Day Three – Appointment to Review Dossiers

We had the first appointment of the day to review the dossiers of children available for adoption. Unfortunately, we were did not accept any of the referrals due to health concerns of the children we were offered. We were able to restrict the ages of the children to four years old and younger, one of our requirements. Initially, we were shown two files of girls, three and four years old. Both were impacted by fetal alcohol syndrome. We then relaxed our original preference for a girl and were shown additional dossiers of boys. One boy had a chronic joint disease that can not be effectively treated. The second boy had recent leg surgery to correct a physical defect, but more importantly, appeared to have other health issues and a family history of mental illness. Finally, we were presented with a set of twin girls, two years old. They were diagnosed with significant developmental delays and have two older sisters with demonstrated significant mental and cognitive problems.

Clearly, today did not turned out as we had dreamed, but we were grateful when we were offered a second appointment to review additional dossiers next Tuesday. We understand that most second visits require a wait of at least a week. We hope to have better luck on Tuesday. If not, we'll be back in Nashville sooner than expected.

Despite the outcome, we felt well served by our facilitators and by the government psychologist selecting the files for us to review. Viktoria and Galena were clearly as disappointed as we were.

Tonight, we will meet a family from the Memphis area hoping to adopt two boys. Their appointment is this afternoon. We're cheering for them and hope to learn of their good news over dinner.