Cough Cough, Sniffle Sniffle

 I am the last man (I guess woman is more appropriate) standing. Dad started a nasty cold, passed it to Sidney, and Eli woke up this morning with raccoon eyes and a terrible cough. He decided walking to the kitchen to eat breakfast took too much effort, falling to the floor, in a dramatic show of illness. If the phrase drama queen could be modified to its male version, Eli is a drama king.  Luckily, this is only the second cold circulating through the house this winter. Sidney’s busy behavior has slowed considerably. Thank goodness for Netflix fed through the Wii.  

Sidney’s immunity is usually great considering her rough start, and she is the toughest kid I have ever witnessed. Her Half the Sky report indicates she was very sick when she came into care, so sick HTS was unable to work with her until her health improved. In my opinion, an orphanage has a low threshold for serious illness. If it was documented she was seriously ill, it was not good. A long bout with giardia, and/or possible prematurity at birth, stunted her growth. She has every clinical reason not to rebound so quickly from illness, but she typically gets better quickly.  

Luckily, the funk invaded after the weekend. Mom and Dad got a night away on New Year’s Eve.  Saturday, we visited Tom’s sister and extended family. Tom’s sister and brother-in-law adopted almost six years ago from China. China was almost an entirely different program, compromised of many more non special needs adoptions.  Adoptions were actually processed in a year instead of six years. I think there is positive in every situation. Despite the overwhelming number of children left in China’s orphanages as a result of this slowdown, a higher number of children with special needs are being adopted and receiving medical care. A few years ago, conditions might have otherwise been forgotten.  there is a reason for everything, and I think of all the kids being treated for medical conditions which AnDee, our niece, is from the province directly west of Sidney’s which is another cool coincidence. I think it is so neat they are both from this southern region of China. AnDee is obviously closer in age to Eli, so they are buddies whenever we get together.

Luckily, mentioning our plans, prior to Saturday, did not get a negative reaction. We discussed going to her China cousin’s house, and she was elated. Other times, mentioning China has resulted in a reaction of “China, no, no.” I can’t remember what exactly we were discussing, but China came up. When I started talking her reaction was “China, no, no.” It was similar to meeting the people in our local Chinese restaurant. Both times, her reaction was definitive for someone not yet three.

OK, we are off to the doctor for a double appointment. There are advantages to living in rural America. I just called at 9:20am, and the receptionist asked if we could be in by 10am. Meanwhile, I am going to eat several oranges and think positive thoughts.