Journey to China

This blog documents the Spitlers' progress towards the adoption of Xia Ping He (Noah Spitler) from the PR China. It also documents Noah's medical process in pursuit of a total repair to his CHD (congenital heart defect).

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Noah Pinghe the American

We are in Chicago!

The flight from Hong Kong went well. Our seats worked out well- the gate
agent swapped them around so we had 2 and 3 together.

Noah enjoyed his first flight; made a few remarks about us flying and
seeing clouds; then closed the window shade and went back to his Nintendo.

After our first meal, Robin took the seat beside Noah's and I sat with the
girls. Robin said Noah slept well, but did a lot of kicking and squirming,
so I don't think Robin got much rest on the plane.

We got to Chicago O'Hare early and were surprised to find extra security
there to meet us. We later learned that Hong Kong had identified a man with
a fake passport on our flight. Regardless, customs took us a little longer
than normal; and when it was over, Noah was an American! Very
anti-climactic (again)- no cameras or phones allowed in customs- so just a
few "yeahs!" and that was it.

We grabbed some good 'ole American food (McDonald's) and now we're waiting
for our flight to Atlanta (at 8pm EDT). The kids are playing card games and
visiting with the Wells (another adopting family from Augusta-we've been on
parallel tracks).

I got some decent sleep on the plane (4-5 hrs), but am at a low point right
now. We'll see how tired (or awake) I am when we reach Atlanta. It'll be
10am for us at that point. Hotel or drive on home- we'll see.

I've ended almost each posting with a thanks for your prayers, and that's
still the case here. Please also join us in praying for a lady (Lily) we
met on the plane from Hong Kong. Just as we were landing in Chicago, she
started telling me about her life and recent events. She has lived in
America for 30+ yrs and has 2 sons in Hong Kong. She had planned to visit
them in HK for 1 month, but had to extend that to 3 months, as 1 son
discovered he had a form of urinary cancer. As that visit was wrapping up,
she got a call (yesterday) that her husband (back in Chicago) had just had
a massive heart attack and was in the university hospital. So- she rushed
home and was headed to the hospital. She also told me she was a Christian
and that only by her Faith was she able to handle all of this. So- as your
time allows, please add Lily, her husband, and her son to your prayers.

It will take us about a week to get our "clocks" back to Statesboro time.
We hope to see (or speak to) each of you as soon as Noah can handle all of
the changes. Please be patient as we assess his transition and
sleeping/eating cycles. We have his first appointment with the pediatrician
on Thursday and first cardiologist appt the following week.

Thanks again for following and praying-

Adam

2 Comments:

Blogger Jennifer said...

Congratulations and welcome back to the good ole USA! I am glad you all are back and hope the final leg of your journey is smooth. I know you will be so happy to finally have Noah home. I have enjoyed following your trip and I hope we can meet soon.

Welcome Home Noah Spitler. You are an answer to prayer!

Blessings,
Jennifer

July 31, 2010 at 7:28 PM  
Blogger Paula Plating said...

Wow Spitlers! What an adventure you have had! It's great to see the picture of Noah smiling (in his life jacket) and to hear that your travels (so far) have gone smoothly. We know you will be relieved to have Noah home, safe and sound. We will pray for your and his transition and Dr.s appointments. We think you guys are pretty cool. :) Love, John and Paula Plating

July 31, 2010 at 11:06 PM  

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