Medicals and monkeys

So I've checked the mail twice today and it still isn't here. It's 2:38. Bring it already.



I'm waiting, rather impatiently, for the dossier packet from our Russia adoption agency. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon and I was hoping to do the Russia medical stuff at the same time as the homestudy medical stuff. So I called and asked if they can e-mail it to me, and she will do that, but evidently our medical paperwork is only good for three months. So if I get it signed and notarized tomorrow, chances are really good that I will have to have it done again in three months because it will be hard for us to complete our dossier within three months. The I-171-H is likely to be the hold-up. That's the permission to adopt a foreign-born orphan that we have to get from Citizenship and Immigration.

So I guess tomorrow I will get the homestudy thing signed off on, which is one sheet and doesn't even require detail or a notary. I could almost drop off the form and have him fill it out and then pick it up. Honestly. The gist of the form is that he thinks we will live long enough to raise a child to adulthood. Which I think is rather odd wording. I mean, it's one thing to say we are healthy now, but who knows what the future will bring. C has already lived longer than his father did, who died when he was 38. But we do need to review our bloodwork with the doctor anyway, so I guess it isn't a totally wasted appointment.


The other thing I have been reading about that has put the fear into me is the Eight Doctor Medical. I am not entirely clear on it. Some regions require it and others don't, so it depends on what region we will be in. Apparently in Russia, they don't have GP's...their medical work is all done by specialists. So they may require that eight different specialists sign off on us...I think the doctors usually include a cardiologist, dermatologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, "infectologist", oncologist, and I've seen people say they need a narcologist and a phthisiologist (which is an archaic term for a tuberculosis specialist). Russians aren't on board with the idea that our GP's can sign off on all this stuff. They go to specialists for everything. They want eight different signatures. This can sometimes be achieved in a large practice by having each doctor in the practice sign off on each line item. Some parents have the Eight Doctor done in Russia, at places that specifically cater to the need. It is usually done in one day, can cost $1500, and although nobody looks forward to it, most folks survive.


Well, most people aren't married to C. C has doctor/hospital/needle phobias I have discussed before. He has a real problem with being poked and prodded. I think it all stems from his dad being so sick with cancer for two years before he died when C was 8. The idea of seeing eight Russian doctors in one day is scary as hell. When C went to the doctor the first time for the China medical, he passed out while they were taking his blood pressure. He can't control it well...he just shuts down. The doctor saw his heart rate plummet and initially wanted to test C for heart problems, not realizing that it wasn't his heart that was the problem. It's his head. The LAST thing we need is him hitting the floor with a slowed heart rate in Russia.


I think if we need it (and please, don't let us need it!) we can do the Eight Doctor in the States...but if we really do have to see all sorts of specialists, this could get pricey. I don't know if insurance would cover it...our doctor has a practice with 4-5 other doctors, not enough for each to sign on each line item. So we would probably have to see at least a couple of specialists, and of course, they will probably want to run their own tests before signing anything...and we'd have to do notaries for all these different doctors, too. The one redeeming thing about all this is that apparently it only has to be done once. Usually folks do it on their first visit to Russia if they are doing it in Russia. I don't know what happens if court is more than three months after the Eight Doctor...does it expire after three months like the first medical will? I hope not...hopefully we wouldn't have to wait that long for court, but you never know and I can't imagine getting it all notarized again after three months.

What do they think is going to change so drastically about our health in three months?

I have to keep telling myself (and especially C) that ours is not to question. They require it. We do it. Whether or not it makes any sense doesn't matter at this point.


Here's hoping we won't have to do the Eight Doctor at all. When I talk to the dossier consultant, I'm going to ask how common it is to have to do it in the regions they deal with (which are quite a few...this agency deals with many more regions than most agencies seem to).



I've been knitting on a few things. On Ravelry, I saw a sock giraffe that I loved and then when I checked out the designer's other toy patterns, I fell in love with them all. She asked me if I wanted to test knit her Sock Monkee 2.0 pattern and I agreed to do it after the Ravelympics. She sent me a kit and I've had a great time knitting the little guy. Her patterns are free, but she does sell kits and striped yarn in her shop. She also had a giraffe, a hippo, a pig, a turtle, and the monkey can be a bunny.









I'm knitting my little monkee in the Retro colorway. I love the colors and the way it stripes. He is shaped using short rows and I have finished his legs, body, head, eyes, arms, and one ear. Once I get his second ear and his tail finished, I will be able to put him together and do the face. She sent a little packet with embroidery floss and a needle for that. Very thorough!









A couple of weeks ago I dragged C into Babies R Us. I think the reality of impending parenthood is sinking in just a little and although he mostly followed me while I looked around, he did pay a little more attention to things like crib sets and furniture. As we wandered through the boy clothes, he pulled out a shirt he liked. I found the 36 month size and some matching cords and bought them. Our first outfit for our son. I got the 36 month size because we really have NO idea what to expect, size-wise. We are requesting under 30 months, but that includes a six month pad for paperwork. If he is, say, 22 months at referral, and it takes four months to complete the process, he would be 26 months and if we are only approved in our homestudy up to 24 months, we would have to have an addendum done. The agency knows we want a child less than 24 months at referral. Closer to 12-18 months. Less than that is really hard to get right now out of Russia. Each child has to be on a domestic adoption list for at least nine months before he or she can be considered for international adoption.