The day after we went to Branistea in search of Dumitra’s original birth certificate, Nic took us to yet another government office in Galati. As luck would have it, it was closed for the day. My faith was wavering and I was beginning to wonder if this nightmare would ever be over. As we were waiting for Nic to come back from the closed government office, we had found a nice place to sit and enjoy a brief moment of sunshine. These moments had been few and far between from the day we landed in Romania. I tried to find something positive in that day, and soon witnessed a beautiful bride and groom who had just gotten married at a nearby church. They came outside to cheers from happy family and friends, got in a fancy European sports car and drove away. The car was nicer than any we had seen, and I envisioned them beginning a new life together with hope, happiness and light in their new lives together. Since it was obvious they had money, I hoped their lives would be free from the worries and depravation the majority of the country was experiencing.

Shortly after we got Errin, we immediately noticed piles and piles of garbage everywhere! The piles were so big they had become mountains of waste. We took Errin’s dirty disposable diapers outside each time we changed her so the apartment would not smell. I began watching from the window. As soon as my dad dropped the dirty diaper on the pile and walked away, women would swoop in and gather it up, along with other things and carry them away. I wondered what on earth they were doing with them. On one of our outings to gather more documents, I saw a clothes line with disposable diapers hanging on it. These women were trying to wash the dirty diapers, which made them weigh about 40 pounds because the material inside the diapers immediately turned to a heavy gel as soon as it got wet. These diapers hung outside until they were dry, which took forever due to the humidity and constant rain. It broke my heart to see this type of desperation, and made me grateful for the blessings in my life. We asked why there was so much garbage everywhere, and were told the sanitation department had been on strike for more than a month. It was still going on when we left.

One day Nic and Rodika came to get us to take us out to dinner. We drove in the car, and parked near the edge of the Danube. The restaurant was a large half sunken boat, semi floating in the river. It was supposed to be really nice! Nic ordered our food for us, and the first course was pig tongue soup. My first bite told me there was no way it would stay down, so as soon as my dad finished his, I traded him bowls. He wasn’t very happy with me. Then our main course arrived. It was some kind of pork, that didn’t look too bad. The hard part was trying to eat it with the dirty dry encrusted food from previous diners on my fork. I looked around at everyone else’s mismatched silverware, and theirs were all just as bad. Not wanting to offend Nic and Rodika, I did my best to wipe it off on my napkin, and then try to eat my meal without letting the fork touch any part of my mouth. They probably thought I had never been taught to eat using good manners. Luckily we weren’t far from our apartment, because I lost everything I had eaten as soon as I got back and they had left for the night. I began to wonder why I couldn’t keep anything down long enough to do me any good.

After I returned home, I began researching the toxic food in Romania. I learned all about acid rain and the polluted air and soil in these eastern-block countries. Because they had no rules or regulations on their industries, all the bad stuff went up into the air, then came back down as rain contaminating the soil, which in turn contaminated the crops and animals. When humans ate the crops and animals, they too became sick. I read in a National Geographic magazine that if these countries closed their factories and stopped the contamination, it would take 200 years for the soil to be safe enough for consumption again. Especially in Russia and all the countries downwind from Chernobyl. I studied this even more after Errin’s growth hormone issues were diagnosed when she was three years old. Her pediatric endocrinologist suspected her non-functioning pituitary gland was the product of the perfect storm in her in-utero development. She was small for gestational weight due to her birth mother’s poor nutrition, her birth mother would have been genetically affected from being downwind from Chernobyl, and the nickel plant that dumped their tailings into the Danube River for all the people downstream to ingest into their systems. Everything they breathed, ate, and drank was toxic. Many of the people who helped us while we were in Romania have since passed away from some type of cancer, our beloved friend Nic was one of them. I can’t help but wonder if they would have had availability to “clean” food if they would still be here today?

We ate a lot of pork while we were there. One morning we woke up to a strong offensive smell in the apartment. Manole had acquired a pig the night before. He killed it, brought it back to the apartment, and cut it up into smaller more manageable pieces. Lucci spent the night boiling it down on their tiny gas stove top to remove the hair, and prepare it to be cured somehow. She came in with all the choicest organs on a platter for us to be the first to choose, one of these was the curly tail. I’m pretty sure we offended her when we declined as politely as possible. I could hardly wait to get things finished up in Galati, and get back to Bucharest to finish up there and get home.

As we waited the required time for any of the adoptive parties to change their minds, it was difficult to sit and do nothing but wait and listen to the cold dreary rain. I wanted some kind of souvenirs to bring back home. Elena didn’t know why I was still so sick, but was so kind to try and help me in any way she could.

She went out and bought three beautifully embroidered Romanian blouses, two small Romanian dolls dressed in authentic clothing, a wooden flute, a hand painted egg, and a small hand carved wooden box.

