Report from International Adoption Doctor

I spent 45 minutes on the phone with the International Adoption Doctor. This is in addition to the half hour she spent on the phone with me LAST week.

Her assessement? This child is incredibly normal. So, all systems seem to be "GO." This child's needs are going to be dealing the trauma of leaving the foster family she has lived with since she was five months old. She gave me some book recommendations for Husband and I to read, and some practical ideas for what kind of pictures and books we should send Lan, during the six month wait for us to go get her. She talked to me about her own daughter, who came home to her at the age of 4, and what her experience was like with that child. (She (the adoption doctor) has four adopted daughters.)

I called our agency and told them we want to move forward, full speed ahead, to bring Lan home. They are calling our social worker to make sure that nothing has changed and telling her the details about Lan, and we should (knock on wood) have the final official paperwork within the next three days.

I also asked what prospects there were for the sixteen month old child, the child with the same medical condition that Lan may or may not have. They verified that we could only adopt one of the girls, and that it made more sense for us to choose Lan, since we would not have to update our homestudy for her, but, we would have had to get an updated homestudy to adopt the sixteen month old (she is younger than we initially stated in our homestudy interviews, so, our homestudy approves us for a "3 to 5 year old".) I am praying they find a home for her soon. If you are the praying sort, keep her in your thoughts.

Well, it's time for Anthony Bourdain on the travel channel. Must go.

LM