Artem/Timothy or Cody

We actually have not yet had an official visit with Artem, although we did meet him. When we went to Billa Vserka institution we were unable to contact the social worker needed to officially visit and view documents. The director there did let us see him. He is a little bit of a guy, and is truly one of the world’s all time great huggers. He clings to you as tight as a starfish to the side of an aquarium. We call him the little spider monkey. He has spunk and when the caretaker told him to be quiet he stuck his naughty little tongue our at him. He lookstraveled t good, he does have one eye that turns in a great deal and is a little thin, but otherwise seems to be healthy. The institution appears clean, smells of cooking food, the children are also clean and nicely dressed. The residents are 4-18 years old. As we drove up we saw some of the older ones doing yard work. Inside we got a glimpse of a couple groups filing to various playrooms etc. After meeting Artem we felt we still needed to see Vlad first before being sure of commiting to him, not knowing the condition we might find Vlad in. I have not yet been able to take pictures, we thought we might today, but the social worker we finally got in touch with is a bit of a witch, and keeps putting us off. Hopefully tomorrow, a Ukrainian holiday is coming up this weekend and Yelena our translator says that means people will be celebrating and drunk for days. I can’t imagine it will be safe to go outside, their driving is creative enough without the celebrating.


VISIT TO VLAD/LOGAN

On Friday we traveled to Ladyzhin institution, where Vladimir is living. We went by car driven by our facilitator’s wife Yelena. She is very charming and speaks English well as they lived in the U.S. for 10 years. The trip took 6 hours one way and is many stories in itself. A condensed version: fast driving, Ukrainian rock music playing on the radio, rural Ukrainian life and landscape, speeding tickets, getting lost, Ukrainian food, more getting lost and driving and we are finally in Ladyzhin. First stop was to meet up with the social worker. This was only her third day on the job, which in the long run will be a blessing as she is more flexible and obliging, but initially it took her a long time for the paperwork necessary for our visit, as she had never done it before. We waited in the car while Yelena instructed her. Finally all four of us headed for the institution. To say that it was hidden away is an understatement. Much of the road was just mud, poor Yelena’s Mercedes wasn’t looking to good after this trip. We arrived at a sort of compound of rundown buildings. At one time this was a young communist’s camp, a sort of retreat. The actual site was beautiful, overlooking a river, but was very neglected. We were met by the doctor and a worker, they were aware we were coming. We entered the building apprehensively and were ushered into a room with about 10 or 12 cribs of various heights and sizes. The doctor started pointing out to me the children all naked or with only a diaper, a girl with DS age 12 the size of a 4 year old, a 21 year old the just as small, children with bodies twisted and emaciated, many tied or bound in the bed. It was confusing to me why she was showing and emphasizing the most disturbing sights. I felt myself becoming overwhelmed and afraid of how I would find Vlad, but knew that it was important not to breakdown. I somehow shielded myself, meanwhile Brad was not paying any attention to anyone else, but was going bed to bed looking for Vlad saying “I don’t see him here, this can’t be Vlad, I don’t think he is here. I told him I thought the doctor was just showing us how bad things were. We finally came to his room, as you entered an older skinny boy was tied sitting to the side of his raised crib with a small pot under him. Again there was about a dozen beds filled with sad sights. In the far corner was a little face peeking over the side of his low crib. Brad started saying “here he is, here he is” I said are you sure, he said yes and Yelena nodded, I wasn’t about to drop my guard until I was sure, but then we were all over him, touching him, talking to him. We asked if we could hold him and the doctor said he wasn’t potty trained and he peed and pooped all over. We said we didn’t care and scooped him up. We were beyond happy, a strange sight in this sad place. We were smiling and laughing, kissing and hugging him. It was as if he was our long lost child waiting in this awful place for us to find him. He kept trying to grab our glasses and I tickled him under the chin and he threw back his head and laughed the cutest laugh. Yelena was in tears over the conditions and the social worker had to leave. The doctor kept telling us we were crazy, he would never walk, he would never talk, he would never be able to show us love. We just said he would and if he didn’t it didn’t matter to us. Now we know that it is right to adopt both boys. It seems strange that we could be so happy and still be aware of the tragic circumstances surrounding us. At least for that day we were granted the” peace that surpasses understanding”. I know this may be a long process, but it is worth anything.