Medicine

The girls love medicine. They are always reminding us of times to take their medicines.

Unfortunately, with all the skin conditions they brought here, they have plenty of medicines to take - but still - I don't remember knowing any kids that so look forward to medicine and will make up reasons to get more of it.

Colleen and I have two theories (1) scarcity and (2) attention.

The girls had very little access to medicine where they grew up. People regularly died for lack of simple basic wound care, routine vaccines, or garden variety anti-biotic. So medicine was revered. People in their village probably thought of medicine as something extremely rare and valuable that only very wealthy people could afford.

In the orphanage, medicine time equalled attention time. A very pretty and kind nurse would take time talking to them, trying to understand them, and they got adult attention all to themselves. Also, the medicine worked. The kids learned that rashes, or diarrhea, or runny noses they had endured their entire lives would go away after taking medicine. Itwas a miracle. And to a kid, more is better, which is why they are always asking for more.

Medical Records and Family History

As a pre-condition to accepting adopted children, parents are given several days to review medical records and ask questions. M and E are described as perfectly healthy, but undernourished, children. E, although she is 24 months old, has no hair. M, over 4 years old, weighs only 28 pounds. We are told the Mother died from complications of giving birth to E. The father cared for the girls for about a year, but then he died from Tuberculosis. Then the Aunts banded together to care for the girls, and carried on bravely for about a year, until they determined there was just not enough food to go around, and the girls might lead better lives with families that can afford to care for them.

It is so sad. We are truly torn between utter sadness for the plight of this poor family and utter joy that we are fortunate enough to care for M and E. It is with a profound sense of stewardship and deep gratitude to their birth parents that we accept responsibility for loving M and E. We will honor the memory of their parents and teach them to do the same.

We learn the origins of their names. M's name is the Amharic word for the holy water in which new Christians are baptized and E's name is the Amharic word for the ashes that Christians use on Ash Wednesday. Apparently the birth family has a strong Christian faith. We will do out best to continue that tradition.