Luciana welcomed us enthusiastically on our last day here with hugs and dumping the toys out of the bins.  It was done with such reckless abandon that you couldn't be mad at her.  She conti us to take very good care of her baby doll, changing clothes, diaper and putting it in and out of the crib.  Of course this involved us helping her lift the sides of the crib up and down and up and down.  Like Goldilocks, the doll tries many cribs.  There is one crib that wasn't  used because a piece of wood to rest the crib side on is missing. Luciana promptly got a small chair to put under it.  She is quite resourceful.  She also is such a helper.  She fed Lavinia a poofelet and clapped "Bravo"when Lavinia (sort of) ate it.  She also fetched the trash bin for the dirty diapers.  Yesterday, she was pretending to wash the hallway tile walls after seeing the aides do it. 

Speaking of washing walls, there was supposed to be an inspection all week. One day we were somewhat trapped inside the playroom.  I'm not sure if the inspection really happened. 

This is the first time I've been on a team where we could use the new big playroom.  It is great to have so much space. Two mornings a week, the big room is used for patient evaluations and we use the bedrooms like we used to.  I wonder how we ever did it! 

Marian continued to enjoy his time with Ken. I played stand in and let him pull my hair while Kem walked another child in the hall.  This as pretty easy duty as I was laying in the floor holding Elvis and talking to Maria at the same time.  

Maria actually stands in the little walker and walks around in it. She starts out sitting and then almost doesn't seem to realize she is walking.  She loves being tickled. 

Ilinca still isn't feeling well and has these sores around her mouth, possibly from the fever.  She ate a bit better today but still not great and her fever went back up this afternoon. She did do a big of assisted walking and licked any toy within reach. Of course, we then did our best to use wipes to disinfect whatever she had been licking.  

We were very sad when Liviu and Marian left before lunch time. Delia was being taken back to the placement center from the second floor and I guess they decided to take two more. Laura and Lisa were downstairs seeing Delia when this happened and someone rushed down to get them so they could say good bye.  Ken blocked the exit door with the stroller to make sure the children didn't leave until all the good byes were said.  Tears flowed and the kids didn't look too happy either.  

At lunchtime, Laura bought a baby doll that speaks Romanian that she thought Luciana would like. (Her baby doll's head is about to fall off.) Luciana actually was a bit scared when the doll started to talk! Turns out the doll was a HUGE hit with Lavinia. She laughed, kissed it and pulled herself on the floor using her arms when the doll was out slightly out of reach.  I'm sure many other children will enjoy this thoughtful purchase. 

There was the usual angst about what happens when the volunteers aren't there.  It seems like this set of kids might be going back to the placement center and another group arriving for the next team. At least there is a team of 4 experienced volunteers right behind us.  I think three are from Australia and one from England. Then there is a break of two weeks and another team later in April. I'm not sure if there are any teams scheduled after that.  So if you can, sign up! I hear the sunflowers are beautiful during the summer! 

We went to Allona restaurant for a lovely good bye dinner that included a bottle of wine for three of us to drown our sorrows.  Allona, formerly dubbed by Jane Patten as the "creepy doll restaurant" is in a new location just behind the hotel. It is much lighter and brighter than the old restaurant and while there are still dolls they are placed a bit more discreetly. The new smoking ban is in effect no we had to laugh as we ran the gauntlet of smokers coming in and out of the restaurant.  

Trip #12 to Romania is done for me. We drive to Bucharest tomorrow and I fly home on Sunday. As usual, it as wonderful to see some children I know and to fall in love with some that I didn't know. Mihaela, Dan, Coca and Dorel are friends, not just "staff."  We even get some smiles from nurses and aides who recognize repeat volunteers.  

Pa and La Revedere from Romania.  (Yes, I'm writing this at 3 am.  Woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I wonder why?!)

Last day pictures

Amazing day

We had an amazing day today.  Gabi's foster parents brought Gabi's twin, Mihaela, and her foster mother to the hospital to celebrate the girls birthday. They turn 8 later this month so it was a bit early but definitely a special occasion.  

We even got to bring Delia upstairs from the second floor to participate.  Coca put her in a pretty red dress and much to her dismay she got her hair combed.  I think Delia was surprised that she wasn't the center of attention!  Miha noticed Delia's differences and Dan explained it to her we told her Delia can color with her toes! 

