Yeah, you read the title right. We got to have a new experience in Colombia today, visiting the doctor’s office for Cameron.
The morning started earlier than normal at about 6 AM as we  had to be at the ICBF offices at 8 AM for our integration meeting. Everything went very well during our meeting and they signed off on the adoption. Now everything heads to the courts. There were three interesting developments during our meeting that are certainly worth mentioning.
First, we figured since we were here, we might as well ask about Cameron and Cooper’s older sister. We knew that from Cameron’s paperwork there was a sister somewhere and we wanted to know that when the time came, if the boys would be able to know about her. The psychologist that we were meeting with looked through Cooper’s paperwork and found that there was indeed a sister, that she was probably about 6 years old, and that she was adopted! They also told us that we could write a letter and request that the adopting parents of the sister be notified about us and that if they agreed, we could have direct communication with them. Very exciting possibilities.
Magnolia tells us that we can also write letters requesting full copies of the boy’s files that contain a lot of additional information about their history and family. We are hoping to get copies of both before we leave.
The second development was that we were asked about whether we would consider adopting another sibling if the opportunity presented itself. I am not sure what the look was on my face, but I saw Mary Ann’s face. Mixed emotions of surprise, excitement, dread (having to go through all the paperwork again), and I am sure I showed a little bit of, “how in the world would he be able to afford it?” =) But what could we say? If this is the way that God intends to grow our family, then how can we say no? The one thing that Mary Ann did ask was that we be notified as soon as ICBF knows about another baby instead of waiting six months for the child to get into the system. The psychologist agreed and actually made a note in our letter of approval for Cooper that we should be notified as soon as possible in the case of another sibling.
So, what about this trip to the doctor’s office? Well, as it turned out, Cameron has a mild case of tonsillitis. We think he got it from sucking his dirty thumb after our trip to the market, but we aren’t sure. He was really having a hard time eating and we knew we had to do something. Magnolia knew a pediatrician who’s office was just down the street from the hotel that had treated her grandson. We decided that would be a good option and scheduled an appointment. She was a very nice lady and spoke good English. Cameron was actually pretty excited because he actually loves going to his doctor back home. He is also a huge fan of Disney’s Doc McStuffins, so he kept making references to that show all the way there. The doctor’s office was great! There were so many toys I thought I was going to have to schedule another appointment just for them to play. =)
So anyway, we got our diagnosis and prescription then headed to the shopping mall across the street to get the medicine and Cameron’s promised treat for being a good patient,…ice cream. He was happy! He ate a whole ice cream cone. I mean every drop and didn’t get anything on himself. I felt sorry for him. He was obviously really hungry, but just couldn’t eat normal food. He is such a little trooper, because other than not eating, he hardly complained at all. Just said that there was something stuck in his throat and he couldn’t get it out. =)
A new family has arrived at the hotel last night that is adopting. Micheal and Stephanie are from Texas and they are adopting a young girl from one of the orphanages. They are a very nice couple and we are hoping to do more with them in the coming days.
