Circling Haiti from Florida: No Average Saturday

Today was rough.... not the "normal" kind of rough that we experience from time to time in our new life here in Haiti, but a different kind of rough I hope we don't have to experience again...

We told the kiddos last night that we would need to go visit with our new Doctor today to get some paperwork completed for us to legally continue to reside in Haiti. Since there are no Doctor's offices, that meant we had to go to the hospital. The announcement that we had an appointment at 10 this morning put a damper on our Friday evening to say the least. All 4 of them had lots to say and all agreed that they didn't want to go...

John and I didn't really know what to expect at the appointment but the Dr. had mentioned needing to do some lab work.... :/ I hate needles and while I knew that something would be required my mind raced with unknown details and what-ifs and possibilities and scenarios and how to handle freak-outs, etc..... I wondered about needles here and safety and possible issues with foreign country medical stuff and on and on and on... I was secretly praying we could get out with some finger pricks and be done (although Caleb thinks a finger prick is much worse than a shot on any day).

(sigh)

Our conversation with the kiddos was pretty basic since in fact we didn't have a lot of information to offer. We talked about the butterflies in our stomachs last night and noted that while none of us wanted to have to go, it was something we had to do.

Before John and I had even gotten up this morning, I heard little footsteps and then turned over to see Kinley and she said, "Mama, you said we had to go for a check-up today." She was eager to wake everyone up and get going... And how does the saying go??? "Ignorance is bliss"?

As everyone got up and moving, there were more butterflies and some talk of feeling sick, some 'I don't want to eat but I don't want to go on an empty stomach' dialogues and some complaining and whining, too. We did the best we could in the way of pep-talks and reminded them all that God knew exactly what they were feeling and that we could call on him at anytime to ease our anxieties. Caleb has recently learned the first 8 verses of Psalm 91 and I got him to say them... we smiled and pointed out that so many of the verses were pertinent to fear and anxious feelings.

We finished breakfast and headed out.

It was a pretty quiet ride to Limbe.

And then we arrived...

I was really excited that we didn't have to wait when we got inside..

the waiting room was pretty much empty. There were a couple of patients in front of us and a few more that came in while we were waiting but there weren't mobs of people like I expected on a Saturday.

While we were waiting, I noticed some scales in a corner of the room. It's been almost a year we've had a scale so I suggested everybody take turns and weigh. So we passed the time and weighed!

Cabila had never been on the scales before so he was a little reluctant at first but we now have the recorded weight of all our children! :)

It wasn't long before the Doctor came back and said it was time to go to the lab. And the tears started.....

At this point everyone thought we were lining up for finger pricks. The Doctor was very nice and he speaks English so everyone understood what was going on except for the lack of clarification when he said, "we need to take some blood"..... did I mention that I hate needles.....?? I looked at John and said, "Are they drawing blood like into vials or are they doing the finger pricks?" He didn't know so we followed the Doctor into a room that led to another room that led to another room and we waited again.

We filled out paperwork with everyone's names and info and then I asked the question we'd all been dreading the answer to..... arghhh... finger pricks weren't going to cover it so now we had to break the news that it was indeed more than just a stick.

This is when I felt like saying, "Pull yourselves together, PEOPLE! I'm about to freak out, myself!!!" But I didn't.... I did what any mother would do and first I said, ''It's not going to be that bad... I will go in with you... when they get ready to do it just look the other way... we'll count and then blow like we are blowing out birthday candles and then it will be all over...just don't look at it". And THEN I called my mom! No joke... I could not seem to get Kylie to calm down so I called my mom and asked her and Daddy to talk with Kylie.

The next 20 minutes (which seemed like 2 hours) we went back and forth with 'I don't want to' and 'I know you don't want to' and 'can't we just leave?' mixed with tears and sweating and pacing.

John went first and was done before I even knew they started.

Cabila went second... Now, Cabila is clearly already a legal resident of Haiti but since we are in the process of legally adopting him, we have to have records of a medical examination for him, too. He has never had blood work done and while he didn't want to have it done today, he complied and handled his fear and anxiety very well! I think he was handling it a lot better on the outside than he was on the inside but he did it!

I was up and I handled it like a pro... well, maybe not a pro but I did pretty good at acting as though it was no big deal! I will have to admit the guy did a great job! He was very gentle and you've got to appreciate that when someone is working with a needle..... (makes me cringe just saying it)...

Anyway, I went out and reported that it REALLY wasn't that bad at all and asked who wanted to go next. Shocking, but no one wanted to be next....

John convinced Kinley to be next so he and I went in with her and this is when I almost lost it.... this is when I almost folded..... John held her while I held a paper cloth thing up so she couldn't see what they were doing and I kissed her and talked to her and tried my best to keep her focus elsewhere. First stick and the guy couldn't find a vein.... oh dear God in heaven, this can't be happening...... it was terrible... she was screaming and I was getting more and more upset and the guy was sweating and John was doing all he could to keep Kinley still and this seemed to go on forever. Second stick and he still couldn't find one and Kinley kept looking at me and screaming and then someone got my attention and motioned for me to go to the waiting room where I could, then, hear Kylie and Caleb crying. I told Cabila to hold the cloth thing up for Kinley and I went to try and console the other two......... blood...pressure...rising.....

"Why is Kinley screaming?" "What is taking so long with her?" "Can't we please just leave?!?"

At this point I literally just prayed, "God, please speed this thing up and let's go".....

Kylie and Caleb calmed down enough for me to go back in with Kinley and thank God they were able to find a vein on her other arm and we were one step closer to being done.

Caleb went next and agreed after he got himself all worked up that it really wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it was going to be. He told Kylie and she went in with SuperDad while I scooped Kinley up and she and Caleb and I went out for some fresh air.

We decided to go get some lunch in Cap Haitien since this had taken longer than we expected and it was now lunchtime. Promising a treat seemed to lighten the mood a bit and everyone managed to smile (somewhat) for a photo with our new "friend" before we left!