I'm attaching pictures, which are of course worth a thousand words.  Miha seemed happy during the party.  I asked Dan to tell her that all of the volunteers who helped care for her when she was little

love her very much.  Coca and Dan were thrilled to see both girls. I think they definitely remember Coca! Miha and I played a game where we tossed two balloons o act other simultaneously.  We gave the girls dolls dressed in traditional Romanian outfits that we bought at the placement center's craft room.  

Unfortunately Ilinca still isn't feeling well. She got another IV glucose drip this afternoon.  Ken got permission to take her out of her crib and hold her, which I'm sure was a great comfort to her. 

There is a small walker in the physical therapy room and Maria used it to help her walk. She 

The afternoon was a bit difficult.  A few meltdowns that Dan blamed on the sugar they had at the party!  Luciana slept until 4:30 and we finally woke her up. She was crying and we finally figured out that she thought Delia was at the end of the hall and she wanted to go see her. She also missed saying good bye to Coca. Truth be told, I tried to sneak her down to the second floor where Delia is but got stopped on the 4th floor landing. Oh well, what are they going to do, fire me? 

Only one day left.  Hard to believe.  

Time flies

Somehow this visit seems to be going much more quickly than my other times here.  We've had less free time for some reason. 

Here are some highlights from the last two days:

Maria has decided to take some steps, holding on to our hands of course.  Maybe she sees Ilinca doing it and figures she can do it to! I got her to eat some banana this afternoon. She can be a picky eater at times.  

Ilinca actually took one step entirely on her own.  Ken and I were trying to get her to walk from one of us to the other.  I think she let go by mistake. Unfortunately, she has been sick. She was running a fever yesterday and hadn't been eating. They ended up giving her an IV glucose yesterday afternoon. Today her fever was down or gone but she had a croupy sounding cough. She finally broker her 2 day fast and ate yogurt this morning but not much else. Hope she is better tomorrow.  She is such a serious little girl.  It is great to get a smile out of her.  She looks at me like, "who are you?"

Coca put little socks on Ilinca's hands to try and keep her from sucking in her fingers so much.  She actually did pretty well with it today, wasn't trying to suck them much and wasn't fussing about it. Hopefully they can break that habit as her poor little finger are taking a beating. 

Lavinia decided she could pick up and eat a poofelet on her own. They are these corn snacks, kind of like Cheetos without the covering.  No nutritional value I'm sure but the kids love them.  Lavinia has also been sitting on her own a bit and smiling a lot. Apparently this is a real difference from how she is at the placement center. 

While we are on the subject of food, the last two days Mihaela has ordered schnitzel and mashed potatoes for Liviu and Luciana when we have our lunch. We give it to them when we go back at 3 and you should see them eat it. They are so happy.  Marian enjoyed some of the mashed potatoes.  

Liviu continues to monopolize Lisa and she is great with him. He has climbed the wall again and tries to walk when Dan takes him from the playroom to the sleeping room when we leave in the evening. He was especially excited today when Laura printed a picture for him that she had taken off the tv. It was of his favorite teenage mutant ninja turtles. He is smiling a lot these days which is great to see.  

Laura has this little Polaroid printer and it has been fun seeing the kids enjoy the pictures. Luciana requested pictures of Alina, Delia, Coca and I can't remember who else. (Alina and Delia aren't with us but Laura had pictures from prior trips on her phone.) She LOVES Coca, which isn't surprising because Coca is wonderful. Luciana is our little mother. Not only does she play mother to her baby doll, she also plays mother with the other children at times. Too cute. 

Marian continues to enjoy Ken feeding him, walking him, playing with his hair and pretty much anything associated with Ken. He sobs when we leave. 

Elvis is eating better and loves cuddling. We all try to give him as much lap time as possible. I've never once heard him cry.  Occasionally, he makes little noises but not often. Hard to believe he is 5 years old. He looks like he is less than 2 years old.  

Delia is still on the second floor of the hospital. We wish she could be with us.  We try and get down to see her.  I took a picture of her down to her this afternoon and she was quite impressed.  She also asked me where Coca is.  I'm sure she associates being at the hospital with Coca. The first thing Delia asked when I saw her today was where was my telephone?! They love the electronics. I've listened to Itsy Bitsy Spider about a million times this trip. 

