another adventure

Hi! In just a few short hours I imbark on another adventure. I go to pick up my rental car and then I drive to Slovakia for a couple days to sightsee. It will be an adventure...I'll try and update you along the way. I also promise a baby update just as soon as I get time. Thanks everyone!

the day of waiting...

So the day of adventure began with an early morning departure at 7am...or 7:30...then we drove for 3+ hours with a couple stops along the way and arrived at the cable car station only to RUN to the line and wait for 2+ hours. We finally got to the top of the mountain (yeah right) at 2pm and began the hike. I got a head start and walked alone for about 30 minutes when the group caught up with me. I didn't think there was any chance I could make it but one of the Livada staff, my good friend Angela, stuck with me and conquered that mountain. Granted we did not make it to the actual cross, but we did make it to the hill where you can see the cross so yay, that was our goal. Then when we were walking down to the cable car station we were amazed at how far we'd gone up. It was a thrill and a huge accomplishment! So we walk back down the mountain and one of the people from our group came and said the wait to go down in the cable car was 2.5 hours, I thought she was kidding, but no. I thought I was going to die waiting, it was so hot and no air, but I survived. We made it down and ran to the vans and drove to Brasov for dinner, it was then 8pm, the time I thought we'd be home. We were sent into Brasov for 1.5 hours to eat dinner and see some things and then about 2 hours later, 30 minutes late we actually left, at 10pm. About 12:40am we made it home and I was in bed by 1am so I could go see my babies today. It was a long, hot, tiring, amazing day. If you want to see pictures, check out my photo album. Thanks!

the babies keep going home

This week was a week of kids going home. On Tuesday, early in the morning, Danisa went home. I didn't even get to say goodbye, although I knew anyday she would be gone because she was healthy again. First though over the weekend they shaved her hair, that made me sad. She had such beautiful hair! They often do this for all the kids because it is easier to care for but it makes me sad. Then she was gone on Tuesday. However, on Tuesday we were able to use the strollers purchased for the baby hospital for the first time! The kids overall liked them. On Tuesday and Wednesday we got all the kids except for Juan-Darious and Ovi outside in them. Thursday and Friday were to hot to go out even though I think it was hotter in their rooms than outside. I was able to give the babies splashy bathes on Wednesday and Thursday to cool them down but not full baths because we did not have hot water. They mostly enjoyed it though. Then today, Friday, I was in Juan-Darious and Ovi's room spending time with them when a nurse and my translator walked in with Joe saying that he was going home. Now Joe has no identity papers but they let him go with this lady because they recognized that she dropped him off. That just seems crazy to me. That just about broke me. Now I'm not playing favorites but Danisa and Joe were my kids and now they went home. I just really hope that home is a safe place for them to grow up and that we will not seem them in 2 weeks back at the hospital and sick. Joe's mom said she has a place to stay now but no milk for him, hopefully she will find something that will work so he can eat, because that kid loves to eat. So I'm going to miss those kids but I really do hope they have a better life. All my pictures from the week, there are not many, are on my photo album. My next post will be about our adventure to the cross near Brasov on Sunday. Have a great weekend!

HOT!

I just thought I'd write a quick note about the amazing heat wave we are experiencing. Today it will reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The babies I work with are on the third floor of a hospital with NO Air Conditioning or Fans. Then there is the Maxi Taxi ride, its hot, no AC. Pretty much there is no AC at most places here. Thankfully I did find a restaurant to eat lunch at with AC but as is the custom in Europe, there is also smoking allowed. Fun times here in Romania. Then there is the camp team, they are out at Vetca with the Livada kids this week and wow, its gotta be nasty hot out there. They are sleeping in canvas tents. So the moral of the story...when you are somewhere that has AC think of us here in Romania without it. Appreciate it for us, I know I will appreciate it so much more when I get home.

