No News is Not Good News

Emily has been in the hospital since we arrived in Guangzhou on Friday.  She was dehydrated.  We tried the Can-Am clinic here in the hotel but even with an IV she did not get any better.  We spent Saturday morning in the ER.  They wanted to admit her but we had to wait until 2:30 p.m. for a bed to become available.    One huge concern was that her symptoms were consistent with something going wrong with the hydrocephalus.  Good news on that front!   A CT scan showed that the brain is NORMAL!   Of course, only time will show if/what damage has been done long term.    Emily was admitted Saturday afternoon and finally released late Monday afternoon.  It's been exhausting for everyone.  Kenton and I have needed to trade off with Emily and the other kids.  We've depended on the kindness of total strangers to watch our kids during transition times.  Sunday morning all I could do was cry.  Kenton came to be with Emily and another adoptive family took our kids sightseeing and for lunch so I could get a shower and some sleep.  I am humbled by the kindness of many strangers.    Emily is here in the hotel but still throwing up.  We are concerned that she may get dehydrated again.  She seems to be doing much better but she is still far from well.  The goal of all the adults involved is just to get her home safely on Friday.  Only congee and rice cereal for our meat-loving empress.  This is going to be rough for everyone.    It's tempting to give you a catalogue list of how difficult it's been...but I recognize that we have been SO BLESSED!   Our guide has bent over backwards to make our lives easier, the nurses loved on our baby, the couple across the room kept watch over Emily and I, the Brabson family watched our FOUR kids in a foreign country and another family offered as well, several total strangers told us that they were praying for us, Emily is eating a little and throwing up A LITTLE instead of hurling everything everywhere or refusing to eat anything and dry heaving, our kids have access to a pool and many more things.    See?  God has blessed us in the midst of this difficulty.    One funny thing...I bought two big boxes of granola bars for this trip not realizing they were the nasty, dry crunchy kind that no one really likes.  So instead of scarfing all those granola bars immediately, most of them were available when we needed them at the hospital.  I'll admit I don't care if I NEVER eat another granola bar and room temperature water...but we survived.    We could really use your prayers for wisdom as we try to get Emily safely and healthily home.  After arriving in Guangzhou in a cloud of fragrant eau de Puke, my least favorite scent, I'm dreading the flights home.  Holly