We visited the placement center today.  For the first time, I saw the physical therapy and other rooms being used.  It seems like they are mostly a day program for children in the community. They look great but I'm not sure that "our" kids benefit from them.  

We saw Alina, Luca, Paul, Sami, Carmen, Elena and Christian. I may be missing someone. Marius is now in the house with Ion and Anna Maria. Alina immediately put her hands up to play patty cake. We also did a few rounds of the chicken dance that my niece Shannon taught her two years ago. 

I'm sad to say that Sami isn't doing very well.  I remember him walking and throwing a ball and pulling hair. He seems to have lost weight and wasn't alert at all.  I hear that he isn't walking anymore.  Ken, Laura and I had a hard time seeing him like this.  It's bad enough when a child doesn't seem to be improving but when they are significantly worse that is truly heartbreaking. 

After work today, Laura, Lisa and I went to visit the House of Roses, the group home that Lauren and I visited last week.  They were equally impressed by it. It sounds to me like these young adults were in a Tutova like program up until age 7. One then went to a foster family before coming to the House of Roses. The others were in places that don't sound great.  One had 170 people.  I hope there are more places like House of Roses by the time "our" children are adults.  

I haven't talent too many pictures the last few days.  Here are a few:

Luciana enjoying her banana 

Schnitzel!

Maria 

Coca and Ilinca 

Ken and Ilinca

Lavinia loves balloons 

Marian and his best bud 

Elvis may have the best smile in the whole world

I'm a gummy bear

Every team, I seem to have a song that runs through my head and this year it is, "I'm a gummy bear."  Thanks to Laura for sharing this with us. 

This morning we realized how quickly last week had gone. I suspect this week will fly by as well.  Last week started out with nice weather, then we had rain, now it is in the low 40s and feels even colder. Maybe we will see snow!

We arrived at the hospital hoping we could manage without Lauren. I'm sure Elvis noticed her absence immediately. We made sure to give him plenty of attention.  In fact, he and Marian were the only two that ate well this morning. Elvis rolled over once, which I don't think I had seen before.  

 Ilinca started off seemingly ok and doing a bit of walking. Then she fell asleep at 10, wasn't eating anything, and sure enough she had a fever.  She cries without making much of a sound and it is just heartbreaking to see.  She seemed to be perking up a bit this afternoon but still wasn't eating.  Even Coca and Dan couldn't get her to eat and they are the experts.  Earlier in the day, Laura noticed that her skin is raw between her dingoes because of sucking them so much.  

Lavinia had a great day as long as she was getting attention, which we were happy to provide.  For the first time, we saw her scoot on her stomach using her arms to pull herself forward.  I suspect she thrives when she has more interaction.  She was more interested in toys and loved it when she got to play with a balloon.  

I bought a doll stroller for Luciana over the weekend.  She is all about taking care of her baby so I thought she might enjoy it.  Sure enough she spent a good part of the morning taking her baby for walks up and down the hall. I had to laugh when she went to the shoe cupboard to get shoes for her baby!  I also noticed that she said hello to the woman physical therapist who was there today working with other children.  Last year, she cried when she saw her so that is an improvement.  The day was topped off by Luciana wearing a red wig and taking selfies with my phone. 

Liviu loves his playmate, Lisa.  She and Dan are working to get him on his feet a bit.  She did a great job getting him away from the Tv and teenage mutant ninja turtles for awhile. They played a card game and then she found some books in Romanian and he was teaching her numbers and words. He continues to like playing the basketball game on the IPad, which is actually quite good for his eye hand coordination.  

At about 11:45, a man arrived with a white coat and a mask and what looked like an oxygen tank. Turns out he was spraying the rooms with some kind of disinfectant. It smelled like pine sol. I wondered what was going to happen for nap time.  Coca made beds out of the bean bag chairs and blankets and the children settled in for a slumber party.  I think a good time as had by all.  

After lunch, we bought a stroller, partly to make it easier to take the children outside when the weather is nice but also to make it easier to take children like Lavinia down the hallway.  With the kids that are floppy, it is hard to prop them up in a wheelchair. I'm pleased to report that most of the kids got a ride in it and seemed to like it. 

Maria had an average day.  She reminds me a bit of Paula with her autistic like behavior and a bit of Gaby the way she looks at her hands and feels your hair. She has a lazy eye and I'm not sure that she sees very well.  

