Last Week in Bangkok

Today we met with the eye doctor who dilated Calvin's eyes so he could observe the optic nerve and retina. With brain damage the eyesight is usually one of the first things to be affected and can give clues to the extent of damage. The doctor found that Calvin's optic nerve is very small. This could be normal for him or it could point to Septo-Optic Dysplasia syndrome. I'm so tired right now so I have no idea if that's spelled correctly. The only way to have it ruled out or confirmed is with an MRI which the doctor's have said is too risky at this point for him.

So again we need to wait. We are realizing that there is no quick answer or diagnosis. If anything, it seems we have more questions about his health than we did on day one, but there is simply not a whole lot to do but watch and wait.


Sophie is eager to take care of Calvin at any time. It's touching to see her love him. The other day while we were riding in the taxi to another doctor's appointment, she asked me if Calvin was going to die. I reassured her that he was going to be coming home with us and that right now he was healthy. She was quiet for a minute then asked me, "You said we have to give Calvin to God, how are we going to give him to God?" I had a bit of explaining to do about what it means to entrust Calvin to God and reassured her that we were not literally sending Calvin off :)
Isn't he sweet?

In other news...

We have received quite the public attention as we go about the city with four kids. Usually people are absolutely incredulous and count the kids as we walk by, their exclamations getting more excited as each child files on by. Darryl has been told he is a "brave, brave man" and was told he must be "a very patient man." It makes us laugh, we think of four kids as a normal size family, but here it is quite something, especially since they are close in age and we have two boys and two girls.

Our entire family crowds onto the cheap version of Thai transportation...benches in the back of a pick-up truck. Darryl is becoming an expert at loading the oldest three kids in short order while I manage climbing aboard with the wee one. The trucks go the same route so you can just stand up and press the buzzer whenever you want to get off. We love riding these even though it can be very crowded. The breeze is wonderful and the price is even better, only 20 baht (about 65 cents) for the whole family to catch a ride.


Noah is ready to go home to Cambodia. Although he's impressed with the "beautiful playgrounds" he keeps asking if he can go home and play with his trains. I'm sure once we get home he'll start asking to go to the park again.

The entire time we've been here I've had my mind set that he is getting a real haircut here. Well, it hasn't happened. He is DEATHLY afraid of haircuts (the screams are so loud it really does hurt the ears) and even when I tried bribing him with a new train for his Thomas set (yes, a horrible parenting tactic), he flatly refused the bribe. I have only a few more days...I think he's going to win this one.

Sophie is excited for her first tooth to fall out. She's sure this is a sign of becoming "big".
And Evie. She is busy running from the paparazzi wherever we go. No joke, people flock around her constantly taking her picture, posing with her, getting their kids to pose with her. Darryl was thinking about charging people a dollar a picture...we'd have our expenses covered :). I'm not sure what it is about her that makes the Thai people so excited about getting a picture with her. We are getting used to complete strangers standing two feet away from us with their camera, taking pictures and videos of our family while we eat, play in the grass, etc.
Thanks for visiting our blog and praying for Calvin. Leave a comment, it encourages us to hear from you!