Update on the Day

Hi Friends,

I don't know if anybody said prayers for our family today, but the second half of the day has certainly felt a lot different than the first. First part of the day I felt so attacked between the lack of movement on Bright's adoption, Eric's kidney issues, and some other stuff.

The update on Eric: His mom took him to his appointment that was to take an hour and actually took 2.5 hours. The good news is that it doesn't appear that he has peritonitis. The entry site to his catheter does look a bit irritated though, so they have started him on antibiotics. The reason Eric was feeling so bad was because he has uritis (I think this was the name). Basically, all of the impurities that the kidneys would normally flush out aren't being flushed out of his body so it is building up and making him ill. His body has basically been poisoned with its own waste material. So the nurse put his first semi-full bag of dialysis fluid in and we went back 4 hours later to have it drained. Eric said it was NOT a fun feeling (having a 2 liter of liquid in your abdominal cavity) but he does feel a bit better after having an exchange. We have to go day by day to see if he will need to do some mini-exchanges but the plan is for him to start dialysis FOR REAL on Thursday. This is an answer to prayer. We're so ready for him to feel better. Within a week of starting he should feel a real change.

The update on Bright stuff: No call saying that Paul is holding Bright's passport. =-( However, I do have hope that I will hear from the embassy one way or another this week. My senator's office sent another email this afternoon. Also, a wonderful woman who I've become acquainted with in Ghana sent me another number to try tomorrow. And if I don't hear something by Thursday she said she will try to inquire about Bright's case (she'll be there on other business). How nice, right?!
Finally, we were blessed with a few more photos of Bright today! There is a volunteer staying at the orphanage right now and she sent a few pics to the owner, who sent them on to us. I talked with the volunteer on the phone today and she's just lovely. She said she has taken several photos of Bright that she will send when she gets home.I definitely think Bright has lost some of his pudge since I was there (which is good--natural effect of beginning to walk)! The one thing that concerns me in these photos is that his ankles and legs look swollen. This is a side effect of Kwashiorkor (which he used to have) but his belly looks healthy now. I wonder if the swelling could have to do with his anemia??? I'm really ready to get our baby home so that we can figure out exactly what is going on in his little body.

Love,
Anita

P.S. Don't you love the "deer in the headlights" look on Bright? I know he was thinking, "AHHH!!! White. Woman. White. Woman. Holding Me. Help!!!" And yes, I know he looks almost the same in both pics, but the ARE different! My mommy eyes can see the difference!