Transition and Transformation from Kosovo to the US

How to even begin to capture the stories and photos for our lives over the past 8 months since our last entry? So sorry we have been out of touch but as you will now read, it feels like we have lived a lifetime in this period of massive transition, challenges, celebrations and heartache. 

 

So best to start just where we left off, the beautiful birthday celebration that ironically almost was her last as we all were infected by Covid which ravished Pranvera and occupied the better part of 3 months in recovery and rebuilding. But during this time we were even more thankful to add lasting memories from Rea's 7th birthday party (missed the previous year due to Covid), numerous remote and in-person Cub Scout outings including the famous derby car races and our annual camping trip to Lake Shkoder in Albania, a final Balkan vacation to Budva and countless other day-in-the-life routine events that took on a new meaning as many of them were the last as we prepared for our final departure from Kosovo. 

 

In case we forgot to update many of you, I accepted a new full-time position with Land O'Lake's (the American butter company) NGO called Venture37 which required me to be located somewhere in the US to work remotely (go figure) with my team stateside and in Africa. Having spent a wonderful 6+ years raising our kids (and me consulting) in Pristina, it was time for us to be closer to my home and to get the kids back on track with their education, even though we thought QSI was doing a great job. 

 

So came June 26th and after having said our goodbyes, we embarked on our first flight in almost 2 years to re-assimilate to a very different US after having been overseas for almost a decade. As if this type of transition is not difficult under the best of circumstance, add a pandemic on top of that. The absolute worse time in our history we could have attempted such a move with supply chains completely broken from car rentals, to used car purchases, to empty shelves to closed shops to relatively empty streets to skyrocketing housing prices with almost 0 availability. Despite facing this new and unique challenges around every turn, we were finally close to so many great friends and family (many of you) that it has made it all worth it.

 

You can see many of these great memories captured below from  my dad and sister joining us for 'Camp DC Summer' adventures (along with cousin Rand based in DC) to weekend visits out at our dear friends The Kaisers and all the little great outings DC area has to offer including the Baltimore aquarium, President Washington's Mt. Vernon, almost daily swimming sessions at our neighborhood indoor pool, wandering around DC and enjoying some of our old favorite eateries (that were still in business) and neighborhoods close to where we used to live.

During this time, we based ourselves in a crappy but affordable AirBnB in an easily accessible neighborhood in DC so I could take the metro into work for the 2 months we needed to desperately search for a home to buy racing against the clock on having the kids registered in a good public school district before end of August. It was hell with the ever increasing prices from decreasing inventory for places that would have been such a compromise on our first 'dream' home. But as we somehow seem to do, we finally found the perfect place in the perfect neighborhood (still further outside the city than we wanted) during the perfect weekend (of most home buyers taking a break to travel out of town) and negotiated painfully to become home owners instead of having to rented a crappy house to wait out the insanity to only move at a later date praying we could keep the kids in the same school.

 

So our new lives have started with the joy and fear of so many firsts!!  Our first time seeing storage for over 10 years that offered us some sense of familiarity and permanence as it was all we had to sprinkle throughout our new home as our shipment was delayed by 6 weeks leaving us without beds, clothes, furniture etc. But sleeping on the floor and borrowing friends' air mattresses, kitchen items, tools we adapted and managed as we had to. First house warming toasts on the only furniture we had with dear DC friend Jennifer Lewis and Kosovo mate John Reid (in town for a business trip). First day waiting for the famous yellow American school bus as Adi entered 6th grade at a Middle School with over 400 kids in his class. Fortunately he is the last and first stop finally making up for being the first and last in Kosovo (50 minutes each way). First time walking Rea to her 2nd grade Elementary school 5 minutes away across the neighborhood playground and park we have been spending countless hours at. First time finally shopping for new household items ever (since our marriage we lived in either my furnished condo in DC or overseas rentals) despite most items either not being available or waiting up to 4 months for delivery. First time walking around meeting our new neighbors and visiting the local parks, trails, high school football games, grocery stores, and homemade ice cream shop. First Halloween for either of our kids in the US with our neighborhood being know for going WAY over the top with every house fully decorated at least a month before dishing out countless pounds of candy to the costumed ghouls and goblins. First new Boy Scout and Girl scout activities getting to know the local nature and community service. First trip down to Virginia Beach (and the naval base) staying with dear college friends, the McKenchnie's. We still feel like much of this is a dream and someone else's life but having just celebrated our 5 month anniversary of entering into US, we feel blessed that we have miraculously fit right into the typical, suburban American dream, at least on the outside. 