new baby pictures...sick babies

There were two new babies at the hospital this week. They were and are both really sick. It's really sad to see them be sick and not know how to really help them. Some nurses won't let us in the room, some won't let us touch them while another let me hold one of them. The first is Ovidio, he is about a year old and has been at the hospital in the past but went home about 3 weeks ago. Just in the short time he's lost a lot of weight which was very hard for the Livada staff to see who have worked with him in the past. Throughout the week he seemed to be getting better but it hard to tell. The second baby's name is Juana-Darious, he is 11 months old and is just skin and bones. The first day I saw him he had an IV in and just looked so sad. He has just a sad, sick cry and doesn't like to be touched. If you try and touch him he pulls back and when I held him he was so stiff. It's hard to see kids like this, to know how to help and care for them. They do like being sang to though. Other than that the rest of the kids are doing well. I got Danisa to smile this week which was awesome and really started to notice that the kids really know me, they smile when they see me, its great. The picture below is our outting outside with HATS!

I bought Danisa some shoes this week, she LOVES them!! Then there is her smile!!

then there was a gas truck in the road....

Here is another fun adventure for you. On Wednesday of last week we left for the baby hospital on time!! It was very exciting, we were driving along and we entered the town of Irenut and there was a police blockade. The police talked to the driver and waved us on, I was like, that's odd. Then about 5 minutes down the road there was another blockade and again we were waved on while the rest of the cars turned around and left. Again, very odd. About 10 minutes later as we were on the hill coming into Ludus the Maxi Taxi stopped and all sorts of cars were parked along the road. Up ahead there was an overturned gas tanker truck blocking the whole road. Everyone got off the Maxi Taxi and began to walk so we followed. We were about 7km maybe from the hospital and we began to walk. I got excited though because I was able to get some pictures of Ludus that I've been wanting from the hill. Then we were walking along and realized an odd smell, yep, it was gas. So we moved to the other side of the road where we couldn't smell it as strong. We walked about 2km down to the gas station and decided to call a taxi so we would have more time with the kids. Thankfully, the week before I got the taxi phone number of the 4 taxi's in town. Everyone at the bottom of the hill was just sitting around talking, wondering when this would be cleaned up. It was craziness. But it was an adventure.

just another week in romania

Hi Everyone,

It was just another week in Romania, not much new to report. I'm getting used to life here but also missing my comforts of home more than I thought was possible. Then I feel selfish though because I want my nice bed or my car and what do these kids have, nothing. Its a vicious cycle. I've posted the pictures from the week on my photo album and will write more later.

Heather

The Babies...

Here is the baby update I promised :)

We have a new baby at the hospital this week, his name is Ovidio, he is so cute! He has a big wound on his neck from a feeding tube. His family kept him at home to long when he was sick with a stomach virus so by the time he got to the hospital they had to put in a feeding tube to hydrate him. Its sad though because I'm not sure how often the dressing gets changed and he spits up so often that the dressing gets dirty. I do what I can to give him baby wipe baths and put clean clothes on him but its hard to know what is ok to do. The rest of the babies are doing great. The one who is called Brad Pitt I've renamed Joe because I don't like the name Brad Pitt. I did find out his Romanian name though, its Ramous, but I call him Joe. Florine, AKA Philip has a very interesting temperment. He is sometimes fine playing on his own but is usually frustrated and screaming for some reason or banging his head on the crib, his coping mechanism. He's a stinker but when he smiles and laughs its amazing. Then there's Johnuz, AKA John. He loves the walker, he could probably be in there all day and be content. His smile is amazing and he loves to laugh. Larisa is the girl of the room, she seems to be improving. She is 14 months old and does not really sit up and will not eat regular food. Since I and the teams have been coming she smiles more and laughs and talks (in baby talk) and she will even be content to sit in the walker for a while. I thinking about buying another walker because its so good for them. Then we have the preschoolers, they are quite the handfull. Sebe is a little three year old ball of energy that demands your attention and will push all the kids out of his way to be in your lap or wherever you are. He has quite the attitude and when you tell him no he will just be a punk. Definetly a three year old. Darious is so cute. He gets very attached to certain people but he will steal your heart. Olympio is adorable, he is 15 months old and just moved over from baby side of the hospital. He has a big head and no body to support it. He can sit up only when proped against the crib but he's a good eater, it just doesn't stick. His smile is amazing though and he will steal your heart too. He is very smart, he knows how to hold things very well. Then there is Gabby, he is three and probably autistic. He has some very interesting characteristics but when he jumps up and hugs you he is holding on for dear life. He also loves to jump but he wont walk on his own, he has the ability he just is afraid, he will walk all over if he is holding someones hands but not on his own. Last we have Danisa, she is my girl. If I could take her home I would in a heartbeat. She has been healing this week and when you hold her she just lays on your chest and relaxes. I just love her to death. When I saw her on Tuesday her fingernails were just black from dirt, it made me so sad and she hated when I cleaned them out. Also, she's been getting shots this week in her butt and she crys so much. I'm glad I've been there to hold her and sooth her afterwards but its been hard to watch, it just breaks my heart. When I hold her and hug her close I about start balling, I just love this girl. My goal was to get her to smile and I almost did on Friday. I did get her to play ball with me a bit which was progress. She was just feeling so sick all week and sad, it broke my heart. The twins went home on Wednesday of this week finally, Simona was so excited. I bought her a shirt on Tuesday at lunch and brought it to her as a farewell gift and she was wearing it when she went home. That made me smile. Lots of moms and kids came and went this week, none that I got to know real well. This weekend there were lots of goodbye's which was kind of sad. We had two interns leave this morning at 5am, the first to go home and we stayed up all night with them, it was hard to say goodbye. Then today one of the translators that went with me to the baby hospital and that was at camp went to her home for the rest of the summer. I went and picked her up and brought her to train station this afternoon and said goodbye. We didn't spend a lot of time together but the time that was spent was so good, I may go visit her in a few weeks and see her town. I think that is pretty much the update for today. Thanks again everyone for everything. This is such an amazing experience. I love these babies!!