Oh yes, Luciana and Liviu brushed their teeth with the toothbrushes that Laura brought. Liviu really seemed to enjoy it! 

Marian enjoyed the extra food he got when others didn't want to eat. Dan got him on his stomach and tried to get him to raise his head a bit. He is another one that likes to play with, and pull, hair. Ken seems to be bear the brunt of this. Marian loves Ken.  When he put him in his crib when we were leaving, Marian was sobbing. It was sad to see.  

I suspect that I'm leaving out something important but it is 8:30 pm and I can barely keep my eyes open. I can't believe there are only 4 days left.  

The slumber party 

Taking good care of Elvis

Go Liviu! (And Lisa)

Maria

Lisa and Elvis

Marian

Lavinia likes balloons

Liviu and his best bud

Ken multitasking with Ilinca and Elvis

Ilinca without her fingers in her mouth, which is unusual

Elvis and the elephant

Stories

Some of you may wonder why Ilinca's face was blue in the picture taken on Friday.  When we arrived, Liviu, Luciana and Ilinca were in the playroom.  In addition to Ilinca looking like a member of the blue men, Luciana's chin was faintly blue. I thought it was that nasty anti bacterial stuff they used to paint the kids with in Tutova.  Turns out Liviu was putting "lipstick" on the girls using a blue crayon.  I suspect Luciana was the instigator as she was playing with lip gloss the other day. 

Speaking of Luciana, she is such a typical little girl, which is something we don't see that often.  She plays with the baby doll (whose head is falling off) pretending to change its diapers and putting it in the crib. She pretends to sweep the floor and sometimes helps feed another child a bottle. She is good about cleaning up (most of the time) and generally is a good little helper to Coca. I would love for her to be in a foster home like Gaby. She would blossom.  Of course this is true for most of the children. 

Turns out Liviu's legs aren't as paralyzed as we thought.  They are very weak be he seems to have some small movements.  Dan is good about getting him up in his feet.  I posted a picture of from Thrusday when he was actually climbing up the special wall in the physical therapy room.  He has good upper body strength.  If only, he had someone who could work with him every day!

As usual, when I write about the children there are a lot of "if only" situations.  I try to accept that there are things we can't change but then I see glimmers of hope. Who ever knew that Jenny would be able to help Delia be able to eat from a special spoon?! Who ever thought Gabi would be toilet trained and jumping up and down and saying words? 

Things are changing, albeit slowly. There are now physical therapists in Barlad.  More people seem to be volunteering to help others.  The country is still recovering from the dark days under Ceaucescu but it is recovering. There are still abandoned factories in the fields, Roma people who have to live outside the town, and people living in crumbling apartments without heat.  I remember we have similar problems at home, although perhaps to a lesser extent.  We can only do what we can do and carry on. 

See what happens when I have time for philisophical ramblings on a Subday morning!

Excursions

This post is about some special excursions I've had in the last few days. 

On Thursday night, we went to dinner at Coca's house in Tutova. Dan grilled, Coca supplied the home made wine and cherry liqueur, and there was much laughter.  We saw the pig, chickens, rabbit, dog and puppies.  

On Friday, Lauren and I went to visit the House of Roses with David Conway from England.  David is involved with several charities that work in Barlad.  The House of Roses is home to six developmentally disabled adults ages 23 to 30. They have a great program where they share responsibilies for the house, for pets, and have outings in the community.  Volunteers come to do various projects with them. There is one staff person there with them 4 days a week and 2 staff for 3 days a week.  Now, if this program could just be replicated for others!  I think other developmentally disabled adults are in institutions where I suspect they do not receive this level of care and opportunity.  

Today, Gabi's foster parents took me, David Conway, and Oana (a translator) to Târgu Ocna in Bacău County. We went to Salina Mina Trotus, which is a salt mine. They have created a huge space 800 feet below ground where there is a small church, playing fields, ping pong tables, and many, many more activities.  It was an amazing place.  Gabi's foster parents were sorry that Lauren Aaron Fishbach had left and couldn't join us.  They are wonderful and generous people.  We also went to Magura Târgu Ocna, a lovely church on the mountain above the city.  Gabi couldn't come with us cause there wasn't room in the car but she has been to his place and loves it! Great day!