I was so grateful, and felt so bad that I had not been able to join her on the shopping spree. There was one more thing that I really wanted, and that was a beautiful fur hat. Like the ones you see in the movies.

We asked her about them, and she directed us to a small shop that happened to be right across the street from our apartment in Galati. One day when I felt well enough to venture out, Lucci offered to watch Errin while my dad and I went to the fur shop. It was the middle of the day, but the shop was dark. There were no lights on, and it felt creepy to be there. The sales woman did not acknowledge us and offered no help. There were beautiful full-length fur coats in antique wood and glass cases. I knew there would be no way to get one of those home as much as I wanted one. We finally found three hats to choose from. We had to ask her to open the case, which she slowly and reluctantly did. If she spoke any English, she didn’t offer that option. Val told us later that Communism made people lazy. Every shop was owned by the government. The employees got paid whether they sold anything or not, so there was no reason for them to go out of their way to make any sales or be helpful in any way. I tried on the three hats, and we bought the only one that sort of fit my “Little Slugger” sized head. It was a beautiful creamy fur, and I’m still not sure what animal it came from. Even though it was the smallest one we could find, it’s still a bit large on me and it’s itchy inside, so I don’t wear it.

As I remember it was around $80, which we paid for in Romanian Lei paper money. The sales lady was glad to be rid of us and we walked back across the street. That was the one and only time I did any shopping. I have often wondered how my experience would have been different had I not been so sick?

One day before the required three week waiting period was up, Val came and said he had found another child, and asked if we would be interested? I was confused because it was well past the Romanian government adoption shut-down, and I asked him how that would be legally possible. He told me we would have to do it under-the-table. He knew we had American paperwork to adopt two children. I asked him what would happen if we got caught. He was honest and told me we would all go to a Romanian prison. As much as I wanted to help another child, I had the worst feeling inside. I knew if I did this, something bad would happen. Val told us, the child was a baby boy, and his Gypsy mother was requiring not only the cash money, but also a solid gold watch. The only watch I had was a cheap Guess watch with a green leather band. I offered that, as well as my wedding ring, and my dad’s wedding ring. Val wanted to know why I was so hesitant. I told him other than the fact that I didn’t want to die in a Romanian prison, that there was something I needed to tell him. The time had come to let him know the reason that I was so sick was because I was pregnant. At first he was confused, and he looked at my dad as if he wanted to kill him! He then asked, who is the father?!!!! I hurriedly told him Ron was the father and I had only found out two weeks before I had come to Romania. I told him I hadn’t said anything because I didn’t want it to jeopardize getting Errin in any way. I also told him, I didn’t know how I would take care of three infants all under a year of age and a five year old, but that if there were any way for me to get this baby boy without the risk of going to prison or having Errin taken away that I would do it.

When Val learned why I had been so sick, he told me he was worried that he would be sending me home in a box if they didn’t get me out of there as soon as possible. He did go back to the mother of the baby boy and offer what little jewelry we had, and she refused the offer telling him it was the money and a solid gold watch or nothing. As bad as I felt about that baby boy not getting adopted, I felt relieved that my secret was finally out, and that Val would do all he could to expedite things to get me home. I told Val that I would come back if things opened up again, and get that little boy if I could.

The next day he came to the apartment, and told us to pack that we would be leaving on the first train back to Bucharest the next day. I asked him about the remainder of the three week waiting period and he told me not to worry about it, he had already taken care of it. I knew that meant, “Just don’t ask, the least you know, the better off you will be.” I’m sure it meant some type of bribe to some high court official, but that is something I will never know. The next morning, Nic came and took us to the train station. Nic helped my dad get our bags onto the train. Thankfully all the “bribe boxes” were left in Galati to be used however they would do the most good. I had Errin in a front pack on me, and was so weak I was not able to carry anything else. With tears in our eyes, we somehow knew we would never see each other again in this earth life. We hugged Nic and thanked him for all he had done for us, as tears dripped off all three of our faces. I didn’t have the strength to climb onto the train, and my dad had his hands full of bags. I was so desperate to leave, I literally got on my hands and knees and crawled up into the train. Thankfully our private cabin was right at the front just like the one we had when we came to Galati from Bucharest just a little over two weeks earlier. It felt more like an eternity had gone by as I watched Nic and Galati disappear from view. I wasn’t sure what we faced in Bucharest, but we had come this far, and I hoped and prayed the last part would go by quickly.

Looking back I still marvel at the LIGHT that illuminated from those wonderful angels who ministered to us in Galati - Elena, Nic, Rodika, Manole, Lucci, Antoni, Dumitra and her family. Without them, and the many angels on the other side of the veil, we would not have been able to accomplish this impossible task. This child was always meant to be ours! The story continues as we returned back to Bucharest, and the miracles just kept coming.

If life is dark, the light is there, keep searching, don’t give up, He will send angels to attend you.

Love Ya, Les

Family

Chapter Ten : Another Adoption Opportunity Comes Along