Our African Princess

Our little Tihun just had her second visit to the hospital. This time for just an outpatient procedure (colonoscopy), but the hospital nonetheless. This 3 year old has been through a lot of medical ordeals since arriving in the U.S., none of which she would have endured in Ethiopia. On one hand, this is a blessing. Coming to the States has possibly saved her life because she wouldn't have had access to such great medical care in Ethiopia. So we are thankful. But it is also overwhelming to watch your little girl be poked and prodded on such a regular basis. We are sad for her.

Another convoluted situation is her response to all of this invasive care. She has no fear. The first time she was immunized, she calmly handed her arm to the nurses and blankly watched as they repeatedly pricked her. She endured multiple (seemingly painful) attempts at drawing her blood without a flinch. Meanwhile, Solomon needed a whole team of medical professionals to hold him down. The doctor was worried about me when he freaked out so bad on his first visit, but I was fine. That is the normal response of a child being held down and hurt. But when Tihun complied without any acknowledgment of the pain, I starting weeping. That is not normal--it should upset her at least a little.

There are also positives to this, of course. We are constantly in awe of how strong this child is. I never get any resistance to the things we have to do for her health...nebulizer treatments, stool samples, ANOTHER trip to a doctor... She had to fast for her colonoscopy and drink a LOT of laxative in a short period of time. No complaints. No whining at the incessant bowel movements. Can anyone name a 3 year old that would respond in a like manner?? Unbelievable. To top it off, when it came time for the enema (I know, too much information), she listened to the explanation of what was about to happen and immediately complied. And what followed was one of my favorite moments with Tihun (seriously, after an enema?)! We laughed. We giggled and laughed so hard that we were crying--all while she was sitting on the toilet losing every bit of substance in her body. But we laughed.

Sorry for the graphic image, but I can't help sharing how amazing this little human being is. And this description of her medical self is true of her personality in general. She takes everything in stride. Nothing phases this girl. She has been exposed to innumerable new things, and she experiences them as though she has seen them before. She is so confident and eager. I have to be honest that when I pictured adopting a 3 year old, I imagined one response: panic. We have a child who was removed from everything she knows (except her younger brother, which is a significant continuity), and plopped into a new family and environment and culture. Surely this child is going to panic, and panic often! But, no. Tihun has shocked us with her laid-back, confident, trusting personality. Who is this little person? I think I will spend my whole life trying to answer that question.

Watching Tihun navigate through all of these issues makes us reflective about her past. What has this little girl been through? What kind of pain has she endured? How much love and joy must she have experienced to possess such confidence now? She had over 3 years of life that we know nothing about. It is mind-boggling to not know every detail about your child's life.

Yet again, the other side of the coin--we are thankful for her life before we knew her. It shaped her into an amazing child. It formed beautiful qualities in her that we would have never been able to create. God has shaped and is shaping Tihun into an inspiring person, and we will never foolishly take credit for that. We will just give thanks.


* In the event that you think our Tihun is perfect, let me reassure that she is not. (She threw a tantrum just after I wrote this post.) I am just highlighting some wonderful things about her and choosing to leave out some of the not-so-wonderful ones. :)