This morning, while Lyla was recovering, a new friend came to visit us. Lisa and her husband live here in Hyderabad, but are also adopting from Madagascar. They have a really neat story. It was wonderful to see a friendly face and one that could understand all of our English and we enjoyed being able to talk with her.
(Excuse the windblown look, we were standing in front of a fan)
She took us to a local city center (mall) and we shopped a bit. Most of the clothing was very western. I did get one matching outfit for both girls. Lisa bought Lyla some adorable shoes as a gift. Super cute! Lisa is also going to take us shopping later on in the weekend and hopefully we can find some more traditional wear then. Plus some of the items were a bit overpriced…so we need to search outside of the mall.
It was just really nice to have good conversation with a friend and walk around a bit, since we really have only been in a hotel or the hospital. We also stopped and ate at a McDonalds. We had to eat quick, because the hospital called and said we needed to come to the PICU because Lyla was crying.
We got back to the hospital and we peeked through the door, she was sitting up in her bed and not crying. But as soon as she saw us, the tears began to fall. She was ready to get out of that room, and kept begging for us to take her out. She was saying it in Gujarati, but I could tell exactly what she wanted. We couldn’t leave until the Sisters (Nurses) said we could.
Finally they gave us permission, and the moment we walked out (she was wheeled out) of the PICU she was content. You can tell she does not feel well, she is very groggy and moody, and she was quiet. Her little grin showed through a few times. Of course, while we were out in the hall everyone has to touch her and poke at her. They are showing their affection to her. She is a little rock star here in the hospital. Literally, Scott and I walk down the hall, take the steps to a different floor, or even out on the street…strangers will ask us….”How is your baby?” 🙂
We got back to the room and she was able to meet Lisa. Lisa gave her the new shoes, and she immediately put them on. She loves shoes! I think she is so fascinated with shoes, because she has probably never had a pair of her own, and in this culture, you take your shoes off a lot. But now that she has some of her own shoes, she wants to wear them all the time ! So, Lisa went straight to her heart with that gift! 🙂
She was also hungry and Daddy helped feed her, until she got some more energy to feed herself.
She is still not acting like herself, as I am sure she will be groggy and tired most of the day. They actually just gave her some pain medicine and she is out!
Thank you all so much for your prayers. The doctor feels like we will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow morning. We can not say enough wonderful things about the staff here. They have treated us with such kindness and have been patient when we don’t understand everything. They go out of their way to make sure we are comfortable. The doctors have been very thorough and professional. And, as I have already mentioned they have all loved our little Lyla like she is their family. They love her so much that they wake her up every time she is napping, because they want to play with her. (Sometimes that irritates me, because I think she should sleep, but I know they do it out of love.)
Another special thing that happened today, when we went into the PICU, lying in the bed next to Lyla was Baby Shlok. He had been taken to our PICU which is a good sign. The one upstairs is more intensive. But, he is still unstable. We were able to look at him and pray over him. While I was out in the hall, his mom walked up. You can tell she is very tired and worried. She said the doctor said there is fluid in his lungs right now, but that is also normal after his procedure. He also told her it will be at least a week before they can give her any kind of good news. I hugged her and told her we were all praying. I asked her if she wanted to come to our room tonight and we would pray with her.
Please continue your prayers for them. And, you can praise Him for our answered requests in regards to Lyla, and continue to pray for our passport situation.
Right now, we are headed to Ahmedabad on Monday to go to the passport office, and I am going to wait there until I have it in hand, before I leave for New Delhi to do the final processing of our adoption and get her Visa. We have some friends there in Ahmedabad, that I hope to be staying with once Scott is gone next Wednesday.
Thanks again for the prayers!