Yesterday, as the pharmacist was handing me this huge bag of medications and I started to walk away with it, I was really overwhelmed with emotions.

None of these thoughts were new, and I am usually not a very dramatic kind of gal, but for some reason, I got very emotional.

It was overwhelming to me that my little girl needed all of that to stay well, and that without those medications, she would eventually suffer, waste away and die. It was overwhelming that that bag of medications would now be a part of her daily routine for the... more

Yesterday we made a fast and frantic road trip to Utah and back, for another appointment for Belane.

It was an emotional day, and one that sort of took me by surprise.

We went in to see her doctors to get the results of her last round of blood tests, one of which was a phenotype test, which looked at her particular strain of HIV and determined which medications would be the most effective in treating Belane, and which medications if any she is resistant to. The other test looked at the amount of virus in her blood, or her “viral... more

Let’s see…we got our own “fellow”. He is a doctor that is doing his training in Ped. Infectious Disease, and he has to follow a child with HIV. He has a beeper 24/7, and we can call him any time. Also, I wrote last time that we would see this doctor, Dr. A, at this appointment, and then would transfer over to his partner, Dr. P. Dr. A is a Ped. Infectious Disease doc and also specializes in international adoption, so he usually sees kids for one or two appointments and then sends them on to their regular pediatrician or another specialist if needed. His partner is an HIV specialist, and is the one that usually does the appointments with the HIV kids (although both doctors work together on... more

Since most of the kids are still sleeping I am going to get some more posts written up.

This week it was back to business…Mercy started her basketball league which she loves. We went to her first game last Tuesday night, and then she had two games this week. She is built for basketball (long, tall and thin!) and she is very athletic so she is quite good.

We also have Ryan and Des with rehearsals for their third grade Christmas play. Ryan landed the starring role of “Santa” (after auditions the music teacher told me that Ry is a ham and was up to do all the crazy things the part will require…we know!!!!). Des got the part of Rudolph which she is excited about. At first she... more

Belane’s appointment went well. I LOVE her doctor, even though he won’t be her doctor long term. He is in the Pediatric Infectious Disease clinic and is very experienced with pediatric HIV, but he is also the international adoption specialist…we saw him for this appointment and will see him at the next, and then we will transfer over to his partner, who is the Pediatric HIV specialist and we have heard wonderful things about him from quite a few people.

This appointment was definitely a “gathering information” appointment. They took a very detailed history (as much as we could give) and surprised me with how in depth the questions were that they asked…what kind of water she had been... more

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Ok... last in the medical questions came from “3+4” who asked, “Erin, I just really want to know more about the whole process regarding the HIV status - getting her on your insurance, what doctors you have to see right away, (How to prove to my husband that it ISN'T endangering our other children). I know you've already shared a lot, but more links with information and more details about what it means when you come home (I know not every detail is our business) but that's really what I want to know more about.”

Well, the insurance was easy. It is federal law that insurance companies have to treat adopted children just like children born biologically, and... more

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Dawn asked, “Erin, Have you experienced any one being uncomfortable around Belane because of her HIV status. I am asking because our daughter who will come home from China is a hep B carrier and I am trying to plan on how to deal with others attitudes. I do plan on not telling too many others but I am trying to learn how to handle these issues. Will you have her in the church nursery? It has been suggested that we not take our daughter there. Give me advice?"

Thus far, no, we have not had anyone that I have noticed who was uncomfortable around Belane because of her HIV status, but that being said, the only people that have been around her that knew about her HIV... more

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She continues to be SO DANG CUTE with Marcus…they crack me up. The best is at night after the big kids have gone down and I am getting the little two ready for bed…they run in circles and hide under the quilt and just play so nicely together.

They are such opposites in size and personality. Marcus is 2 ½ and is in the 97th percentiles for height and weight. Belane is 3, and is in the 45th percentile for weight, and not even on the charts for height. He is rough and tough and goes at everything 100 miles an hour…she is very careful and tentative. He is loud and can be very serious…she is very quiet and very giggly. She absolutely cannot stand having... more

My head has cleared…I am catching up on sleep, the dizziness has gone away and I have settled back into my family, life and routine. I have been really wanting to get on here and blog the last few days, but I tried really hard to stay off the computer during the weekend so I could spend time with the kids, and I am still falling asleep the minute I get all the kids to bed each night.

Anyway, I knew it was time to get back to blogging when Josh complained to me yesterday that I hadn’t written anything new.

Me- “But honey, you KNOW how things are going… you live here.”

Josh- “Yeah, but I still really like to read about it.”

So, here is an update, for Josh, and... more

Health-wise, Belane is doing well. Her last blood test results weren’t great, but they weren’t awful either. (Not bad enough for AHOPE to start her on any meds). Our doctors here will definitely be starting her though, and they anticipate getting her settled on her meds and her doing extremely well.

She goes to the Pediatric HIV/Infectious Diseases clinic next week, and will see their doc who is also an international adoption doctor for a full work up. I am looking forward to getting her treatment started. I will be sharing how that goes... more