Dracula....and Hitchhiking...

I've got a fun and adventurous story today...yesturday I was planning to go to Sigisoara with a team to sightsee. There ended up being no room in the van for me but I was determined to go so I decided I'd take a maxi taxi (large van). About 9am Brian, my team leader, offered to take me to the maxi taxi stop and I said sure, to save some money. So we left, granted I didn't really know where the stop was, so after driving a bit we ended up asking some taxi drivers that were eating breakfast where it was and then Brian came to the car and asked if it was ok if I took a taxi from there. So I go get in a taxi (the drivers were done with breakfast at this point) and he took me to a maxi taxi stop, not the one I expected to go to, but it was a stop and said it would come at 10am. So now I'm waiting, for about 30 minutes and then it was about 10:10am and no maxi-taxi. So this guy comes to the stop and is asking people were they are going, I said Sigisoara and so did some others and he pointed to his car. I asked how much and they said 8 Lei so I said ok. So we all go pile into this guys car, a hatchback, and we are off. At this point I was just hoping to start going in the right direction and was praying for safety. We stopped and picked up one more person at a different stop, so now there was 5 adults and 1 child in this little car. Off we went and an hour later we arrived in Sigisoara without any problems.

I'd never been there and had no idea where we were dropped off, so I asked where the Cetate was and people pointed me in the right direction. About this time I called the Livada staff I was meeting up with and told her I was there and a little of the story. This is when she claimed I'd hitchhiked and said she was proud but a little scared too. It was an exciting story to say the least!! So I went and made our lunch reservations and waited for the team. About 20 minutes later they arrived and we went into the museum. We hiked up the stairs (Oh and I forgot to say that the Cetate and old part of town is UP on a plateau, those stairs about killed me) and at the top we were able to look out over the town and take pictures. It was worth the walk. Then we went and had some lunch at Dracula's house and it was really good. The team then started walking back to their van and I stayed to sightsee and shop. I walked around and looked at paintings and souviners and just wandered. I ended up getting some paintings that are just amazing done by a local artist. At that point I decided it was time to walk down to the "new town" but I found most shops were closed. I walked back to a local farmers market I'd seen earlier to shop a bit. I walked in and I was "the" American trying to use my Romanian to buy fruits and veggies. It was funny, at one point this lady was just laughing histerically at me, I just wonder why.... I was looking at the watermelons and decided I'd like one, especially cause I found some for .80 Lei per Kilo! (Thats really cheap, Brian was charged 4 Lei per kilo just last week!). So I bought my 3 kilo watermelon and I'd already bought some other things when I realized I needed a bag. I went back to a shop I'd seen some bags at and happily bought one. I then asked where to find the Maxi Taxi to Targu Mures. The lady told me it was back through the market and by the store. I found a sign listing the times and realized I'd probably just missed one and a lady said one was not coming till 5pm, TWO hours away. Now remember, I have a 3 Kilo watermelon I'm now carrying around. I decided (why?) to walk to see what else I could find and about 15 minutes later I found another bus stop so I sat there for a while. Nothing came so I called my mom in the US (at 7am) to see if she thought taking a taxi ($40) would be ok. She said yes but I just was not satisfied yet that I would not find a Maxi Taxi. So I decided to walk to the train station and find out what I could. I found a train that left at 4:30pm and took 4 hours to get to TM, that wasn't ok. Then she told me where the bus station was so I walked there and found a MAXI TAXI!!!! It left 30 minutes later and I ended up SQUISHED in the back corner for the majority of the drive, welcome to Romania :). But I got back....and I did not have to take a ride with a random guy....so this WHOLE time I carried a 3 Kilo watermelon! It was crazy....but it is a good story. It was an adventure but one I will not soon forget. On top of all that, I didn't sleep last night because we had two interns leave this morning at 5am so we stayed awake with them. So I'm exhausted....but those are the joys of traveling and living with 17 other people! I'll give you all an update from the baby hospital later tonight...now, its dinner time!

