Today we are at the China Hotel in Guangzhou, which is a Marriott hotel. We checked in late last night after our one hour flight from Nanchang. We somehow managed to get a huge suite that is absolutely beautiful. Did I mention it is gigantic? I don't know how we got so lucky because all the other families got standard rooms which are at least one third the size of ours. Score! Our bathroom is even enormous. What a nice bonus after what we've been through with this trip.
This morning we went to Shamian Island to our medical examination that all adopted children must go through before we go to our consulate appointment and get our baby's Visa. The medical facility was crammed full of families with their newly adopted children. We've run in to families from Spain, Switzerland, France, and all over the U.S. who are with various adoption agencies. Lots of special needs children are being adopted as well. There is a very large group of adopting parents from Spain here that were in Nanchang with us also. We'd run into them when we were either touring temples or going to our government appointments. Seriously though, it is insane how many adoping families were there today getting their medical exams. What a madhouse it was, in a good way though, because all those needy children now have loving families.
Here in Guangzhou, it is hot and humid! I am reminded of all the years spent in that yucky climate while we've lived in Dallas. No thank you. I've had enough of that. It is nice to see the sun though. We've missed it since we were in Hong Kong. Shamian Island is just as I've pictured it all these years. It is very colonial looking due to the British influence. It's also very green and pretty with tall trees, great architecture, and manicured gardens. Tons of brides are posing for wedding pictures all over the place because it so picturesque. We saw the White Swan hotel where thousands of adoptive parents have stayed during the years. It is still open but we could tell they are remodeling. I'm glad we aren't able to stay there during their remodel. There's no way we would've had such a nice suite there like the one we have at the Marriott.
At the medical exam, the doctor was training a young student and he asked us if we knew she had scabies. He was showing his student what scabies looks like. They were examining in between her toes and her fingers. I don't even know if I mentioned that she has scabies. This is in addition to her malnourishment and underdeveloped body. We had to go see a dermatologist in Nanchang who finally did diagnose her with scabies, even though we already figured that is what she had all over her little body. The second night we had her, she was itching so badly and was so miserable, we got on the internet to look up pictures and info about it. Then we quickly got out our Permethrin cream that was prescribed to us for this adoption trip in case she had scabies, and covered her head to foot in the cream. We also had to cleanse anything that may have come into contact with her including the clothes and toys brought to us from her foster mother and orphanage. Her skin is in such bad condition that it will probably take months to clear up and some scars will linger much longer. A couple scars in her diaper area are so deep and old I can't imagine them ever really going away. I can't imagine what situation she was in where her caregiver neglected her that much to let her get scars like those. It makes me so sad to even think about it.
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