Alex's Adventures in Romania: Day 7 and Comments

Whoa, I feel like an idiot for seemingly ignoring all the comments that have been left in the past week. In actuality, I'm just used to getting email notifications when I get comments on my other blog, and I didn't realize that I didn't have notifications turned on for this one. So no, I haven't been ignoring your comments! I appreciate all of them! :-)

Yesterday morning, I spent a good bit of time with Raul because I knew I wouldn't be able to in the afternoon, when it would be just myself and Genie (everyone else was leaving either for the weekend trip or for their next destination). I asked Dan if there was any way I could get Raul out of his room, and Dan--taking that to mean "can I take him outside?"--responded that Raul is not allowed outside all summer, due to the mosquitos. Sad as it is, that makes sense. I'd still like to get him out of his room, though, even if we don't go outside.

Speaking of his room, I checked the temperature in there on Thursday and it was a stifling 77 degrees! Everything I've read on EB says to keep the child's environment cool, so I asked if we could bring a fan in, and Dan eventually found one for us. Raul, who had been a bit lethargic as soon as I got there, perked up a bit after that, and he was quite happy for the rest of the morning (except when I left to find a new CD to listen to). He smiled, sang, cooed, and grabbed my hand with the thumb that he had wiggled free from its dressing.

Raul and Maria both got haircuts today--buzz cuts, to be exact. Raul is still as handsome as ever, while Maria--still gorgeous, of course--didn't have quite the quality cut that the little man did. Her hair was very uneven. I noticed that she had some mysterious spots on her head, right by and on her ear--blisters? Bug bites? Not entirely sure, but the aides had slathered the all-purpose blue tonic on it. It looked like one of the spots was kind of eating away at her ear; there was a little chunk taken out of it.

The "isolation kids" (Celine, Ion, Petre, and Andreea) escaped into the hallway in the morning and were having a hell of a good time! They were pushed in strollers, wearing their movie star shades, running around, etc. They seem to be feeling a LOT better.

Cristi, on the other hand, was moved to the more lethargic isolation room with Paula and Roxana. Paula has been running fevers upwards of 103 degrees, from what I've heard, so they've been dosing her with meds.

At lunch time, I asked Mihaela if I could move into Room #3 (single room with the refrigerator) at the hotel, as my roommate would be leaving. Mihaela asked the manager and he okay'ed it. So I'll be in this room until the next team arrives!

This afternoon, Genie and I went over to the clinic by ourselves, after saying goodbye to the rest of the team (most of whom have finished their volunteer stint). I went to the nonmobile room and found Roxana in there, crying in a bouncy seat, except that my mind blanked for a minute and I thought it was Andreea, because why would Roxana (who is supposed to be in isolation) be in the nonmobile playroom? That confusion lasted for a few minutes as I tried to communicate with one of the aides and figure out where, exactly, Roxana was REALLY supposed to be. I fed her and then put her back to bed in isolation, and she was NOT happy about it.

Then I went back to the nonmobile room with Ionut and Andreea, and the aide came in and gave me a bottle for only one of them. Andreea was fussier than Ionut, so I gave it to her. When I asked for a bottle for Ionut, the aide claimed she already gave me one, but I said no, that one was for Andreea. I'm sure she was just confused between the twins, like I had been earlier, but really--she watched me feed Roxana and put her in her crib, and then she saw me sitting in the nonmobile room with Andreea and Ionut. And she didn't need to get such an attitude about it, like it was my fault. But she was probably just as frustrated with the language barrier as I was.

I spent most of the afternoon in that room with Andreea, Ionut, and Daria, just hanging out, cuddling, and working on rolling over (Daria) and a little bit of standing (Andreea), among other things. Genie went to the mobile room with Alex, Alina, Mihaela, Daniela, and Marius. I felt bad about "neglecting" the other rooms, but when I went to check in, I saw that Malika, the preschool teacher, was in with Ion, Celine, Andreea, and Petre. I did manage to visit Maria, Roxana, and Cristi a bit (Paula was sleeping). And I peeked in on Raul before I left.

I had dinner with Shirley and Genie, but I didn't eat much (until dessert!). Shirley is one of the English teachers. She and Genie are taking a day trip to Iasi this weekend; I might go with Judy next weekend.

Daria & Ionut