The Lion King Porno

Dec 4, 2012. Part 1

I woke up around 2 in the morning to the sounds of high heels clacking in the hallway, someone attempted to open our door with a wrong key. Then I couldn't go back to sleep. I watched Kysa, who had been sick all day, sleeping fitfully and my mind raced with conflicting thoughts. I was so happy she was present for meeting Wynray, but I was feeling guilty that maybe we'd made a mistake bringing her. 

While we were shot out of a cannon on Friday, I'd been mentally packing for over a year. Fredrik and I had spent countless hours debating the pros and cons of bringing Kysa with us. We felt confident, as world travelers, that we were prepared to take on this adventure as a family. We couldn't imagine not taking her. We had considered everything we thought….except for altitude sickness. 

I can't believe I'm actually going to share this, but it's part of this wild ride. and gives you an idea of our mental state. At around 3am Kysa sat up and asked for water. I gave her some which she chugged, and then threw up all over the bed. As Fredrik and I sprung into soothing our child, cleaning our bed and exchanging freaked out looks (cue the bow chicka bow wow music), it was like the Ethiopian porn industry started shooting a film in the next room. 

I can't recall a moment in my life that I felt like I was loosing it more than that particular moment.  Kysa was so sick and pitiful, we were so scared, and the soundtrack from next door just kept getting louder and louder and wouldn't stop, no matter how loudly our child cried, or we soothed her, or threw water bottles at the door.

Our solution: A 3am double feature of the Lion King and Sesame Street turned up as loud as it could go on our laptop. We snuggled, and hung onto each other through the sickness, fear and Disney soundtrack. And yes, it was during this madness, as Fredrik previously wrote, that Kysa told us she'd had a perfect day.

Somehow Kysa and Fredrik managed to sleep, but I was too freaked out by Kysa's sickness and Wynray's court date.  Around 6:30 I finally faded to sleep, the alarm went off at 7. 

Fredrik got up first and showered, and when he gently asked if I'd slept I started crying. I was so tired. And so we decided we were just going to put one foot in front of the other to get through the day. 

First step was to get Kysa to a doctor.  She was sleeping and we managed to get her dressed without really waking her. As we walked down the stairs carrying our precious snoozing bundle with wild blonde tangles sticking out in all directions, we were met by such sweet concern by all the Addis View staff. Everyone was concerned about Kysa. All the doormen, desk girls, waitresses kissing her hands, and cheeks and wishing us well as we headed to the doctor.

Our driver, Fesaka, was an angel. He led us through the gates of the hospital and got us registered. Now, before everyone at home freaks out about Kysa being so bad off we had to take her to a hospital, you should know in Ethiopia you go to the hospital to see the doctor. That's where they have their offices. Or at least where this children's specialist had hers. This hospital was no frills and not super modern, but I've had the pleasure of spending the night in a Turkish hospital and I'll take this place any day.

We didn't wait long and were taken into an exam room with IKEA fabric and curtains on the wall. It's amazing the things that bring you comfort at the strangest time. The doctor was an older woman with some tribal tattoos on her arms who spoke excellent English with a British accent. She was the epitome of a kick ass/super smart/internationally savvy grandmother. She was brisk, to the point, but caring. I loved her immediately. She examined Kysa and decided on a plan of treatment quickly.  Since I'd been giving Kysa pedialyte and it just wasn't staying down she suggested an injection. She then tsk'd me for being so scared. "Mama, your daughter is fine. This is nothing, stop being so anxious." 

So unfortunately, Kysa got an injection in her tiny rear end, and a little more trauma. sigh. more mama guilt. But within a few minutes she fell asleep as the doctor said she would. She slept through lunch, the drive to court, our court appointment and woke as we entered the gates to the care center. She then perked up and hasn't thrown up since., and I'm planning on actually sleeping tonight.

But one final note. We arrived back at the hotel just before lunch and went to the front desk to pay our driver. Fesaka had spent the morning driving, translating, and generally taking care of us. The receptionist waved us away. "Don't worry about it. Fesaka said he won't charge you for that." I wept, so blessed by his gesture, and reminded of why we chose to adopt from Ethiopia. Such beautiful people, inside and out.

This concludes Part 1 of Tuesday, more to come about court.