Day Two

12:00 update-- The doctor's appointment went great! Everything looks like it is heading in the right direction so we don't have to go back for a little over a month. There are a few tests that haven't come back yet; in the meantime we will meet with physical therapy and Early On. Praise God for a good report so far.

Ruby Update first-- Ruby gained over a pound in one week!! We knew she had gained some weight, but we were shocked to see that. Her health seems really good; she is eating like a champ (hence the weight gain :). We are going to her pediatrician today so then I may know more, but so far things have gone well. Her hands are much looser than they were last week. She is even starting to try to use them a little; she holds my hand when she eats, she has put them in her mouth a couple of times and when she is really relaxed she will put her arms all the way down. This progress is so exciting to see. Next week she goes to physical and occupational therapy and we meet with Early On to help her development and muscle tone. Her sleep has also been much better the last couple of nights. Last week she would cry so hard as soon as we set her down so it was very hard to get her to sleep. This past night I only got up with her twice! She has had a few times of crying inconsolably, but lately she just seems more at peace; she is getting less and less worked up and just seems more comfortable in her crib and in her house. These things are all answers to prayers. We are so excited to watch her continue to thrive!

Day Two in Ethiopia-- This is when we met Ruby for the first time. Our driver, Abbera, picked us up around 10am and we headed to the hospital to meet Ruby. I had different feelings because we were meeting her in a hospital. I was very excited, but also scared and worried about her health. To get to her hospital room we walked up 4 flights of stairs (no elevators:). We were in a women and children's hospital and I kept thinking of the poor ladies in labor that had to walk up these stairs!

When we got to the fourth floor we walked through a door labeled "ICU". This was also scary because I didn't know she was considered that sick. A nurse was feeding Ruby (Fendisha) when we got there but I was able to go and hold her for the first time. It was very surreal; again we were so excited, but taken aback by the oxygen and IV lines she had in and by how small and frail she looked. We held her for a little while, took some pictures and video, and then went to talk to the doctor. This is when he told us that she was pretty sick with what he thought was pneumonia and he didn't know if she would be ready to go home with us next week. This was not what we were expecting to hear. At this point, we were wondering if we would have to make some tough decisions, such as taking her to MI against the doctor's wishes, just so we could get her into a US hospital. Thankfully, we didn't have to make that decision.

Next we had to take her to get a chest X-ray. I assumed we would just take her down the hall, but I was wrong. The nurses unhooked her oxygen and her IV, wrapped her up and then we walked her down 4 flights of stairs and crawled into our van. We took her on a 10 minute drive in the smog to a cement building where the X-ray machine was. We waited in a germ filled waiting room for her name to be called and when it was her turn the nanny that was carrying her took her into the back room to get the X-ray taken. Then we bundled her back up and made the trek back to the hospital. Later that day we picked up the X-ray and brought it back for the doctor. We ran into the doc in the stairwell of the hospital where he pulled out the X-ray, held it up to the window and said, "this confirms she has severe pneumonia". What a crazy experience.

After spending a little more time with Ruby, we headed back to the hotel to crash. We were spend emotionally and physically. We were able to send some emails to our parents which was such a blessing because then they were able to pray for Ruby. We also spend a lot of time in prayer that night. Wow, this experience has made us so thankful for the US health care system. Going from this hospital to the DeVos Children's hospital in one week was quite the shock.

Here are a few pictures of day two. Thanks for putting up with the long post!

Our first glimpses of her:






The hospital: