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We just received our referrals, 2 little girls who look very sweet, ages 2 and 3 from Udmurtia, Russia. We are very excited. On the medical, they are both diagnosed: functional cardiopathy and residual encephalopathy and one has rickets. My question, are these "real diagnoses" or just catch alls? I saw on one web site that because of Russian medical practicies, 95% of the kids are diagnosed with encephatlopathy, even though its something that a Western doctor would never find on these kids. Anyway, please let me know your experiences and also any recommendation on a U.S. based physician or clinic to review our pictures and medical reports. Thanks all! Jackie and Joe
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As I understand it, Russian children must be diagnosed with some sort of medical problem in order for them to be able to be internationally adopted. Therefore, many medical reports will have things listed on them that aren't exactly true or don't mean the same thing in U.S. terms. That being said, you cannot immediately discredit everything listed on the medical report. You need to have a good international adoption doctor evaluate the medical report, and any pictures or video available. A few good sites to check out are: orphandoctor.com and russianadoption.com. You might also post on the FRUA board. frua.org
I suggest you contact several physicians familiar with international adoption...you'll have to pay a couple of fees, but it is interesting and worth it to get a number of perspectives. Most international adoption clinics have quick turnarounds for referrals. My personal suggestion is Ira Chasnoff, MD--quite renowned and expert in the study of substance abuse (i.e., FAS/FAE) and other issues in international adoption. The website is [url]http://childstudy.org/foster/#adoption[/url] Also, there are physicians in Russia who will travel to examine the children in person. And [url]www.frua.org[/url] is a mother-lode of information. Just keep in mind that whatever the information you receive, you must be willing to walk away if it is something real that you wouldn't be able to handle years down the road. Good luck! Oh, and one more thing...the Children's Research Triangle site (childstudy.org) has a fantastic booklet for $8.00 called "Across the Seas" It has checklists of things to look for and questions to ask when you are visiting the child/children at the orphanage. It was an invaluable resource to us because it has all of the rational things that you can't think of because you're too excited/nervous/overwhelmed by where you are and what you are doing!
We used Dr. Mary Allen Staat in Cincinnati. We liked her very much. We called her office a week before we left for our first trip to let her know when to expect a call. She gave us her number where she could be reached 24 hours. Once in Russia, we e-mailed photos and faxed the medical report to her. We waited a few hours and then called her. She immediately went over all the information with us on the phone. Hope that helps!
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jackie and joe most of the people i have talked with had the perinatal encephalopathy on their childs medicals. Our daughter, who we adopted from Kemerovo Russia 6 months ago, had all of the same diagnosis that you mentioned. She also had rickets, which is just a vitamin d deficiency. She is healthy and thriving. She has grown 2-1/2 inches and gained 4 pounds in 6 months. I personally believe that these diagnosis are more of a social diagnosis which stems from being poor and lack of pre-natal care. We also used Dr. Mary Staat, at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, to review our referrals. We also had the opportunity to attend clinics put on by Dr. Staat's department (International Adoption Clinic) at childrens Hosp. Do not let the diagnosis scare you, but be sure to have competent medical staff who you are confident in, review all the medical information you have. You will receive more information once you get to the region and visit the child/children. Fax or e-mail all information and photos back to your physician of choice. Best of luck, and many blessings. PBRTN
Thank you for your feedback, everyone. We are using the intl adoption clinic out of the Univ of Minnesota, Dr Dana Johnson, they seem really good and come highly recommended from a friend who used them. Also, did some more research, (and of course we will be checking all the medical out). My current impression, we are actually getting really good referrals, these diagnosises are likely commonplace and usually dissapear upon examination in the West, and of course, anything like an ear infection or Rickets is no big deal to cure.
Kerry, Sorry for the delay in the response. We consulted actually four doctors--local pediatrician, two "experts" and one physician in Russia. I'd call the people you'd be interested in...check out how they operate, as each practice has slightly different procedures...how they want to receive information, address confirmation, etc. The agency in Russia was how we got in touch with a physician there (Eric Downing), but he has a website ([url]www.russianadoption.org[/url]). Good luck.
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