here and to our family at home just within a couple of hours of each other. Just crazy!
I came back to the room and had a nap. Yes, I slept 10 hours last night and then needed a nap after lunch! Plus it makes the time between visits go by faster.
Our second visit today was wonderful. We played and laughed and she was more vocal again. She is ticklish and has a sweet laugh. When she laughs she laughs loud and hard and it is the only time we see her smile. Yesterday I noticed an enormous amount of wax and dried crud in her ears. You know the crease parts above the opening to the ear canal. I can tell you this. She is 3 and I'm sure there was 3 years worth of crud in her ear. Now maybe we have figured out why she can't hear well. So today, I brought Q-tips with me. When I saw the opportunity I got them out and started cleaning. You really would not believe the amount of stuff that I was able to clean out. She really did not seem to mind. She moved her head a little but did not complain or make it difficult at all. Some of the things we do for our kids at home we just do. We take them for granted. We do not see joy in cleaning our children's ears. It is just something we do. This was different. This made me feel like her mother. Like for the first time someone was showing her love simply by cleaning her ears. I will never forget it. Every time I clean any of my children's ears I will remember this day.
After our second visit we went for dinner and took a walk. There is an amazing center square here that has many shops and outdoor places to eat. The weather is beautiful and the streets are full of people. It has a huge awesome park with play structures for the children. We saw the most amazing tree house (photo below). We found an awesome farmer's market. I've never seen one as big as this. We walked through and just enjoyed looking and smelling the fruits and vegetables. I tell you, I would love to have a "center" and farmer's market area like this at home. I would take my kids there and enjoy our days so often. Well, that is if we could have this dreamy weather as well.
There are many areas that are not so nice. They are old run down buildings and homes and even a gypsy village that our guide showed us. This "center" around our hotel is just amazing though. There is a huge park with several playgrounds and it is just full of people and children. While just a couple of miles away on the top of a hill is an orphanage full of children who have never been outside of the gates.
We bought some souvenirs today. Some things so that we could always remember this city. Some things to display in our home and some things to give to Gracie when she is older. We love the things we purchased. We got postcards, oils, religious plaques, a little doll, magnets, a coffee mug, wooden carved jewelry boxes and a wooden carved plate.
Things are so inexpensive here. The first night we ate at the hotel and spent $22 (local money) on dinner which is about $15 US. Then we found many places to eat around the center area. We have been eating lunch and dinner for about $8-12 (local) which is about $5-$9 US. That is for both of us. We would spend $40 plus for a lunch back home.
So now we are back in our hotel room and guess what? The air conditioning at the hotel is out. We decided we would tell someone so my husband went to tell our guide. The next thing I know Jimmy knocks on the door and our guide follows him into our room...wearing ONLY a towel!!! I am not even kidding. Then he stands on a stool to feel the A/C vent. I went into the bathroom fearing what would happen if the towel fell off.
Like I said...today was an adventure!!!
That pizza looks DELISH!!! And beyond me drooling over the photos of the food, I am thrilled that things are going so well for y'all :) You've been in my thoughts allot these last few days, and I've been stalking FB for posts & updates.
ReplyDeleteI guess you can't take any photos of Gracie with you & Jimmy for security reasons?