 

The kids have really missed their home, friends and family. Pristina is all they know and remember. Pranvera has had to leave her family and aging parents along with childhood friends. The US we have returned is very different. The obvious being the affects from Covid but almost equally on the surface is the polarity and tensions between different parts of the Washington, Maryland, Virginia areas and the daily barrage of news. Meeting so many new people and starting what we hope to be new friendships has a different dance now that we are not part of a very like minded expat community. That said, our new hood is full of international families and many seem to have a similar world view as we do. We know the adjustments will continue to take time and we hope things continue to get a bit easier for us all as time passes. My work continues to be interesting and challenging as I no longer have to commute but work from our converted garage. And Pranvera has secured a full-time consultancy with a leading international development company, DAI, located 10 minutes away for when she may ever have to 'go into the office'.

But the culmination of our crazy lives and recent adventures couldn't have been captured any better than our hosting Thanksgiving with dear friends from our Kosovo days, the Sparkmans, in our new fully furnished house with my excellent chef cousin Rand providing the perfect bird, and the first case from our wine club arriving in time to spend the evening full of great drink, food, games, bonfire, smores, and most importantly, love and laughs!!

Hell on Earth 

 I find it rather ironic that today is Easter Sunday, but a day that will be now known in my family as the 'Day SHE has risen'.  Now that we are out of the critical stages of Covid-19, I wanted to share our story with friends and family that have been both supporting us through this terribly difficult time.

There is no other way to describe the pain, anxiety and fear we have been living through the past 3 weeks. We are afraid to admit that we all may have contracted Covid from Pranvera’s 50th bday celebration with family and friends who had all mostly been infected. Regardless, this new UK variation has been ripping thru Kosovo and killing many more than the first couple waves. And thank God we will not be one of these statics...but it was close and we are not out of the woods yet. 

Somehow I only had extreme fatigue and brain fog for about the first 3 days (but still lingering bouts of needing a serious nap) and the kids had small colds and body aches as well. Makes no sense as I have terrible allergies but Pranvera has been the one who has been critically ill despite being the runner in the family.

We both started on an oral antibiotic for 6 days but 4 days into it she kept getting worse with enormous body aches fatigue fever and coughing (none of us lost taste or smell but everything thing was heightened for Pranvera to the point she couldn't stand regular cooking odors). So we saw a pulmonologist who put her on an antibiotic IV drip for 3 days but since no clinics or hospitals are treating Covid except the public one, we had to buy all the meds and find a nurse to come to the house and give her the injection and mixture each morning. After day 3 she got worse and was on non stop paracetamols and her oxygen was registering close to 90 on the home finger tester we bought (below is ER and ventilator). The Dr mistakenly said to add another 3 days but after 1 more day she had no energy since unable to eat so we went to a new Dr and clinic. After all the new rounds of blood tests and a ultrasound he said she was in critical shape with pneumonia in both lungs. Either the hospital (death sentence) or buying a pharmacy worth of meds and to have x4/day IV for 7 days.

