Notes

These are some (most actually) of the notes I took from the meeting with the orphanage on Wednesday. This was all interpreted to me, and very quickly. I was jotting down notes as quickly as I could, but wanted to type it all up while it was still fresh in my head. Some interesting (and some very sad) information, but I'm a details person, so I thought I would share. :)

Name: Borislov Pavel (last name first)
Birthdate: June 4, 2005
Birth mother born 1967, birth father born 1957
(We are still waiting to find out his birthweight, length and parent's nationality but we believe they were both full Ukrainian)
They were married, they did not know he had Ds until he was born at the maternity house. They were very upset and embarrassed. They blamed the doctors saying that they would have had an abortion if they had known. They told all family members that he died in the hospital. The mother showed no remorse and never came back to the hospital, but the father would stop by to drop off money for him (I'm assuming for his hospital bills). After a short while he stopped coming and their lawyer would drop the money off. They both signed papers to release him for adoption as soon as he was born. There is no contact info for either of them but only a phone number for their lawyer.

He was taken to Odesa Orphanage #3 at 4 months old and has been there ever since. He has been sick and hospitalized many times, fighting colds, the flu, bronchitis, laryngitis, pneumonia twice, and an ear infection in one ear. He has also had the chicken pox. When he was 12 months, he ran such a high fever in the hospital that he had a seizure but was tested and does not have epilepsy- it was an isolated event due to the fever. It was the only time he as ever seized. He was last hospitalized on Sept. 08 for a cold.

He was born with a small hole in his heart, known as an oval window, but was rechecked in Jan. 09 and the hole is much smaller. It is believed to be closing. He may be far sighted and is suggested to see an eye doctor before he turns five. He's had many vaccinations and was also tested for HIV, cyphalis (sp?), and hepatitis. All tests were negative.

They are saying he has dermatitis. They are systematically withholding different foods- currently apples, candy and any juices. He is on 4 different medications , oral and topical, to fix the problem. (Besides his rashy cheeks, Jake and I saw two different rashes today, one on his elbow and one on the back of his leg. Not sure about those but I have a good feeling some good, frequent face washings and some Aquafore will clear his cheeks right up. :))

He likes to play drums, can stack circles (those donut shaped toys on the stick) and knows many parts of the body. He follows basic instruction and though his speech development is delayed, he understands quite a bit.


That was about it. We shared pictures of the girls and the doctor was glad to see the picture of Abby with red, dry cheeks. I think this made her feel more confident that we know what we're dealing with and can handle it. :) They told us he is a sweet boy and well loved by all in the orphanage. Even the caregivers from other groups call out to him as we pass. During our visits, some who are off duty and are leaving for the day will come out to say goodbye to him before they go. I think they are all so happy he has found a family but are also sad to see him go. No doubt he has left an impression and this sweet little boy will not be soon forgotten.