Whew! Slightly exhausted and certainly too much so to do much other than to post a few pictures of my day, rocking, holding, cuddling, whispering, singing, encouraging the wee ones who suffer from varying degrees of disability …. Delia who is without full limbs is the oldest at just over a year and a most charming little lady, Marion, (a boy) who is around six months old and is the smallest of them all .. a premature birth, resembles a little old man in features and a featherweight to hold, five month old Emanuela has just had a shunt of sorts put in to drain fluid from around her brain and is possibly a paraplegic as she also has endured spinal surgery recently, and the youngest is Ion at somewhere between two and three months, appears only mildly neurologically affected …. Not as emotionally drained as I thought I would be …. To say it feels good to help these munchkins is an understatement …. It is that and more, but too tired to articulate further. After a delicious lunch of ruccola salad at a nearby restaurant, Mihaela’s daughter joined us for the afternoon and was a big help, reading to Delia, who loves her books! Schools are closed for two days due to Romanian Labor Day weekend where most head to the countryside for a break. Off for an early dinner and bed …… Buna seara

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Great day overall enjoying unseasonably warm weather in Romania …. High twenties … Do not think I will need a polar fleece here, unlike Calgary in April! I have posted some pictures taken this morning around my hotel … views from my balcony as well. Mihaela and her charming 8 year old daughter, Delia, picked me up from the Occident late morning … We enjoyed an ice frappachino at a great Italian spot in town, cooling off before tootling around town, Mihaela pointing out local spots including the hospital where I will be working. Mentally I was not quite prepared to meet the babies and was not aware I would be, but meet them I did, albeit briefly, as well as the nurses I will be working alongside with Mihaela and Dan. They are all abandoned babies with varying disabilities … The mothers, too often young girls, some as young as twelve, with no where to turn for help with a pregnancy, never mind a new life to deal with. Sadly, poverty as always, is a mitigating factor with this situation in Romania, as it indeed can be anywhere. Little Delia (not Mihaela’s daughter) has only one leg and no other limbs … She has been with them since birth and is now exactly one year and one month!! I have no idea how this will pan out with me emotionally but I rarely walk away from a challenge, particularly when children are involved …. I think I am still reeling somewhat as I have never really spent time around babies with no mommies or daddies to love them ….. Must harness this sadness somehow and turn it into a positive experience for the wee ones ….. Mihaela joined me for quick dinner and we opted to call it an early night …. Tomorrow ….. A new day begins.