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The bus looked like something Earth, Wind, and Fire toured the country in before they made it big…decades ago. I never thought I would be so glad to be dropped on the side of the road in the middle of a busy intersection in a foreign country. It all had to do with on of the longest weeks of my life.
To pick up where we left off, Kristina returned to the United States after our lawyer negotiated a May meeting date. This after Kristina had waited for over a month supposedly to get foster custody of Mia. April was dreadfully slow for the both of us as we eyed the 11th of May on every calendar we saw. By this time, we had a website and a newsletter going out literally to hundreds of recipients. We received so much emotional support through those tough weeks.
Finally we sat in our friends house just outside of Guatemala City waiting for the call to confirm our appointment the next day. When the phone finally rang, the voice on the other end said we would wait one more week to meet with the judge. Suprisingly we both took the news rather well considering all we had been through to this point.
The night before we went to Quetzaltenango I became violently ill. I spent the night on the hard tile floor in and out of consciousness with no one truly knowing the extent of what was happening. When morning finally came, Kristina gave me fluids and helped me in the vehicle. That day we sat before the judge and other officials for hours talking through our lives once more. The PGN was there as well as other agencies. The judge finally agreed to grant us custody until the adoption was complete but stipulated that Mia be in our care alone. This of course meant that Kristina would not return home until the adoption was done. Our lawyer spoke with the judge and confirmed that it should be before the end of summer.
We had to stay behind in Quetzaltenango to wait for the documents to be typed up. We had not anticipated this and only had our suits to wear. Kristina had no problem finding an outfit to where but it seemed Quetzaltenango was not forewarned of the 6′5″ gringo with a size 15 foot that would need and extra set of clothes that night. So…I did the best I could. Let’s just say it brought smiles to everyone’s face!
The next morning we hopped on the bus I suspect was equipped with an 8 track and headed back to San Cristobal in Mixco. Still hurting terribly from the illness, the bus ride did not exactly agree with me either. By the time we walked into our friends house, Kristina helped me to the bed and I was out. The next morning we visited the US Embassy for some insight into what was next and then it was off to the orphanage in Antigua. This time we had papers that said their time was up and we would be taking her with us. (To be fair, they were overjoyed at this. Our frustration was with the red tape and not them.)
So now begins a new and hopefully short chapter in the story. “Fostering!”
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The order for Mia’s 2nd physical exam did not come the next day or even the day after that. In fact it was almost a week in arriving. Nothing feels more hollow and empty than waiting and doing nothing. When it finally did arrive, the order from the judge was for Mia to appear at a forensics clinic in Guatemala City. This was definitely a relief as the 4 hours to Quetzaltenango and 4 hours back was getting old.
Our friend Marcelo went with Kristina to the clinic to interpret for her. When they arrived, they were told to wait, which they did for quite a while. When they were finally called, the nurse told them that only one could go back with Mia. Though Marcelo explained that Kristina was the mother and he was there to interpret, it made no difference. Marcelo went back with Mia. Kristina was left to sit alone in the waiting room and wait.
Shortly after they left, Marcelo returned with a storm brewing on his face that indicated something was very wrong. Apparently the doctor was annoyed that the judge had sent them to his clinic. He refused to perform the test saying it should have been done in Quetzaltenango. Though Marcelo explained the faulty examination in Quetzaltenango it made no difference. The doctor was still refusing to do anything. The officials from the court told Marcelo to ask if it could be done at a private clinic. When he did, the doctor erupted in a tirade, as this apparently is an illegal practice. The nurse said the only option was for her to write an order for the test to be done at the National Hospital right there in Guatemala City. She wrote the order and sent them on their way.
Oh it goes further…
Upon arriving at the National Hospital in Guatemala City, Marcelo and Kristina had to wait quite a while before they were seen. When they were called, the physician looked at the order that was written and refused to do the test. When asked why, he said that he would need an order directly from the judge requiring the x-rays to be done at the National Hospital. Marcelo and Kristina left the hospital with Mia. They were frustrated and angry at the lack of cooperation on the part of anyone they had met today. They returned to the forensics clinic and explained that they were refused at the hospital. Literally, the doctor told them “tough luck.”
Think it ends there???
So we contact our lawyer after hearing nothing from the judge’s office. He decided to travel out to the court in Quetzaltenango to see what was happening. He called us later that day. The frustration in his voice couldn’t prepare us for the news that he was going to give. He said that the judge did not believe that the forensics clinic refused them and that the National Hospital wouldn’t see them either. Instead of calling to find out, she said that the only way she would proceed is with a notarized statement from the clinic and the hospital saying they refused to perform the test.
So here we were, I had left Guatemala on May 20th and it was now July 6th. To say Kristina was homesick was somewhat of an understatement. Would she be home any time soon? We were seriously beginning to doubt it.
The Mummau Series
1. Choosing To Adopt
2. Why International? Why Guatemala?
3. The Call From Guatemala
4. The Process Begins
5. A Prelude To Mia
6. How Can You “Choose” A Child – Leaving Others Behind?
7. Peer Into The Heart – Journal Entries
8. Meeting Maria – Finding Mia
9. Leaving Our Daughter…is that…no way!
10. Rivers of Waiting
11. Mistakes, Intentions, and Naivety – How Hope Began To Die
12. Alone in Guatemala and Waiting
13. Time Marches On – Goodbye Mia for Now
14. Joyful Gringos in Quetzaltenango
15. Mia Mia
16. Abuela Comes To The Rescue
17. Doctors, Couriers, and Delays
18. Even So, You Won’t Believe This
19. The Summer of Frustration Ends
20. Fall Approaches with Broken Hearts…Teeth
21. 1600 Miles from Tecpan (pt.1)
22. 1600 Miles from Tecpan (pt.2)
23. Kristina Comes Home
24. Mia’s First Steps
25. December’s Momentum
26. An Angel In The Embassy? I
27. An Angel in the Embassy? II
28. A Christmas to Remember…and Forget
29. Daddy’s 2nd Visit
30. Clash at The Embassy
31. We’re In The PGN! OK Let Us Out!
32. Accomodations
33. The Pencil – Never Give Up
34. Exiting the PGN…sort of
35. Exiting the PGN…yet again
36. Daddy Has Enough
37. The Countdown Begins
38. Easter Brings Hope
39. Sit With Me in San Cristobal
40. T-Minus a few things and counting
41. My New Favorite Color
42. Hope Becomes Reality-The Embassy Interview
43. Mia Mummau Goes Home
More blogs about Guatemala Adoption.
