Going to HK (out of order)

This is going to be quick. Leaving hospital in 20 min. I have tried to post this 6 times, so it is not much easier from here than Shanghai!!!

We flew down to HK on Monday. China Eastern was late as usual and we went through the gate on the ticket, but then got on a plane on the lower level at a different gate, so we really weren't sure we were going to HK until we landed. Not sure where everyone else's luggage went, but only 4 pieces came out on the belt when we arrived and thankfully, 1 of them was ours!

We were surprised to find out the HK airport was still playing Christmas music on Jan. 4th!
I told Ian that he could choose what he wanted to eat and do on the trip, so he tested me by making me go up and take pictures of the Christmas display 2 floors above where we were. Then we at at Burger King.

The HK dollar is about the same value as the Chinese RMB, but when you say the taxi is 300 dollars, it makes my heart about stop! The hotel was quite a ways from the airport, but traffic was almost nothing compared to Shanghai.

Got to our hotel and explored a bit around there, got some snacks at the 7-11 and then headed off to bed after watching some strange soccer game played in the sand.

Had to be to Adventist Hospital (only 5 minutes from the hotel, but up some very steep hills so glad we opted for the taxi) by 6:30 am. Registration and getting his vitals went well. The room was huge and staff very nice. Everything was so clean compared to China! We met the anesthesiologist and surgeon (whom we had met in Shanghai) before surgery. Ian brought cookies he had made for all the staff and handed them out as he went along. They were all very thankful and surprised. Such a generous boy!

Ok..just got discharged. We are off to the airport, so we will do pictures from AOL later.
Love to you all!

Ian is out of surgery

Ian's surgery lasted longer than than expected (almost 2x as long) because his hernia was bigger than they expected or had gotten bigger since the surgical consultation, so I was very glad we had the surgery done sooner rather than later! The doctors and nurses were wonderful. They let me go into the operating room and put Ian under with gas before starting the IV, so there was no fighting over that (he hates needles). The anesthesiologist gave him a very small amount of an extra sedative before waking him up so he didn't get all adjitated from the anesthesia as he was with his other surgeries. I had to sneak a picture of him in his hair covering when he was still asleep because he wouldn't let me take one when he was awake.

Adventist Hospital HK

We made it to the hospital this morning right on time. All going smoothly - all the staff speaks English, the is very clean and friendly. Our room is huge and we have a big TV with lots of movies and games to choose from (we are not in China that is for sure!). I will take some pictures soon. Ian is really not liking the hospital gown, so we will have to take some when he is still under anesthesia :)
I forgot 7th Day Adventists are vegetarians, so we will let you know how the veggie chicken nuggets are later...

Bye for now

Ian and Lara in HK for Ian's Surgery

We are in Hong Kong to have Ian's hernia repair done. Since I am able to get to our blog here, just wanted to put out a quick note to let people know where we were. He is doing quite well and not too nervous. I have been plugging this as a big adventure for Ian and mom without the little brothers, so that seems to have helped. Will try to get some of the many pictures I have to post and updates on the surgery asap...Surgery is Tuesday morning our time and we should be back in Shanghai on Wednesday if all goes as planned.

Samuel

To answer your questions about Samuel...he is doing great! We were really worried this summer when he quit rolling over and got pneumonia, but he is fully recovered and back to his happy self. Johna's niece came from the Philippines and help with him for a month and he made huge strides in that time. Ghizelle was such a blessing to him. He is now rolling all over like a steam roller with a mission. Aaron keeps trying to teach him how to crawl, but Samuel's legs just do not have the strength to do that, so he does what he needs to get to where he wants to be. The neurologist at the international hospital said he believes that there was some nerve damage to the peripheral nerves to Samuel's back and abdomen that are needed to support his legs. This would explain why he can move them and has ticklish feet, but still does not try to sit or stand or pull himself up. There is still hope that these nerves will regenerate or that he could walk with braces. Thanks for all of your concerns and prayers for this (not so) little guy.


Aaron is always so excited to have Samuel come over for a visit!

Believe it or not, this is his slimmed down self! He lost some weight (1 kg / 2 lb) when he had pneumonia. He used to have 4 rolls between his wrist and elbow

Greetings from Shanghai

Eric's First Day of School (Madarin 2)

Eric was excited for school to start, too, but even with that excitement, he just isn't much of a morning person. He did manage to eat and get dressed before his bus arrived. He still was in denial that he was moving to a new class this year, so I pray that all went well once he arrived and saw some familiar faces in his class.

Lily laoshe (teacher) was still his bus monitor, which helped a lot. She was also one of his assistant teachers last year. The assistant teacher rotate around classes and even back and forth between his school and a sister school. They didn't know where they would be working at the end of the year, so she may even be his assistant teacher again, which would help him a lot with the transition.

Then he just bolted for the bus - this was as fast as I could take a second picture after the one with him and Lily

Then he refused to look back and get another one at the bus - he was ready to go!