Travel Arrangements Made

They're all done!  After stupidly thinking I could arrange the flights myself, I gave in and called a travel agency.  I did book a flight with my frequent flyer miles to get my as far over there as I could and had the travel agency get me the rest of the way to Kaliningrad via Moscow.  So I saved $600 but still had to spend $1380 on flights which kind of stinks.  I lay over one night in Frankfurt and used my Hilton stay points for a free night!  I tried that too for the night on Moscow but the hotel was booked. I'm going to keep checking back though in case there's a cancellation.

I've started on my court documents already and want to have most of them complete before I leave, if possible. I still have alot to do for the trip so I may not get as much of the documents done as I want but I'm going to try.  I made the doctor's appointments for the second day after I return home because it usually takes weeks to get on their calendar. The faster I get my court documents done and sent to Russia, the sooner I"m assigned a court date.  Then back I would go for court, the 10 day mandatory waiting period and then home with my little angel, God willing.

Then I get an email earlier this evening that the government is cautioning people from traveling to Russia because of the forest fires.  So tomorrow I'll contact my agency rep to see what they think. I will only be laying over in the airport on my way to Kaliningrad which is a 2 hour flight west of Moscow, no where even remotely near the fires. Then on the way back, I do stay one night in Moscow.  However, on the Russian Yahoo message boards that I am a member of, read daily, and get amazing advice and support, there are families over there now and they seem to be handling it in Moscow.  So I'll see what my rep says but I really want to continue to travel and am pretty sure I will.

So keep the well wishes and prayers coming, I truly appreciate them more than words can say :)
~Amy

Going to Russia!

YAY!!!!  I decided yesterday to accept to travel and meet my little boy referral!  As you know, I have been agonizing over some medical tests I was waiting on answers for.  Well I got them and the three doctors I had look at them say they look good.  There is always a chance for something else, but I have asked and gotten as much information as absolutely possible. I got the final doctor evaluation on Monday and let my rep know Tuesday morning that I want to travel.  She tells me that they want me there fast so I leave pretty soon - due to security I don't want to annouce the exact dates :)

Now I am rushing around getting my visa and travel arrangements made.  After that I will tackle the list of what to pack. I did learn from the first trip what I took but didn't need so that's good.  He is 16 mo. old already!  If I accept him, then I'll return home to more paperwork, wait 2-4 months for a court date and then return to the 10 day mandatory waiting period and bring him home!
I am SO excited but also a nervous wreck!  I pray he is the one because I am out of money and more than likely won't be able to continue the adoption if I don't come home with an acceptance.  So everyone send me your prayers please!!!
~Amy

Looking Better and Better

One doctor has positive things to say about the medical tests! I am waiting for my initial doctor in St. Louis to respond to me (the one who was out of town last week) and hope to hear from her tomorrow.
There may still be some unforseen challenges that may not arise until I see him or even after, but that is the leap of faith you take in adoption.  So if my local doctor gives relatively positive news like the other, then it looks like I may be traveling to Russia again soon.  YAY!
Stay tuned.....
~Amy

Rush to Find Another Doctor

I tell my agency rep Wed. afternoon, that my regular IA doctor is out until next week. She says she'll have to talk to the in-country rep because waiting until next week may be a problem. So of course I freak out that after all this, I may lose this referral. So I send a frantic message to the adoption Yahoo message boards and check my blog, to find that fabulous people have given me advice that I should find another IA doctor and provided names of ones that would respond quickly.

So I call the first one, she is in Ethiopia....no go.  I call the second one, she can review my information and turn it around in 48 hours, for an expedited fee.  So $750 later (another unexpected cost) I talk to her last night for an hour.  She was EXTREMELY thorough, listened and answered all my questions completely and so I could understand.  She is a native Russian, went to medical school there, then moved to the US and went to medical school here too.  So she knows the Russian system inside and out, knows what their medical terms really mean to us in the US and what is typical care in the orphanages. She makes periodic trips over there to keep abreast of how things are run so she can stay up to date with the current situations. I was VERY impressed and felt VERY comfortable with her.

She had one major question that we need the answer too before I will accept to travel.  So this morning I asked my local rep if we could find out WHY they had a certain test done because that might tell us alot.  She said she would ask the in-country rep to see if she can find out. I ask if it's ok that I wait to make a decision to travel until I hear back from her and she says "no problem."  I was a little mifffed because I have been in a panic the last two days because she said it might be an issue if I wait to decide and now it's "no problem" AND I spent $750!  But I am trying to see the silver lining and I think that it's that I found another great doctor to give me a second opinion and the fee I paid includes her to review the information, photos and videos I will take while I am in Russia. So I will have two doctors opinions which, in the end, will be great reassurance for me.

I am praying this all works out, that's he's healthy so I can accept him and bring him home soon!!!
Stay tuned to my saga :)
~Amy

Waiting Again - Ugh

So I sent the test results to my local doctor on Monday and was hoping for a fast answer. I left a message with their office secretary on Monday and Tuesday and again today to leave a message for the doctor to check her email. I have not been sleeping because I can't keep my mind from racing back and forth to believing it will be good news to scared it won't be good news.

I've been carrying my cell phone around on my hip (which I hate doing) but don't want to miss the call. It rings.....it's the secretary.....only to tell me that the doctor won't be in the office this week.  WHAT?!?!?  Did she know this on Monday and Tuesday and this morning when I called and just space out????  My heart hit my stomach and tears filled my eyes, I was incredibly disappointed.  So now I continue to wait and hope I hear something on Monday.  Of course I am traveling for work next week and hope I'm not on a plane but sitting at my lay-over when she calls because as we all know, whenever you call back they are never able to take your call.  Sigh.....I just pray this wait is a good sign.  Now if I can get some sleep while I wait :)
~Amy

YAY!!!!!

I got the test results from Russia just moments ago!!!  I sent them immediately to my local doctor for interpretation and recommendation.  I am SO excited I can hardly stand it but want to stay reasonably cautious so I'm not devastated like I was before.  As soon as I emailed the test results to the doctor, I called her office to tell the secretary to leave her a message to check her email.  I hope that wasn't too rude but I can barely stand the wait now that I have the results I have waited two months for. I hope she has time to read the results yet today or early tomorrow and then calls me tomorrow :)  Stay tuned and keep praying....
~Amy

Happy News ....finally!

I got the email on Friday morning that I have been waiting for, for a month now!  They found someone to read the test results and will send the information to me tomorrow! I am so happy and just pray it is favorable news.  So I will send that information to the STL doctor for her evaluation so I am anticipating by Wed. or Thurs. of this week I will know whether I will be traveling to meet this little boy. Thanks for all the well wishes, support and prayers, they are all greatly appreciated :)
~Amy