the week....

the week…what a new week…new things, new people, new schedule…as you know I started with the babies this week and it was amazing! It was a week of sorting out schedules and working with an amazing team member from Marcus Pointe in Pensacola, Florida. I am so in love with this country and with these babies. I honestly wish I could take them all home with me. I have one story from the week….

there was a family at the baby hospital this week with newborn twin girls…maria and sidonia…they were born on Sunday June 17th and are just amazing.

The girl staying with them looked very young and I asked her on Tuesday if they were her babies and she said no so I went to get a translator and she explained that she was their sister and their mom was staying in a different hospital in Ludus. On Wednesday the mom was there and as soon as I walked into the room she asked for money, I spent a few minutes in there and then I went to get a translator. When we got back the mom explained that they need money and I asked for what and she said for diapers. So on Wednesday at lunch I went to the store and bought them diapers and wipes. We came home and I added clothes to the bag and brought them to the sister. She still asked for money, I went and got a translator and she said it was for food and drink for herself. On Thursday I brought her some food and drink and she said thank you. On Friday I went down to the Maxi-Taxi stop to give someone some money for the Taxi and I found the sister crying. I got a translator and found out they were staying until Monday and she was upset because she feels so alone and didn’t want to stay. The mom and actually dad were there and they asked for a stroller, I told them I’d see what I could do. Later when I was alone with the sister I asked if there was anything else she needed and she said clothes. I decided to look for clothes for her in Ludus during lunch but found it difficult to pick something out in her size so my translator went and stayed with the twins while I took her shopping. I let her pick out jeans and a shirt and it was a very interesting experience trying to have her try stuff on when we didn’t understand each other, definetly a memory. Then we went to the local store and I let her pick out some things, I got her a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and some more food. It was probably something she very rarely would get to do and I had a great time with her. When we got back to the hospital she showed off the clothes to the translator right away.

A few minutes later she came into the room we were in and said thank you, she was smiling and I didn’t see that much this week. The last two things they asked for were a stroller and shoes for the sister. I called my mom on the way back to TM on Friday night and asked what she thought. We decided that we should buy them a stroller because we have the resources to give them what they need to thrive and we felt called to do that. (On a side note, we were in a village and the cows were coming home and we had to wait for them to cross the street)

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Friday night I went and bought the stroller and shoes for a team to bring to her on Saturday. I got a picture from them below.

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It was amazing to be a part of these babies first few days of life and to give them what they need to thrive while they stay with their family where they belong. It was a blessing.

Again, I love this, I am so glad that I get to do this! I love these babies and I am so thankful for everyone’s support for me as I work with these babies.

I’ve posted new pictures on my photo album from the rest of the week. Thanks everyone!