Travel, continued
Sorry, blogger is giving me fits about putting pictures in.
Long story shorter... we flew to Cagayan de Oro City, about an hour and a half flight. A lady named Leah met us at the airport, with a taxi to take us to the ferry. Leah is a nurse who works for Diane. She was super sweet and told us stories about James. I was so glad she was there to help us. We drove about 2 or 2 and a half hours to the ferry port. It should have been an hour and a half, but it's an election year, so the incumbent party is doing road work to win votes. Also, the dividing line on the road is more of a suggestion. With regular vehicles, motorcycles, jeepneys, the motorcycle cab things, and logging trucks all sharing the road, the faster vehicles just go around the slower ones, sometimes in a very small stretch of road. It's very nerve wracking! The road is lined with houses and shops that are nothing more than shacks. People tether their cows and pigs and goats along the road too. So much poverty everywhere.
We made it to the ferry alive, but we had to wait a little while for the next one to leave. Again, a small, hot, stuffy, crowded room. The ferry ride was nice though, very beautiful scenery. That took another hour and a half. When we reached Camiguin two men from the FH were waiting for us with a truck. Jason and I rode in the cab with Jesse (I think he's like the handyman), while Leah and Loloy (the night watchman) rode in the back with our luggage. There is one main road that goes around the island, right along the shore. It was also very beautiful, but just as much poverty. The next thing I knew we were turning down this dirt/mud road. At the end was the FH. James and Diane were waiting for us out in the yard. They said he had been very excited all day. (It was about 3pm when we arrived.) He waved hi to us but that was about it. We went in the house and Diane had him get us glasses of water. Then he showed us the pictures we had sent of us and then he went and played. We talked with Diane and got settled in our room. Later on he came in and hung out with us, exploring the room and showing us things. He and Jason played catch out in the yard. He did not seem interested in me at all. If I would come near him he would walk away. But he took to Jason pretty quickly.
My first impressions of James: he is very happy, almost always smiling or giggling. He makes the best faces. He's like a little cartoon character! And speaking of cartoons, he watches entirely too much tv. The only time he really fussed was when they would turn the tv off. And then he would tantrum pretty good. But he is easy to redirect. His attention span isn't very long, unless he is watching tv. And that concerns me a bit. But he likes to help, and wants everything in its place. He doesn't have as much language as the report made it out to be. And Diane didn't sign to him a whole lot, she just talked to him as if he could hear her. No one really expected anything from him, and they weren't consistent with him - telling him not to do something or that he couldn't have something, then turning around and letting him do/have it. He never had to say please or thank you for things. They let him hit them and bite them and never told him to stop. He grabs whatever he wants. He was allowed to eat two bites and then leave the table, and then have cookies or ice cream. He doesn't color or draw like a child his age should, just makes little marks on the paper. That also concerns me. He doesn't turn his head, but his whole body. But he is very active and can run and throw and he tries to catch. He loves to be tickled and wrestled around. He babbles a lot, mostly he makes an mmm sound or says mam. I think he can definitely learn speech with some therapy, and definitely with some hearing aids or CIs.
He still naps and they had him sleeping in a crib, mostly to keep him contained and to keep the mosquito net on him easier. He's very easy-going, and rarely fusses. He plays with toys appropriately, and loves cars. All in all, I think he's going to do very well. I have a lot to work on with him, and he will probably need some OT, and speech. He's delayed in some areas, but I think he will be able to catch up in time.
Long story shorter... we flew to Cagayan de Oro City, about an hour and a half flight. A lady named Leah met us at the airport, with a taxi to take us to the ferry. Leah is a nurse who works for Diane. She was super sweet and told us stories about James. I was so glad she was there to help us. We drove about 2 or 2 and a half hours to the ferry port. It should have been an hour and a half, but it's an election year, so the incumbent party is doing road work to win votes. Also, the dividing line on the road is more of a suggestion. With regular vehicles, motorcycles, jeepneys, the motorcycle cab things, and logging trucks all sharing the road, the faster vehicles just go around the slower ones, sometimes in a very small stretch of road. It's very nerve wracking! The road is lined with houses and shops that are nothing more than shacks. People tether their cows and pigs and goats along the road too. So much poverty everywhere.
We made it to the ferry alive, but we had to wait a little while for the next one to leave. Again, a small, hot, stuffy, crowded room. The ferry ride was nice though, very beautiful scenery. That took another hour and a half. When we reached Camiguin two men from the FH were waiting for us with a truck. Jason and I rode in the cab with Jesse (I think he's like the handyman), while Leah and Loloy (the night watchman) rode in the back with our luggage. There is one main road that goes around the island, right along the shore. It was also very beautiful, but just as much poverty. The next thing I knew we were turning down this dirt/mud road. At the end was the FH. James and Diane were waiting for us out in the yard. They said he had been very excited all day. (It was about 3pm when we arrived.) He waved hi to us but that was about it. We went in the house and Diane had him get us glasses of water. Then he showed us the pictures we had sent of us and then he went and played. We talked with Diane and got settled in our room. Later on he came in and hung out with us, exploring the room and showing us things. He and Jason played catch out in the yard. He did not seem interested in me at all. If I would come near him he would walk away. But he took to Jason pretty quickly.
My first impressions of James: he is very happy, almost always smiling or giggling. He makes the best faces. He's like a little cartoon character! And speaking of cartoons, he watches entirely too much tv. The only time he really fussed was when they would turn the tv off. And then he would tantrum pretty good. But he is easy to redirect. His attention span isn't very long, unless he is watching tv. And that concerns me a bit. But he likes to help, and wants everything in its place. He doesn't have as much language as the report made it out to be. And Diane didn't sign to him a whole lot, she just talked to him as if he could hear her. No one really expected anything from him, and they weren't consistent with him - telling him not to do something or that he couldn't have something, then turning around and letting him do/have it. He never had to say please or thank you for things. They let him hit them and bite them and never told him to stop. He grabs whatever he wants. He was allowed to eat two bites and then leave the table, and then have cookies or ice cream. He doesn't color or draw like a child his age should, just makes little marks on the paper. That also concerns me. He doesn't turn his head, but his whole body. But he is very active and can run and throw and he tries to catch. He loves to be tickled and wrestled around. He babbles a lot, mostly he makes an mmm sound or says mam. I think he can definitely learn speech with some therapy, and definitely with some hearing aids or CIs.
He still naps and they had him sleeping in a crib, mostly to keep him contained and to keep the mosquito net on him easier. He's very easy-going, and rarely fusses. He plays with toys appropriately, and loves cars. All in all, I think he's going to do very well. I have a lot to work on with him, and he will probably need some OT, and speech. He's delayed in some areas, but I think he will be able to catch up in time.
Comments
Post a Comment