Holy Shrine Batman!

On Thursday, we enjoyed breakfast again with Magda and then met A's foster dad outside for a totally different adventure, if you will.  As luck would have it, the foster family had decided a while ago to have A evaluated to see if he had ADD/ADHD and the appointment just happened to coincide with our visit that week (can you say 'God at work' ??).  We were very excited to accompany him and get current,relevant information about his health and well-being.

Although A is very healthy physically, we definitely know its good to understand his mental/emotional health as well. This is especially true considering his background- which I won't go into. The main concerns that prompted the appointment were mostly generated by teacher evaluations the family received over the last year. Nothing earth-shattering, but definitely a reason to have him evaluated by a doctor.

In the States, he would have been seen much sooner; but in Poland (as in most of Europe with more socialized medicine), the wait for an appointment can be very long. And this is what many people in our country just do not understand and ultimately, will not be happy with. Physicians see it but the vast majority that call for us to adopt a "European" health care model do not. There is no question we need some sort if change here, but it has to be unique to the US and our lifestyles and expectations and consistent with what we deem appropriate, timely care. Not an easy task and definitely one the medical professionals, rather than the politicians and insurance lobbies should be developing, but alas... So, I will leave that subject behind and continue with our adventure.

We met the foster dad and A outside in their van and climbed on in. I sat in the way back behind A and Case sat beside him, at A's request. Brian sat up front with the dad because there was more legroom, with Magda behind him, next to Case. Immediate observations we made were again all good. For example, A had on appropriate clothing for the day (it was chilly), he was in a car seat appropriate for his age/weight that was in good condition. A greeted us with smiles all around and we set off. During the ride to the hospital in the regional city, the one thing that stood out was the fact A sat still and enjoyed the ride. He didn't fidget or kick his feet or talk endlessly or engage in other behaviors you usually see with a child that has true ADD/ADHD. He was very, very good. We chit-chatted via Magda on the ride which lasted about 40 min.

Our appointment was for 10:00am and we arrived right on schedule. The funniest thing was the way they park there. No painted spots on the street like in the US; they just drive up and park on the sidewalks, which are wide to accommodate this. And omg, the way they fit their cars into the tightest spots is impressive! We walked to the area of the hospital that was mainly doctor's offices and sat down to wait. The boys played quietly,on the iPad taking turns and being very good- again, not something an ADD/ADHD child can do easily.

While we waited the foster dad talked to us through Magda and told us more about why they sought the appointment and showed us the teacher evaluations for A. Tis is kinda bad to say, but when we heard and read the "reasons", we almost laughed. First of all, apparently in Polish schools, they expect kids to sit for at least 45 min for their lessons. They said A could not do that and seemed bored, got up, moved around, or interrupted the teachers. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but from all my experience with the kids in Case's school over the years and his friends, I don't know over many- or any- kindergarteners or first graders who can sit still for that long. I also know that often that signifies a child that is bored and needs to be challenged or taught differently. I mean, by these standards just about every kid in Case's grade level at this age and now would be classified as ADD/ADHD and be on some sort of treatment plan! Including Case, who at age 7 couldn't sit still that long either and he definitely doesn't have ADD. We relayed these thoughts and both Magda and the foster dad agreed completely. So that was encouraging for us and for the foster dad I think, because he thought we would really balk at this diagnosis.

We waited about 1/2hour until we saw the doctors assigned that day begin the arrive. According to Magda, they can show up when they want rather than when they have appointments and all you as a patient cando is wait. Oy. Most come generally on time, but you never know. As others went in for their appointments, we saw that the rooms were fairly small with just a desk and chairs so we made the decision that Brian, Magda, and the foster dad would go in with A and Case and I would wait in the hall. Magda told us not to expect a long appointment because the doctors generally liked to hustle people in and out quickly- both she and the foster dad did not have the greatest things to say about the health care system there and repeatedly said how lucky we are in the US. Gives pause to the things we complain about here for sure.

