More About Our 'Snag'

We spent an hour and forty minutes on a conference call tonight with representatives from Project Hopeful and Equality for Adopted Children and about a dozen families currently adopting from Ukraine discussing the newly implemented requirements on TB testing in Ukraine.  It was not as encouraging as we had hoped.  Basically, the CDC now requires a more intensive TB test for children with certain medical issues before they can come to the US.  These tests and possible subsequent treatment will keep us in Ukraine for an additional 8 - 12 weeks.  On top of the approximate 6 - 8 weeks to complete the adoption.  It is a major blow for us because there are some big decisions we now need to make.  It is frustrating that people from other countries can travel to the US, come to school in the US, come as hosted children, etc, without having these tests, but the newly adopted children of US citizens will be held up for months to have them.  TB has never been transmitted on a flight, and it is very rare that a child has transmitted TB.  Vitalik spent weeks in the US over Christmas being hosted, but once he is adopted, he will suddenly be subjected to more rigorous testing.  If the boys are unable to cough up enough sputum for the cultures, three days in a row, they will be subjected to a gastric aspiration, three days in a row.  All of this has emotional, physical, and financial implications.  Some of the options are to finish the adoption process and then:

     stay 8 - 12 weeks in an apartment with the boys
     stay 8 - 12 weeks in an apartment with the boys and Jocelyn and Ellie
     come home and leave the boys with a host family in Ukraine
     come home and see if the orphanage will allow them to come back for the 8 - 12 weeks

None of these are appealing but leaving the boys after just adopting them seems cruel.  So we are doing our best to figure out how to make one of the first two options work.  Then there is the fact that I am still having check-ups and scans every 3 months and that inevitably I will be missing at least one of those.  Ali has offered to take a semester off from college in order to be available to help in whatever way we need, so that is something we are considering.

The first family these new tests are impacting is in Ukraine now so they could use our prayers as they blaze the trail. We were encouraged to contact the CDC to let them know the implications for our family so we will be doing that.  But there is little hope this will change in time to affect our adoption process.  Hopefully it will benefit families adopting in the future though.

Please continue to pray for us as we work to figure out solutions to all of this.  We know ultimately God is in control.

"I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name."  Isaiah 45:3