Bamlak and I have been very busy. Abby asked me about her weight so we did the necessary research and she is just shy of 5 KG which is 11 lbs. She gained a full KG since the 18th. Dr. Rick was VERY happy to hear this!
Yesterday she had her first vaccinations and we thought she might be feverish. We checked her though and she was a perfect 98.6. She did not love the thermometer and was a bit out of sorts yesterday as a result.
A good blow out diaper required a quick bath. In looking at the picture below, I googled distended belly in Ethiopian children and an article by Dr. Rick Hodes came up: Cross Cultural Medicine and Diverse Health Beliefs, Ethiopians Abroad. Very interesting. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1303953/pdf/westjmed00341-0031.pdf
For my immediate concern, however, I picked up the phone and Rick assures me that her buddah belly is nothing to worry about.
Rick got stuck in Nairobi last night en route from Bangkok so he missed Shabbat dinner at his own home. I didn't, though, and brought some fellow adoptive parents for whom it was their very first Shabbat. We had a great time.
During my break today, I went over Missionaries of Charity: Home for Sick and Dying Destitutes and observed Rick seeing patients. His rapport with this patients is absolutely delightful and each patient and their life could be a story unto itself. For some of the patients there is treatment and hope. Some he sent home with only a hug and a smile. He told the children not to smoke and they would live to be 100. One 11 year old girl, who has had several spine surgeries in Ghana, responded to his question that she wants to be a scientist. He told her that she should never let anyone tell her that girls can't be scientists and that he hopes she will be the world's leading female Muslim scientist some day. The world needs more of those, he said.
One elderly man came with this adult son, both observant Muslims and the love and affection for the father was palpable. Rick told them that the father needed a pacemaker but that is not something available in Ethiopia. He sent them home to their village. Heartbreaking.
I think Bami was especially tired from her injections yesterday and I am, frankly, emotionally drained. One of the dads caught us on camera enjoying our first spoon-nap!
--Jen
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