The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane(44)
On the last day of our journey, we begin to encounter other travelers. I can’t identify the dress or language of the tribal people; and I really don’t understand the language or ways of the native Thai. At one point, San-pa, who’s walked ahead of me the entire way, abruptly stops. He’s always been a good hunter and he cocks his head, listening intently to the jungle sounds. When he sniffs the air, I’m instantly petrified. Has he caught the scent of a tiger? He turns to me, his eyes sharp, his jaw tight.
“Run!”
I bound off the path and up a steep slope. San-pa catches me, pulls me up the hill with him, and yanks me down to hide in the undergrowth. I try to swallow my panting breaths, knowing that tigers are the greatest hunters of all with their sensitive ears. But no tiger would make this much noise stalking through the jungle. Soon a group of men, talking in subdued voices, tramp down the path. Next to me, San-pa crouches, one hand pressing down on my shoulder, keeping me hidden, the other holding his knife, blade out, ready to defend me. The men cannot be hill people or they would have noticed our fresh footprints. Only when the sounds from the caravan subside does San-pa loosen his grip on me. As he does, my body rises just a little—released—and I peer down the trail to see the last of a chain of men dressed in military fatigues, some carrying baskets on their shoulders, others swinging machine guns from left to right.
“I know them,” my husband whispers, his voice rough. “You are not allowed to go anywhere near those people. You understand?”
Roger Siegel, M.D.
Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA August 5, 1996
Sheldon Katz, M.D.
800 Fairmount Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91105
RE: HALEY DAVIS
Dear Sheldon, Thank you again for referring the above named patient, estimated DOB 11/24/95. Records indicate that she has now been my patient since 4/20/96. To review: Family medical history is limited, as we have no prenatal or delivery information from the birth mother. The adoptive parents, Constance and Dan Davis, went through IVF and IUI, with no success. Father is an arborist, whose clients include Caltech, the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, as well as estates around Southern California. Mother is a professor of biology at Caltech. They reside at 2424 Hummingbird Lane in Pasadena. Parents chose adoption from China to minimize the risk of birth parents showing up and asking for their daughter back. Parents were told there were two hundred couples ahead of them on the China waiting list.
Parents took classes on adoption procedures and potential pitfalls. They gathered letters of reference, composed a personal essay, provided financial details and proof of employment. Parents were examined by their personal physicians, fingerprinted, and met with a county social worker on three occasions, where they detailed physical and mental health problems, thoughts about children, and their relationships to their respective parents (living and deceased), as well as past lovers. They chose Bright Beginnings as their adoption agency. They were told the patient would cost approximately $20,000, including travel expenses.
Parents received paperwork listing the baby as four months old. The adoption agency told Mother, “You get what China feels like giving you. There is no negotiating. No second chances. This one or none.” My initial examination on 4/20/96 suggested that patient was considerably younger than her reported age, as she weighed just ten pounds. As you know, patient presented as extremely malnourished and sick. She could not hold up her head or roll over by herself.
Parents were part of a group of six couples to pick up babies in Kunming, China. Parents came prepared with diapers, baby food and formula, energy bars, toys, clothing, and graham crackers. They were told to bring $5,000 in crisp $100 bills, of which $3,000 was given to the orphanage director as a cash donation. The babies were brought to a hotel and handed out “seemingly randomly.” Mother states she is unsure if she got “the right one.” Father describes all the babies as being filthy. Many had lice. (Patient did not.) Parents were instructed not to wash patient or clothes she came in, because familiar smells would be helpful for transition. This no doubt exacerbated patient’s impetigo and scabies.
From Kunming, family flew to Canton (Guangzhou) to pick up an exit visa for patient at the U.S. consulate. On the flight to Los Angeles, patient turned blue and stopped breathing. An EMT on board performed CPR and monitored her progress until landing. Baby was first seen at Centinela Hospital Medical Center near the airport. Patient’s parents had her transferred to Huntington Hospital near their home and your office in Pasadena. Patient was diagnosed with antibiotic-resistant Clostridium difficile and nearly died a second time. You referred her to me. I admitted her to our pediatric intensive care unit.
Clearly, patient had been in the presence of infected fecal matter, unclean water, and unsanitary food supply. Diagnoses of Ascaris lumbricoides, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia intestinalis, Helicobacter pylori, Sarcoptes scabiei followed. I’m treating the roundworms with mebendazole. The other intestinal parasites have been harder to address given the limitations caused by the ongoing protocol for her C. diff. Although she has been moved down to specialized care, morbidity rates are high for each condition, especially in a patient so young and immunocompromised. While I explained to parents that I cannot be confident of recovery, I hope you will more fully prepare them for the worst.
I will keep you posted as to patient’s progress.
Sincerely,