When I first saw the pictures of the boys during the early stages of the adoption process, I fell in love with them instantly. They all looked like they needed an opportunity to thrive and learn. It was a very long process to get them here and I was discouraged many times along the way. I couldn't believe that the time had finally come when I received the call from my agency to go and pick them up in Senegal (where the US Embassy was located).
They were tired, sick, and hungry when they arrived in Senegal and more than a little scared. It took them a while to warm up to me, except for Musa who was excited to be in a hotel room with electricity and more food than he had probably seen in his life before.
When we returned to the US after a horrific flight home on South African Airways, and a traumatic airport process to get out of Senegal, we discovered that Sorie had a bad ear infection. We also discovered that Musa had passive tuberculosis, and that Ibrahim had active tuberculosis that would have eventually killed him. The fantastic Dr. Klassen who was the pediatrician at the clinic at the time, helped our family through all of this.
The boys started improving health wise within 5 months of landing in California. Musa attended school and made lots of friends. He also played in a local soccer league and loved it. They were all jabbering away mostly in English within 6 months. Their hair and fingernails began to grow rapidly and their swollen tummies decreased steadily. They grew accustomed to a variety of foods and loved playing at the park and with their toys. They enjoyed the pets and loved going most anywhere in the car.
Nowadays, they are healthy, and reasonably well-adjusted (teens and pre-teens!) and enjoy living in our community and are involved with church, school activities and sports.
My friend Kathy flew up from Arizona to meet me in San Francisco and came with me to Senegal to pick the boys up. She enjoys travelling and adventure and I was offering both! She later relocated to Australia for a consulting contract and so it was a joyful reunion 8 years later to the day in Sydney, Australia when she met up with us again.
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| May 2003 in Sierra Leone |
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| August 2003 with Kathy |
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| Kathy and boys 2011 |
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