Thursday, March 31, 2011

8 Doctor Medical Exam

We are back in the apartment after a very long day. This morning we got up and slowly got ready for the day. I think all of us were a bit worn out from the day before travels and the time change. Mom and I went to lunch at "Texac" which looks a great deal like KFC. After lunch, Kathy and I headed back to the medical center to have our 8 doctor medical exam.






This is how it went.

Doctor 1 "Internist" (3:05-3:10) - He asked me questions about my health and family history. He checked my pulse, blood pressure, lungs, and thyroid. I liked him a lot because he chatted with me about pharmacy and the twins.

Doctor 2 "Dermatologist" (3:35 - 3:36) - She said hold up shirt, spin around once, done

Doctor 3 "Neurologist" (4:00 - 4:05) - He was very hard to understand. He asked me if I had any history of trauma or epilepsy. I had to follow his little hammer with my eyes. Then he checked my arm and leg reflexes. I had to stand up, close my eyes, and touch my nose. Lastly, I had to squeeze his hands and he pushed on my back to see if I had any pain.

Doctor 4 "Psychiatrist" (4:45 - 4:52) - He spoke no English so Valinda the nurse had to translate. He wanted to know if I had guns, pets, if I ate meat, any history of depression and if I had any fears. He also wanted to know how many siblings I had and if they had any children. He asked me if I liked my niece (what kind of a question is that??) and strangely enough wanted to know specifically how my brothers felt about me adopting. He asked several questions about why I was adopting, if I wanted biological children, why I didn't have biological children and whether or not I planned to have any. He did ask me if I had any problems conceiving - now how would I know that???

Doctor 5 "Pulmonologist" (5:15 - 5:20) - Also translated by Valinda. She asked if I had any respiratory problems like chronic cough, pneumonia, bronchial spasms, or sternum problems. She wanted to know when my TB test was done and whether or not it was negative. She showed me the x-rays and said they looked good.

Doctor 6 "Oncologist" (6:10 - 6:15) - He wanted to know about my family history of cancer and if I had ever done tumor marker testing. He wanted to know if I considered myself to have a healthy lifestyle. He also asked how often I go to the doctor and have gynecological exams.

Doctor 7 "Infectious Disease" (6:45 - 6:50) - Translated by Valinda. He wanted to know if I had any infectious diseases and if I had ever had a blood transfusion. He also asked for the results of my HIV and Hepatitis blood tests and also what vaccines I had in the last 10 years.

Doctor 8 "Psychotherapist" (7:20 - 7:25) - She was a very sweet doctor. She asked if I did any drugs or alcohol use. Most of her other questions revolved around the twins. She wanted to know who would keep them, how long I would be off work, if it was paid leave, and if I wanted biological children. She asked me a bunch of things about the kids - ages, identical or fraternal, have we met, etc...


Kathy with her chest x-ray

We finally got home around 9 pm. Traffic was horrible and we were starving and tired. So glad to get home and eat some warm soup that Mom and Lynnette had made.

Talk to everyone tomorrow. We head to Siberia tomorrow night!

- Lindsey

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Hello Again Russia

Mom and I finally made it to Russia. We left around 4 pm on Tuesday and finally arrived at 1:30pm on Wednesday. The flight was wonderful. Mom and I each had three seats to ourselves so we just ate, slept and watched movies. Someone please explain to me why we don't have an American airline like Singapore Airlines - so wonderful!!! We did have some problems with customs both in the USA and in Russia (anyone coming here for an adoption, email me and I can give you some pointers). We were picked up from the airport by the drivers and immediately headed to the medical center so I could get poked and prodded on. I had blood drawn and a chest x-ray taken. I was a little unprepared for the chest x-ray as I didn't realize that they do them bare chested in Russia. Very awkward with the male x-ray tech. It was almost 7pm before we arrived at the apartment. We are staying with another adoptive family - Kathy, her daughter Amanda (also adopted from here), and Kathy's sister Lynnette. We met up with them at the apartment and then headed off to Hard Rock Cafe.


All in all a pretty good day! Tomorrow it is off to get my 8 doctor medical exam.


- Lindsey

Saturday, March 12, 2011

I am posting a photo of the shirt Kyle got me after I complained that no one congratulates adoptive mom because they don't know their adopting. Isn't it so cute! Just thought all my other adoption friends would appreciate it.




- Lindsey

Court Date Finally

I finally got the call I have been waiting for this past Wednesday. I have been invited to court on April 4th. I will head to Russia on March 29th and should return home on April 26th. I am beyond ecstatic! I am trying to figure out how to update my blog on the ipad. If anyone knows how please let me know. Hopefully I will have it figured out soon so that I can keep you all up to date on here. Just wanted to tell everyone the good news. Will blog more soon!