Ni Hao Y'all: Today was a very yucky day in my book. I had fallen asleep last night pretty thankful that Arisson was going to be doing better, now that she was drinking her bottles. The morning started out with us all getting ready for our trip to Yangjiang City, where Arisson has been living for all her life up until a few days ago. We were all pretty much packed and ready to go, because we were going to be leaving here 9:00am. I was in the bathroom, and Jason was feeding Arisson, who woke up earlier than usual, and she was very whiny. Pretty soon Jason is saying that she threw up. Arisson had pretty much spit up her bottle, and was a mess. We got her cleaned up and went down to breakfast. I saw Bill and told him I was concerned about her. He said that she was probably catching a cold. We came back up to get our stuff. I gave Arisson some Tylenol because she was feeling a little warm. She spit up a little bit again, but we had to go. There would be nobody here to interpret for us, so we needed to make the trip.
The bus ride was long, probably about 4 hours long. She did drink a bottle on the bus. I was worried that she was going to throw up everywhere again, so we had taken a towel from the hotel, just in case. The bottle went down pretty good. Arisson seemed like she just wasn't feeling well, and I was very concerned. There were just so many factors involved. I didn't know her well enough to know what her true personality was. I didn't know if it was unusual for her to spit up. I didn't know if this was her still trying to adjust to all the changes she was going through. As a mom, I was feeling terrified, and didn't feel like I was getting much help from our guide. I just knew it wasn't a cold. She hasn't been congested at all. I just knew in my heart that something wasn't right.
We arrived in Yangjiang City around lunchtime. From what we could see, the city looked like a very modern city. I was trying to take it all in and get a glimpse of what Arisson's life would have been like if she grew up here. We stopped at a restaurant to eat in Yangjiang City. The food was really good, again. Arisson was very fussy during lunch. I was looking forward to going to the Welfare Institute because I wanted to ask questions about her to the caregivers and get a little more insight on her. We arrived at the SWI around 2:00. It was in a very run down part of the city. It was located in an area that looked like alley. There is another SWI about 100 yards from our SWI. Sunny Ridge has been to the other SWI a few times, but this is the first time they have adopted children from this one. When I stepped off the bus, one of the caregivers was there to greet us. She looked at Arisson and said something to Bill. Bill told me that she said that "she doesn't look fresh." I could tell that Bill was responding that she was getting a cold. I was a bit annoyed because again, I knew it wasn't just a cold. We went into the building and climbed probably four flights of stairs to get to this little office. We were told to sit down. Some of the caregivers were interacting with the other girls in our group, and a few came over and tried to get Arisson to smile. She wasn't responding at all. I started to cry. I thought I would cry here because of where we were, but I was crying because I was really worried. Finally, Bill let me ask some questions, and I think he finally got it that I was really upset and concerned. They wanted to know if I wanted to see their doctor, and I said yes. While I was asking my questions, I pretty much missed any type of information that the director was giving us. We were shown a room with at least 30 babies in a crib. It was heartbreaking.
We were told to get on the bus because some of the caregivers were going to show us the finding spots of our daughters. When the babies are abandoned they tend to be left in areas that have a lot of public traffic, so that they are found quickly. One family's finding spot was within walking distance from the Institute. We all got on the bus and then we stopped on a street. We were told that we (Jason, Arisson, and I) were to get off, because this was where the doctor was. The "office" was in this building that was similar to a garage. I sat down and the caregivers spoke to the doctor. He looked at Arisson and said that she had a throat infection. This all made sense. She had been pulling away and not drinking her bottles because her throat hurt. Now she was dehydrated on top of that. The doctor wanted to give her an injection of antibiotics, and to get her hooked up to an IV. Bill suggested that I refuse the service. It didn't take much convincing, as I looked around at the conditions of the building. I had brought antibiotics for Arisson from the States, and decided I would just do that. I was definitely feeling better after we left, because I was finally heard, and I knew she was going to be better soon.
We found everyone's finding spot. Seeing it was very emotional for me, not that I really had far to go as far as my emotions were concerned. After seeing it, I was thankful that we were taking her home. I should have mentioned this earlier, but we were traveling in a 40 passenger bus, and this gigantic bus was really out of place in this part of Yangjiang City. I should also mention that this area of China doesn't get much as far as American tourists. There were people everywhere in the streets trying to sell their goods. They were very intrigued by this bus, and the American's who are walking around with Chinese babies. We were causing quite a stir. They were selling anything from produce to live poultry, etc. It was actually pretty comical to see these huge ducks just sitting there waiting to become someone's dinner. There were cars and motorcycles everywhere. Motorcycles are pretty standard mode of transportation. Seeing all this congestion of people, cars, trucks, buses, etc. I was feeling thankful for space in the USA.
After we were finished with the SWI business, I was thankful to be heading to our hotel, mainly to get the antibiotics started. It took us about an hour to get to the Island that we were staying on. I think Bill said it was called Hidden Island. The hotel was right on the beach of the South China Sea. Absolutely beautiful. Our rooms were small, but the view was just gorgeous. We got Arisson started on antibiotics, gave her a bottle and went down to dinner. We had to eat dinner with Bill because there is absolutely no English speaking in this area. Dinner was fabulous. Bill does well picking out meals for us. There really wasn't anything unusual to eat, except some of the presentation was a little frightening. Chicken dishes were served with the chicken head on top, is one example. We all had a good laugh when the staff served the guys beer. For some reason they served the beer in shot glasses. The guys were all looking like, are you kidding me? The girls were constantly moving around the table refilling the shot glasses.
After dinner, I took Arisson off to the side and was playing with her until Jason was done eating. One of the waitresses came over and looked at her, and she was trying to ask me about her mark on her nose. I told Bill to let her know that it was like a birthmark, but disappears after awhile. She was telling Bill something, and he told me that her daughter had the same thing, but it is all gone now. She was bringing all these waitresses over and pointing at Arisson, and telling them about her daughter. Arisson was taking it all in.
When we got back to the room, Arisson seemed so happy. I gave her another bottle. It wasn't long after that that she had a nasty diaper, and again the bottle came up too. Just when I thought things were looking up. We had to get a new bedspread. Arisson didn't seem at all upset about throwing up. After the new spread came, I told Jason I was ready to go to bed and get this day over. I have to tell you about the beds before I go. They were hard. They were harder than hard. They were like sleeping on plywood. I told Jason that I was at least happy that the beds were soft. He just laughed. This hotel isn't used to young families. The beds were small. Arisson and I slept in one, Jason in the other. We pushed our bed against the wall so Arisson wouldn't fall out...she is a wild sleeper. Goodnight, from the South China Sea. |