We opted for #2 and had the nurse come 3-4 times to inject these poisons in her body plus a stomach shot for anti-clotting (I learned how to administer the late night 11pm treatment that painfully forced up to stay up well past our desired bedtime). She slept most the time which was good since she started to get debilitating headaches and a burining skin sensation she described as being cooked from the inside, so it was the only way for her to not be screaming in pain. So thank God after day 3 her fever broke (mind u it is now day 10) and she started to get an appetite back and be able to walk. Happiest day of my life. 

Behind this hell I just about lost it. Still being sick myself I had the kids online school as we were in isolation for 2 weeks. I needed to make all the meals, clean house and laundry, get food, work my new job as best I could and take care of PV. For 3 nights I ‘slept’ by her side to make sure she did not stop breathing and after every injection after the nurse left I had to pray she did not have an adverse reaction and have to rush her to the hospital. The fear and anxiety (even with my meditation) was paralyzing and the past 3 weeks have passed in a fog for both of us. 

Each day she has gotten better and after the 7 days, we had to run the tests to find she still had bad pneumonia and is now using a nebulizor x2/day plus oral antibiotics to get steroids into her lungs. This appears to be working and we are finally on the path to recovery as she does not have Covid anymore. The doctor said most of the pneumonia is gone but she cannot exercise for 1 month and needs another 2 for hopefully full recovery (but no sense of what long hauler affects this virus has caused). He also said she was one of the more critical patients he saw and he was very happy she has recovered this strongly, especially not being hospitalized).  She has now developed uncomfortable night sweats but headaches are going away and the collapses arm veins are healing after so many days of injections. So each step is a blessing!!!

And to boot we don’t have insurance but thankfully all the medical stuff out here is very cheap and a fraction of what I imagine this would have cost us in the US. 

Sorry I did not inform you all sooner but I have not had a second to think beyond the next crisis. Kids are back in school and Spring is here. We land in DC June 26 and will hope to get the vaccines immediately. So I hope this proves this thing is no joke and no questions whether any of u will take the shot. I am blessed to not have lost my wife but this has undoubtedly been the toughest time ever. Can't thank you all enough for your prayers and well wishes.

Celebrating a Busy Start to 2021

Considering that most of the world is still in some form of lockdown or restricted movement, we have been very blessed to have had unusually warmer weather and many occasions to spend time with friends and family in Kosovo. Hard to believe that Pranvera and I are now both half century old but feeling as young as ever. The kids certainly keep us on our toes mentally and physically luckily attending school in person and having Cub Scout events ever several weeks to interact with kids outside their class and learn new exciting skills that should come in handy as Adi moves into the Boy Scouts of America program next year and Rea continues with Cub Scouts.

For those of you who don't know yet, we have decided to return to DC in July after 10 years living as Expats. I have gotten a new job as a Director with Land O'Lakes Venture 37 which is a small NGO working in livestock, dairy and crops mostly in Africa. With the challenges of a Covid world, I will be lucky to conduct most of my work remotely either from home or our DC office. Although this will be a huge adjustment, we are very excited to live near so many great friends again and to get the kids into the busy American lifestyle with countless options for activities, camps, travel, etc. as the vacinations roll-out and people can return to some semblance of normal. Pranvera will continue to consult and look for a local position where she can eventually go into an office and be part of a team advancing rule of law for development.

 

 We will be sad to leave family and the Balkans behind and we plan on doing/seeing as much as possible between now and then. But our trip to Turkey was cancelled and now Italy is in lockdown so we pray we can drive across to Montenegro for the kids' Spring Break and possibly hit the beaches in Albania one last time. We are so excited the US seems to be getting itself back on track in so many areas that will make coming 'home' that much easier. Till then, we send our love and well wishes to stay safe and sane!!

Daddy with a quiet 50 year celebration...

 

Todd's snowshoeing trip in Rugove Valley Kosovo

Scout meeting and games learning about first aid.

 

Hanging out around home. Winter inside and out.

Pack 2008 Adventure Sledding Trip to Boge.

 

 Visit with Pranvera's mom to castle in Novo Brdo.

 

 

50 and fabulous