China Adoption Photo Essay, by Donna Scholl Photography

Journeys of the Heart: A Chinese Adoption Journal
Part Three

Before leaving the country, the adopted babies are each given one last medical examination. Back in Guangzhou, strollers clog the waiting room at a clinic near embassy row. At the White Swan Hotel, a 5-star hotel catering to the diplomatic corps, Pampers and Pedia-lite are on sale in the lobby, and the hotel staff is quick to provide a crib or bottle warmer along with room service.

Fourteen-month old Kiana Elizabeth, daughter of Tony & Laureen Busch of Batavia, IL, doesn't enjoy being probed by the pediatrician, and she lets him know it with the full force of her lungs! Most adopted children have been treated with loving care at their orphanages or foster homes. Medical problems, when they do occur, tend to be related to matters of poverty rather than neglect. Substituting rice mixture for more costly infant formula, for example, may not provide enough nutrients for a baby's developing immune system, leaving the infant more susceptible to colds or other minor ailments. In this group, sniffles and skin rashes seemed to be the most serious complaint.

After over-the-counter ointments failed to relieve Ji Xiao Tao's skin rash, doctors in Guangzhou recommended plunging her in an antiseptic bath. Her official baptism, as Zoe Xiao Pfohman, would take place two months later in Portland, OR, surrounded by friends and family members, including parents Susan & Bob, sisters Emma, Murphy, Shannon, Robin, and Maret, and brothers Michael and Rob.

All photos by Donna M. Scholl © 1997
Continued on page 4>

	Before leaving the country, the adopted babies are each given one last medical examination. Back in Guangzhou, strollers clog the waiting room at a clinic near embassy row. At the White Swan Hotel, a 5-star hotel catering to the diplomatic corps, Pampers and Pedia-lite are on sale in the lobby, and the hotel staff is quick to provide a crib or bottle warmer along with room service.
	Fourteen-month old Kiana Elizabeth, daughter of Tony & Laureen Busch of Batavia, IL, doesn't enjoy being probed by the pediatrician, and she lets him know it with the full force of her lungs! Most adopted children have been treated with loving care at their orphanages or foster homes. Medical problems, when they do occur, tend to be related to matters of poverty rather than neglect. Substituting rice mixture for more costly infant formula, for example, may not provide enough nutrients for a baby's developing immune system, leaving the infant more susceptible to colds or other minor ailments. In this group, sniffles and skin rashes seemed to be the most serious complaint.
	After over-the-counter ointments failed to relieve Ji Xiao Tao's skin rash, doctors in Guangzhou recommended plunging her in an antiseptic bath. Her official baptism, as Zoe Xiao Pfohman, would take place two months later in Portland, OR, surrounded by friends and family members, including parents Susan & Bob, sisters Emma, Murphy, Shannon, Robin, and Maret, and brothers Michael and Rob.