The hallway holding hospital offices was brightly lit, but plain white and not very well decorated with haphazard pictures chosen that hung every so often. It was clean, but old. The wait areas were wooden benches along the walls of the hallway, and clearly not intended for people to want to hang out there long. Very different than here where we deem comfort an important factor in waiting rooms. Case and I hung out and played games together while we waited. They were in there for about a 1/2 hour and this did concern me a bit. Brian relayed to me later what went on inside.

Ok, these are all a little...off because I wasn't sure I should be photographing them.  Guess I got paranoid from the communist era architecture!  lol

The doors on left are all the small doctor's offices for these visits

Comfy seats...not!

Apparently after they went in, Magda told the female doctor that Brian was a US physician and why he was there etc. Magda laughed when telling me later, but she said the doctor seemed very nervous with Brian there and almost scared. lol! Granted, he is a big guy, but he never comes off imposing at all. But hey, we'll take it if it helps! Nevertheless, this was to our advantage because she went over the reports thoroughly and talked them through it all. She said that based solely in the school reports, the state would probably classify him as having ADD and would recommend therapy to help him focus before medications. This was good because it indicated even they didn't see this as a serious problem. Most importantly though, A sat on Brian's lap through the entire appointment without fussing or fidgeting, another good sign.


We left pretty happy with what we heard and journeyed back to town. We realized that it was already noon and Case and A both needed to eat. We had plans to go back to the house with A after the appointment, but since we had been with him all morning, we decided to get dropped off at the hotel. At that time, we also decided to not have an afternoon visit. Not only did we feel we needed a little break to really assess things (although we were good overall), but we thought A did too. We also did not really want to be there again when the other kids were there because they tended to usurp our time away from A. Magda agreed and relayed the plans to the foster dad. By the time we got back to hotel it was around 1:00 pm and we said out goodbyes. Magda checked out of the hotel and left to run some errands while we got lunch. She then told us she would be coming back because she wanted to take us somewhere cool in the afternoon and she really wanted Case to see it. So we agreed to meet around 3:30 for our second adventure of the day.

The place she took us is called Swięta Lipka, a shrine to St. Mary. It was left undisturbed during and after WWII and is literally in the middle of nowhere. On our ride there, we drive through peaceful forests and passed a beautiful lake and small palace/mansion. As we got closer, we began to see big roadside Stations of the Cross, each probably 200 yards from each other that lead to the shrine itself. I could totally see people making a pilgrimage along this route and wondered at the length and cause for reflection it must bring. What was really cool about Magda making a point to take us there was that a few days earlier, I had shared with her that Mary was very important to me and that I had looked to Mary as a mother, after my own mother passed away. So although it was a really great educational experience for Case, it was also a very spiritual experience for me.

When we arrived, we were blown away! Wow...all we could say was, wow. It was absolutely breathtaking to see! Although it is a popular tourist destination, there was no one else in the parking lot and the gates were open. We had the whole place to ourselves- so cool. my descriptions truly cannot do it justice so here are some pictures:

This little (big) guy was sitting on a car waiting for us when we arrived!

Swieta Lipka- front

Front gates

The artistry and intricacy was amazing!

These statues lined the side walls on either side of the gates- they are figures that represent Jesus' bloodline/family from Abraham to Joseph.  Powerful!

Frescoes just inside the gates

Main entrance to church.  A church has stood her for centuries on this very site, where miracles were attributed. It started with an image of Mary carved in a lime tree.

Oh my....The main altar

The depiction of the infamous lime tree

Elevated pulpit

Bad picture, but I was trying to capture the image cast in silver and gold behind the altar without a flash.

Frescoes overhead

The organ- no words...

Pure beauty

Exterior shot of statues and porticoes where frescoes are from steps of Shrine

History of the Shrine- English on left

Bronze statue honoring Blessed JP II to left of Shrine

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We got back to the hotel around 5:00 and said our goodbyes to Magda (and paid her the next installment for the adoption- man was that burning a hole in my purse!). We then decided to go back on our own to the little eclectic restaurant we had tried before. It was raining but we braved the elements and walked there, which felt great. We had an awesome meal and I was very proud of all of us that we were able to order and even customize what we wanted in Polish! We had come a long way, baby!

We headed back to get some rest, pack a bit, and get ourselves together since the next morning would be our final visit with A.....and when we let him know we were adopting him.