Vitaly's Story- Ten years

It seems a bit unreal that it has been ten years since we first traveled to Ukraine and adopted our first son.

We had done a "webpage" back then to capture Vitaly's journey. Interesting enough the sight later shut done because the new craze became a blog!

So, in honor of our first adoption I have decided to cut and paste his story here, as a little reminder of the journey to our first cabbage patch kid! (but I will do it a few days at a time..)

OUR ADOPTION STORY
Day One: "Plane Day" 11:45 a.m. Dayton, Ohio- November 18th, 2000I cannot believe our time to travel to Ukraine has finally arrived. We have planned, worked on our paperwork, and rerouted our adoption for almost one year. It almost seems surreal to be leaving in a few minutes. Even with all the planning, I am still repacking and trying to get every detail just right. Total luggage count: Two large suitcases containing my clothes/essentials/gifts. Two large duffels bags which contain Larry's clothes/baby clothes/orphanage donations/blankets/pillows. One carry-on with a change of clothes and paperwork. Two backpacks with personal goods. We are also carrying moneybelts with a total of 10,000$ inside. Our last item to carry-on is an umbrella stroller. Larry hates it, but I know it will be a savior later on.4:30p.m.- Chicago, IllinoisWe are finally departing the USA and heading for Zurich, Switzerland. We are traveling on Swiss Airlines. It is a very nice plane, but the flight will take approximately nine hours. Luckily, another Cathy Harris family is on board. Carolyn Braden and her daughter Brittany. I cannot believe our luck, because we are only one row apart! We are able to talk and share our excitement.7:30p.m.- Chicago timeWe are due to arrive in Zurich, in less than six hours. I am so excited, I cannot sleep. Even though I know if I do not sleep now, who knows when I will. The anticipation is killing me!

Day Two: "Kyiv Day" 8:30a.m. Zurich, Switzerland- November 19th, 2000We are in the Zurich Airport. There is nothing to do, but wait for our 10:50a.m.flight to Kyiv. Larry, Carolyn, Brittany, and I are beginning to feel quite tired and cranky. One good thing is I have finally found a use for the umbrella stroller. It can double as a luggage carrier. What a relief for our aching backs.2:00p.m.- Kyiv AirportI cannot believe it. We have finally arrived in Ukraine. The day is very overcast and dreary. The airport is very old. We all enter into a large room. On one side is a booth to buy medical insurance, while another line is for passports/visas. There are many other Americans in line and we all introduce ourselves. After we have retrieved our tremendous amount of luggage, we head to the customs line. Customs asks for specific items to be declared- anything electronic, money, jewelry, or medicines. Larry and I both must fill one out, because we are both carrying these items. I list a radar detector, we have brought as a gift for our facilitator. It is the wrong thing to do. Not only does the customs official want to know if we have gifts, but to actually see this "radar" detector. I am thinking- yeah right- I have no idea where it is. Seven bags and I am suppossed to find a radar detector. So, as we open and dig, I come across a cheap radio headset I forgot about. The custom's official is watching me, so I proudly say "Oh, here it is." Larry looks at me disgusted and says, "No, it's a radio!" And, I sternly say, "Here it is- the radar detector." Larry agrees and the custom's officials look a bit confused and wave us through.6:00p.m.- Kyiv, UkraineWe really like our facilitator Dima and our translator Masha. Dima is a rather large guy in Ukrainian standards and is very young. Our translator is a beautiful young woman and very sweet. They will be our companions for the next few weeks. We travel to the Tourist Hotel and our room is not bad. Clean and comfortable. Dima and Masha say good-bye and tell us they will pick us up at 8:30a.m., to go to the Adoption Center (AC). Larry and I decide to get a bite to eat at an English Pub, inside of the hotel. Larry orders a grilled ham/cheese sandwich, which is the size of a slice of garlic toast. I get some onion soup and rice. The food is okay. We are in bed by 8:00p.m., and sleep until 6:00a.m.

Day Three: "Adoption Center" 6:00a.m.- KyivWe are feeling much better after a good sleep and a hot shower. I cannot believe today, we are going to the NAC. We dress in our better outfits and wait impatiently in the lobby. Dima and Masha finally pick us up and have great news- we are first in line. We wait for what seems like an eternity in a dark hall. There are about 25-30 other couples. It turns out we are second, but who cares, much better then last. We see Carolyn and many other IUAFN (Independent Ukrainian Adoption Family Network) families. 10:30a.m.- ACWe finally are called into Mrs. Kunko's office. She is the Director of the NAC.(National Adoption Center) She asks us, "why we are you here?" We have brought a picture of a family who have adopted twice and smile. She says there are no available children under three and none healthy. We nod and say we want a boy under three with minor correctable conditions. She sends us to another room, where a lady named Tatiyana is waiting. Tatiyana brings out a book with many older children or children with very serious problems. We politely shake our heads no and wait for more pictures. We are shown a book from the Lugansk region. There are three boys pictures and they seem to be healthy and around the age of two. Larry and agree we will go see them. I am relieved there is more than one child, available at the orphanage. We hope there might be others available too, because we really want a younger child. As we are leaving, we once again see Carolyn and the other families. They are still waiting their turn. We are so happy our facilitator is Dima.Noon- KyivWe buy our train tickets and now have the day to sightsee until our train departs. Kyiv has many beautiful churches and we see sights like St. Andrew's and St. Sophia's. Masha is a terrific guide.11:30p.m.- Train to LuganskI am so relieved this day is over. The Adoption Center is one of the most stressful and emotional things, we have done yet. We are now traveling 17 hours on a "first-class" sleeper train. We give some presents to Masha and Dima and try to sleep.

