Medical Appointment Day (China Day 8)

Our 8th day in China is almost in the books.  Helen woke up in a good mood this morning, and we had a nice relaxing time in our hotel room after breakfast.  She was even cooperative for some pictures:

At 10:00am we hopped on a bus to our two appointments of the day.  Helen got sick on the bus ride... all over herself and Steve.  Strangely, this is the first time we've had a child throw up in public.  Guess we were lucky with the first two.  Both appointments were held at the "Guangdong International Travel Healthcare Center". First, she had to have her picture taken for her US Visa.  She did a great job sitting still in the chair. It's the cutest little Visa photo we've ever seen.

Next we went down the hall to the medical examination area.  She had to visit three separate physicians.  First she had her height and weight checked.  Next was the ENT.  She did a great job opening her mouth and sitting still for the doctor!  Finally was her "general checkup", where the doctor looked over her medical file we had received with her referral, listened to her heart & lungs, etc.  Helen passed with flying colors.  Thankfully she didn't throw up in the clinic!  Notice how she glared at one of the doctors!  :-)

We had attributed Helen's sickness to the bumpy bus ride and carsickness this morning.  We ate lunch in our hotel room, Helen played for a long time, and then she took a nap.  Because she hadn't gotten sick again, we ventured out to TrustMart to get some groceries.  Then Helen got sick again. A lot.  A really really lot.  All over the floor (and all over Heather this time) at TrustMart, where literally nobody speaks English.  We found a worker and apologetically pointed to the floor and she motioned for us to move along and she'd take care of it.  We hurried to pick up the rest of our groceries so we could get back to the hotel.  She got sick again in the taxi.  :-(  We got her back to the room where she was in good spirits.  She played here nicely the rest of the evening, and we just now put her to bed at 8:30pm.  Please, please pray that this illness would be done with and that neither of us catches whatever she has!  We have more appointments that simply cannot be missed, so staying home sick from any of them is not an option.  Pray that she sleeps all night without getting sick and that she wakes up tomorrow back to 100%!!

In between the sickness spells, Helen continued to let her real personality shine through today.  We witnessed her simply playing like a toddler more and more in our hotel room.  She looked at (and chewed on) books, played with stacking cups, and threw things around.  She learned how to turn on her Gloworm by herself, and we think she was dancing to the music.  So cute.  She also flailed around, acted stubborn, and threw little fits here and there.  It's still cute, but something we'll start nipping in the bud when she's feeling like herself again.

She's such an amazing little girl.  Every time we look at her we feel blessed that God brought her into our family.  We're eager for her to be back home, where Ella and Myles can teach her so many things.  One week from right now, we'll be on the long return flight home!  While you're praying for Helen's health, please also pray for our sanity as we struggle through seven more days away from home.