Vietnam it is...

Once we decided to explore adoption we made plans to attend an informal information session at the local office of Dillon International. After chatting with the social worker in charge of the Little Rock area we knew that we would soon have to decide if international adoption felt like the right direction for us, and, if so, which country we wanted to pursue.

International Adoption is the perfect choice. Dillon International will be our agency.

As for the country, we choose Vietnam.

After an all day session on Saturday it is clear that Vietnam is the best option for us. I'm not sure that I could be more excited. Everything about this feels completely right.

So, why Vietnam?

Our available options were China, Haiti, India and Vietnam. FYI: Korea is only accepting applications for children with special needs, and the Guatemala program is temporarily on hold. I'm too young to adopt from China. They require that applicants are a minimum of 30. I'm 29, so China is off the table. Haiti is currently involved in a civil war. Travel to the area is unsafe. Ken and I have no interest in being around a civil war, so Haiti is off the table too. India held some initial interest, at least for me, but most of the children have special needs. In addition, Indian children must be rejected by three Indian families before they become available for international adoption. That makes us uncomfortable. India is also off the table. We meet all of the requirements for the Vietnam program, and it meets our requirements too. It is likely that we will be able to adopt an infant, and we may be able to bring someone home in 9-16 months.

A bit of background info...

So, even though we moved to Little Rock so that we could do the things at UAMS and try to have a baby of our own, some things have happened that have changed our minds. A very dear friend from my office was pregnant with twins. A few weeks ago she had a seizue and massive stroke. She went into cardiac arrest, they had to shock her to bring her back, and then did an emergency c-section to try to save both her and the twins. The babies are fine, though about 3 months early, and she is doing alright, though her brain is swelling and her blood pressure won't go down. Fair to say she isn't out of the woods just yet. This was a bit of a sobering thing from my perspective. She is young, and prior to this, perfectly healthy, and bad things still happened. I realise that doesn't mean that anything would happen with me, but I now think I understand why nobody has gone to UAMS before they were pregnant to sign up for all of the shots, and hospital visits, and risks. Sure, if there was a surprise pregnancy it would be alot easier for someone to deal with all of that, but I now see that deciding to put myself at risk because I want to, not because I have to, isn't the best decision.

To that end, we have decided to persue the adoption route.