Day Four: "Train and Lugansk Day" 7:30a.m.-Train to LuganskSo far, this train ride has been okay. We have heard horror stories about the restrooms and overall conditions in general of the trains. But, personally, I have slept in worse places. Our compartment has two bench seats, which convert to beds, a table, and a TV. Of course, they only show American films dubbed in Russian. So, Larry and I read and sleep. Looking out the window is very interesting. The landscape and villages are a scene right out of an old soviet photo. There are very small villages with people leading goats and cows. Everyone seems very busy walking, riding bikes, or doing chores. The villages seem so remote, I wonder where they could be going. Most of the homes are very run-down, yet they paint them in vivid colors. It is fascinating.1:00p.m.- LuganskWe arrive in Lugansk. Dima meets us at the train station. He has driven over night in his Blazer. Our bags are so heavy, it takes three trips to unload them from the train. Dima says we will not be able to go to the orphanage today. We decide to check into the "best" hotel in the region. It has hot water and heat, unlike the one Masha stays in. We are lucky to meet another family in IUAFN- Rob, Sue, and Noah Corrigan. What a relief, I am so glad they are here with us. They are adopting a two year old boy and will be in court by Thursday.4:00p.m.-LuganskWe all meet at the Internet Cafe across the street from the hotel. Now, we have something to do when we are bored. It costs 4.5gryvnas for an hour (@5 gs=1$).We decide to go to a restaurant in town for dinner. We of course are the only Americans, but they have an English menu. So, we point to what we want, but the waitress cannot read English! I order some chicken with brown gravy, and mashed potatoes. Larry has chicken soup, Schnitzel and potatoes. The Corrigan's have a type of ravioli and pork. It is all good and we talk about the children we might see at the orphanage. They tell us of a cute red head boy with green eyes available for adoption. He is one of the pictures we were shown at the AC! It is cold, but we walk back to the hotel.

Day Five: "A Terrrible Day" 5:00a.m.-Lugansk HotelI am not able to sleep. My mind is racing in anticipation of going to the orphanage. I get up and rearrange the suitcases and look over some notes. Larry awakes around 8 and we go to breakfast in the hotel disco. We are served salami/cheese/slaw and bread. The butter slices looks like cheese (which I mistake them for) and I take a huge bite. Larry thinks this is hilarious. Next, we are served mashed potatoes with an egg and beets on top with sausage. Desert is wedding cake!Noon: LuganskWe are leaving for the orphanage in two cars. The Corrigan's are going to visit their new son Andy. We are going to FIND our son. Our translator Masha has to stay in Lugansk to fix some paperwork fot the Corrigan's. We are traveling with the Corrigan's translator- Yman. This does not make me happy. I want to be with Masha. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the orphanage, which is in the middle of nowhere. As we pull up, I see a group of children bundled up and outside. Larry and I smile. We are getting very anxious to see the children. We wait in a hall for about 30 minutes, and then, we are brought into a bleak office with a desk and two chairs. The head doctor comes in and barely glances at us. She seems very rude and asks Yman why we are there. She says there are no babies, only two years and older. We say okay, and she tells the nurse to bring in the first child. We know right away he is very sick and cannot stand. He is about three and when he sees us he screams and bangs his head on the wall repeatly. We are not prepared for this and don't know what to do. They say he has CP and many other conditions. We know he is not our son. We feel bad, but, we know they will often show the sickest children first. The next child is older then three. He cannot stand/walk. They say he also has CP. I am beginning to get worried and a bit upset. The doctor is glaring at us and Yman asks if we want to see him longer. We try to explain, we have come to see the children we were shown in the AC. We say we would like to see children with minor correctable conditions or less severe maladies. The doctor shakes her head and leaves the room. She tell Yman there are none available. Yman tells us there are two more boys, but they are very ill. This completely upsets me, and I break down and begin to cry. Then, Yman says "That is all, then" I am crying and ask "What about the three boys we saw at the AC?" He shrugs and states "This is all they have." I am a wreck. Larry and I run outside. The Corrigan's also run outside and cannot believe we have not been shown any of the AC children, including the red headed boy. Masha and Dima finally show up. He demands we go back into the orphanage to see another boy. The doctor says he is very ill. I want to leave the orphanage and say "Let's just go." But, they make me sit and I am crying. The doctor states "He is 2.5 and his mom drank a lot!" (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) He is the size of a three month old and cannot even hold up his head. Everyone is looking at me and I tell Masha he is to ill and I want to leave. I am very upset for the children, and how I hate to turn them down, but I know they are not my son. We all leave the orphanage.

3:00 p.m.We are still sitting in a cold blazer. We are waiting to hear from the AC. We are also waiting for the Corrigan's to finish court. Dima answers the phone. There is alot of screaming. Masha is looking worried. I ask her "What has happened?" She says the AC wants us to go back to the orphanage. Thay think we have been shown the boys we saw in the pictures. I explain again, we were not shown them. I start to cry. About 45 minutes later the AC calls back. We are allowed to go to the baby house in Maripol. There should be three quite healthy baby boys under two. YEAH!6:00 p.m. LuganskThere are no trains to Maripol. So we hire a driver (50 dollars) for the three hour drive. We decide to leave in the a.m. We spend our last evening in Lugansk with the Corrigan's (who were successful in court) and Masha. Dima has gone ahead without us. We drink some good beer and eat undercooked chicken. We are asleep by ten. I am able to sleep for eight hours for the first time in a week. I dream of the boys we were shown in the orphanage.

To be continued tomorrow.....