Court trip, Day 2: Medicals

So after a night of *trying* to sleep, we had our next adventure awaiting- going for our medical exams.  Part of the adoption process in Lina's country involves adoptive parents getting exams by 8 different specialists in country to assure we are indeed healthy enough to care for an adopted child.  We first had to get physical exams and bloodwork run here in the states, and bring those results with us as well as chest x-ray films.  But it seems that physicians in Lina's country do not trust American doctors, so they insist on doing everything again themselves just to be sure. But since everything had to be done in one day- they trusted the results from home long enough to give us approval, and if anything happened to come back otherwise, our approval would be null and void.

We meet our driver at 9:30 am and head out to pick up our translator who will accompany us to all our appointments.  We arrive at the medical building shortly after 10:00.  This building is apparently under high security- we first entered a small building outside the big iron gates surrounding the medical facility. We had to show our passports and then pass through a turnstile to leave that small building and walk to the entrance of the medical building.

We enter the building and immediately take our coats to the coat room- Lina's country is big on coat rooms. ;)  All those fur coats around to take care of, I suppose. :)   They are also big on plastic booties.

People here seem to covet sparkling clean floors.  Whenever you enter a building, there is *ALWAYS* someone there mopping the floor.  And in several places we have seen people use these plastic booties, from the psychologist's office in the orphanage, to the airport going through security, to this medical facility.  And I'm talkin' spike heel boots and all!

So after we paid our hefty fees for our exams, we headed off to the first physician- an internist/general practitioner.

We took the elevator up to the 8th floor and waited out in the hallway.  These doors lead to each physician's office/exam room.  The red light indicates when they are busy with a patient, but don't let that mislead you thinking no one must enter when the light is lit.  People have no problem knocking and walking right in, whether it be other physicians/nurses or other patients.

After a couple minutes it was our turn to go in- we walk in to an office consisting of two desks- one for the physician and one for the nurse and/or receptionist. There was also an exam table and small privacy divider.  With the internist- she took our blood pressure, listened to our heart and lungs, asked if we were on any medications....  After a few brief questions we went back out to the hall and waited for her to write her report and give her stamp of approval.  Then on to the next.  We went up and down different floors to various other doctors and specialists- pulmonologist, dermatologist, neurologist, psychologist, infectious diseases specialist, and oncologist.  But this only totals seven, what about 8?  The psychologist also signed off on the narcotics/drug use line as well.  He was the only male- all the other specialists were female, as we've learned most physicians (as well as judges) in Lina's country are female.  I found that interesting. :)  

The pulmonologist reviewed our x-rays after they were re-read by their own radiologist (apparently American radiology reports don't contain enough information and they need more writing).  She was sure to give us our own copy of their report when she returned our x-rays to us (too bad they aren't written in English LOL).

The dermatologist examined our skin looking for any signs of skin cancer- we simply took off our shirts and that was it.  The oncologist did the same as well as checking our lymph nodes, and I also had to remove my bra for a breast exam.  She asked about any family history regarding cancer.  We removed our shirts for the internist as well, and that's about as *personal* as it got.  The infectious diseases specialist asked us if we received our childhood immunizations against measles, mumps, etc. etc., if we ever had tuberculosis or had ever been exposed to anyone with Tb.  

The neurologist's exam was kinda humorous to us- it seemed more of a sobriety test.  We had to stand up, hold our arms out straight, close our eyes, and touch our nose with each index finger.  She checked our reflexes and then had us smile so she could check the symmetry in our faces.  My only guess is she was seeing if either of us had suffered a stroke? That was all I could think of really.

The psychologist was an interesting man... made me feel a little uncomfortable the way he was looking at me, like he was studying and trying to figure me out... I just looked right back and answered his questions with confidence.  He asked about my experience raising a child and a few other questions I can't recall off the top of my head... didn't take too terribly long.  Mike's questions were a bit different pertaining to his employment and providing for the family.

We also had our blood drawn again for the same tests we had taken back home, but to confirm the results are indeed accurate.  

We felt like we just returned from the war with the way our arms were bandaged up- the gauze was spread out much more when she rolled it around and around and around... it was SO tight- my arm was going numb! I kept trying to stretch it here and there, and after a couple hours it wasn't quite as bad. LOL

After all our exams we returned to the waiting room for our paperwork to be completed- after each physician wrote their reports and gave their stamp of approval, the medical director had to give her stamp of approval next to each of the other stamps as well as one at the bottom.  Our forms were quite decorative by the time we finished- we were there about 3 hours total when all was said and done.

I tried to rotate this photo several times but apparently it just wants to remain sideways!  But anyway.... WE WERE APPROVED!! :))