Turning Point...

The last 24 hours have finally been a turning point.  Daniel’s birthday was yesterday and we would never had guessed that running around Panama from government building to government building would be what was in the cards for a 30^th birthday, but nothing is what we had expected this past month and we now expect it.

We were at the Panamanian passport agency bright and early at 7:45 am. The consulate had worked out a plan that since Layton was born in Panama and held a Panamanian birth certificate he would be eligible for a Panamanian passport, this armed with a Canadian visa would grant him access back to Canada.  We thought this could be a possibility but had been told by the consulate once before that the minimum time to be granted a visa would be up to 28 days. The consulate pulled some strings and was able to gain this visa within only a few hours.

The passport agency went extremely smooth and efficiently.  Maybe since we were armed with two lawyers, one from the hospital and one of Alana’s friends, we had the passport in hand from start to finish in only 25 minutes.

Once the passport was in hand, we raced to the consulate and started on the forms for the entry visa to Canada. This process took about an hour, and I needed to run to Copa airline’s head office to arrange for travel back to Canada, yes, finally we could say we were coming home…

7 hours of running around paid off today, it felt like we got more done on this one day than we have the last three weeks in Panama. The feeling is surreal knowing that we are booked to come home Tuesday afternoon, and although thrilled and excited, I do still have a pit in my stomach. Not truly able to fully relax until we pass security at the airport and are on board our flight flying into Toronto. I know once we take off tears will fill my eyes, and for the first time in weeks I will be able to close my eyes and let myself drift off to sleep if only for a short few hours.

Both sets of parents were excited beyond belief that we were able to tell them we would be home this week, tears mixed with laughter and excitement as we skyped and called home with the news. Already planning on meeting us at the airport, and finally meeting Layton. This is the moment we have been waiting for, for an every long time now.

We have Alana’s lawyer friend Rosanna picking us up today to take us to the airport, she offered to be there with us just in case we needed anything or any needed translation at security. We have our passport, visa requirements, notarized letter from the surrogate stating she is allowing Layton to leave the Country. This should be what we need to take Layton home.

With any luck my next post on this blog will be from the comfort of our home in Calgary, there are still so many stories to tell about our adventure, and what we have gone through as well as more tasks we have to accomplish once in Canada to make Layton legal. For now, we are just happy and excited for today, and our journey back home….