Medical evaluation

Today was Audra's medical evaluation which is required for her to get a Visa to enter the U.S.  They looked in her ears and mouth and listened to her chest.  They checked her skin and watched her walk.  They tried to get a vision exam done but Audra wasn't too interested in that.  She weighed only 11kg (24lb)....with her shoes and all her layers of clothing on!  And lastly they had to draw blood to check for tuberculosis.  We had to wait in the chairs outside the room.  We could hear her crying but when they brought her out to us she had calmed down already...mostly she just wanted the bandaid off her arm.  We have to wait a day or two for the blood test results and if they are concerning then she needs to go back for a chest x-ray to make sure there are no signs of tuberculosis.  Other than that she passed...I think.  They were concerned that she had a "fever".  Her temperature was 37.5C (99.5F) and we were given strict instructions to take her home to rest and have her drink plenty of fluids.  Sounds like my grandma's advice!  She does have a bit of a runny nose today so maybe she is brewing something.  I'll be giving her tylenol often just in case she has to go back for a chest x-ray.  I don't want anyone saying she has a "fever"...in case that would hold up any part of obtaining a visa for her.

 

 

After her blood draw

 

 

We have been in contact with the CHOP International Adoption doctor via email.  Tuesday night was the first time we gave Audra a bath...so it was the first time we had all her layers of clothing off at the same time.  What we saw made our hearts sink.  She looks very malnourished.  You can see every rib, and her spine and hip bones protrude where they shouldn't.  Literally, we are afraid we might break her.  We try to remind ourselves she has been this way for a while and she seems healthy and strong.  We are mostly worried about the way she seems to want to eat non-stop.  The CHOP doctor has warned us not to increase the amount of calories she is consuming while we are here in China.  Depending on her body's state of malnutrition...increasing her caloric consumption too fast could actually cause her body to become very sick with something called "re-feeding syndrome".  And since we don't have access to good medical care for her here in China, that would be dangerous.  So, for now we are allowing her to eat a good sized breakfast at the hotel's breakfast buffet, then we just give her a snack at lunch time and then we find something more filling for dinner.  But it is hard for me to see her so eager to eat and have to cut her off at some point. 

 

After the medical exam our guide took us to a local shopping area.  We really needed to find some clothes that will fit Audra.  Everything that we brought with us (2T and 3T) is way too big for her.  We found a few pants in size 18mos and bought them.  Turns out the length is perfect!  But they are still too big in the waist.  We will make do with them for now.  Hopefully the weather here will warm up a bit so she can wear dresses....then we don't need to worry about her pants always falling down around her ankles!