kidneys, cold jelly, and paper work.

kidneys...

so my legs have been retaining liquid (edema, I believe it's called). I'm one of those "if it doesn't hurt I don't go to the Dr." kind of guys, but my brother who is a nurse talked me into it. One check up led to another...and another. First checkups said my blood pressure was high (130/88) and my kidneys were enlarged (found in a sonogram.) Also, my cholesterol is 222 and my triglyceride level is 270 (both high). Plus the fact that I'm about 40 lb. over my "ideal" weight...anyways the Doctor thought it was kidney stones (wasn't, as revealed by the sonogram), so she referred me to a kidney-ologist in Santiago.

Well you may or may not know...I *love* going to the Doctor's office. In my opinion, it's about as fun as cavities, paying taxes, and shopping for insurance. Nonetheless off we went for a fun-filled day at Union Medico in Santiago. We waited...and waited...and waited some more. All the while without eating, mind you, as I was going to get lab work done. The Doctor wanted further lab tests done (about 20 things in blood/urine).

Thankfully, this visit revealed several things: #1, my blood pressure is perfectly normal (120/80)

cold jelly...

after the lab work, we went to the sonografista's office. One thing I really, truly love (no sarcasm here...really) about this country is the price of medical care. A sonogram (ultrasound) is about 15 bucks. but, the jelly they put on your belly, is cold! I've been in many a time (7) for Julie to get ultrasounds of Lara, but never experienced it myself...so this week I had the honor of receiving two! Turns out, my kidneys are not enlarged as the jarabacoa doctor says...he's just comparing them to the average Dominican (who is, admittedly, much smaller than I).

paper work...

above all, I love bureaucracy, paper work, and waiting. I got my share of this preparing Lara's paper work. One would think having a child overseas would be easy. well, *having* the child is easy but making her an American is a bit more difficult. copy this, don't sign this (or this) yet., get the in extensa this, report all times out of country. prove you were in country, prove you are the father, prove you are the husband. et cetera, et cetera.

well, I dotted my i's and crossed my t's (twice) and, lo/behold, I did it right! (yay!) Lara'a paperwork was accepted, and we have an interview on September 28 to get her officially "American-made."

Keep that in prayer. In other news, Julie's paper work is trudging forward. We received some good news today, she only needs a police certificate from one place rather than three. other good news, she really isn't a criminal! her paperwork came back clean. :)

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