[MJCZYK]

JanetP,

We also received medical reports (for 2 children) that were only a paragraph or 2 containing mearusments, APGAR scores, and brief descriptions of any medical conditions. We had a doctor in NYC who is familiar with international adoption (orpandoctor.com) look at the medical report (fee of $400), and she indicated what we recieved was typical. We requested more information and did not recieve much. We plan on sending the doctor pictures and video of our child prior to our June 25th court date (review of this material is included in the fee).

The doctor also indicated that the foriegn doctors typically "over" diagnose any aliments, so our initial reaction to the medical report was "holy smoke". But after re-reading and analyzing each piece of the information, we felt the medical report was not out of the ordinary for a child being raised in an orphanage.

MJCZYK

[janetp]

Dear Heather - I wrote a post earlier this morning but I see it did not come up so I will re-write it.

Thank you for the info/discussion on health info. I believe that our agency (Island Coast) is giving us what they have. According to the person that I spoke with this week, they are no longer receiving the child's adoption card (with all the specific info on) - so at this point I do not know what area we are going to be traveling to. Someone else that I have spoken with that has gone through ICIA was very happy with their professionalism so I am hopeful it is okay. The agency thought it might be central Poland but that could be many places.

We are meeting with our social worker this afternoon to update our homestudy so I am sorry that this is brief. We have to update our homestudy because one of the children is older than the top end of our intial home study.

May I ask, how old are your children? How long have you been home from Poland?

Janet

[SueP]

Hi,
I just found this forum a short while ago. I am going through Mimi's organization and wonder if there any other single woman adopting from Poland? I finished my paperwork and it went over to Poland in March 2003. Now I'm waiting and sometimes I worry that it will never happen. I would like to adopt a little girl. I would like to know if anyone is in the process now and for others working through Mimi, how long has your wait been?

[janetp]

Dear SueP -

I saw that you replied to the thread I had also posted on. I do know of a single woman that adopted from Poland twice (!), once independently and then the sceond time through an agency (not Huminskam though). Her name is Celia Berdes. If you type in her name in askejeeves or another search engine, you may find her articles on her experience.

We started our paperwork in January 2002 and were finally matched in May 2003. It has taken us so long because of the independent person quitting on us, then the first agency closed their Poland program. We are not going through Huminska but I know that she does most of the adoptions in Poland so you are on the right track.

May I ask, are you specifying a particular age? I have been corresponding with someone else that has specifed an age limit (understandably due to an older child in the home already) and they have been waiting also. I have heard that it is very difficult to adopt a young girl that is not part of a sibling group - seems the Poles like to keep the girls more because they keep the traditions alive and also are expected to care for their parents as they get older.

Hang in there. I have also heard that many of the Poles take vacations (much like we do here) in the summer so perhaps it will be Fall.

Take care and hope to hear from you soon. You may write me individually at jphelps@co.genesee.mi.us

Janet

[MJCZYK]

FYI - I have posted to this thread indicating my wife and I are in the process of adopting in Poland. I created another thread to discuss my family's Polish adoption experience.

[ChrisCB]

Hi-

I can reply about the 'red book'. I checked and it is true that all kids have a health book that the parents/guardians are responsible for. I've been hospitalized many times in the last two years and I have all the documents, test results, x-rays, etc. at home. It is each persons responsibilty to maintain their own health records.

Take care-
Chris

[levendusky]

We are just starting and I would love to hear how this goes for you? What agency did you use?

Stacy
nicustacy@aol.com

[Anita]

Congratulations on your decision to adopt. My husband and I have been involved in the Polish adoption process since April 2002. We submitted our completed our homestudy and all appropriate Polish documentation in August 2002.

Be sure you are comfortable with the agency you choose. You will be dealing with them a lot!!!

Although we are still waiting for our referral, a few pieces of advice...

- Be prepared to wait. If you are told it is going to take six months, tell yourself 12 months. The waiting is soooo difficult. To have short timeframes as the expectation, can lead to a great deal of disappointment and discouragement.

- Have a referral plan. When you receive a referral, it is a surreal moment. You are not thinking as clearly as you would hope. Will you seek the advice of an international adoption doctor? What are your limits as parents? What medical problems are you capable/willing to face? (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Attachment Disorder are two problems you should start educating yourself on now.) DO NOT minimize what these reports tell you. If facts are not sitting right with you, there is probably a reason.

- Educate yourself!!!! Be a responsible parent and during this waiting period, keep abreast of as much as you can. Read, read, read. It does get overwhelming, but you need to understand as much about international adoption experiences as possible.

- Be a part of a support group. I can't even begin to tell you how helpful it is to be with people who are in the same boat as you. International Adoption can be a long drawn out process. People who haven't gone through it can only try to understand. Talking to people who have been there, or are going through it give you much more balance.

- For couples, it is so important to communicate your feelings to each other. There is a lot of stress!

- Document, copy and save everything!

I wish you luck on your adoption journey.

[levendusky]

Dear Anita,

why do you think you have had to wait so long? What agency are you using? You may respond to me privately at: nicustacy@aol.com
Thanks,
Stacy

[Anita]

Part of the wait has to do with two referrals we have passed on. Part of the wait has to do with more parents wanting to adopt from Poland, and the competition that has brought.

I have talked to people who are trying to adopt from Guatamala, Russia, and Poland. One friend chose Guatamala because the process was short, she started before I did and still has not made the trip. I've talked to a few people who have adopted from Russia. Some are wonderful stories, some are not. Also, if I'm not mistaken, I believe China is at least a year wait. Then I look at my wait with Poland, and I guess that is the way it goes for some of us.

The experience is different for everyone.

[lindag]

We adopted our son from Lodz and received all health records from birth as well as limited information from his birth family. We were more than satisfied with the information received.

[stitchie]

Originally posted by MJCZYK
JanetP,

We also received medical reports (for 2 children) that were only a paragraph or 2 containing mearusments, APGAR scores, and brief descriptions of any medical conditions. We had a doctor in NYC who is familiar with international adoption (orpandoctor.com) look at the medical report (fee of $400), and she indicated what we recieved was typical. We requested more information and did not recieve much. We plan on sending the doctor pictures and video of our child prior to our June 25th court date (review of this material is included in the fee).

The doctor also indicated that the foriegn doctors typically "over" diagnose any aliments, so our initial reaction to the medical report was "holy smoke". But after re-reading and analyzing each piece of the information, we felt the medical report was not out of the ordinary for a child being raised in an orphanage.

MJCZYK

This is my experience also. We are using Family Counseling Clinic in Mundelein, IL. We have had a total of 3 referrals: 1 my husband and I declined because of health issues (this poor little boy) the second was a little girl that the mother was trying to reclaim, and finally, lucky number 3, we have been referred twin girls, 10months old, just yesterday.

With the 2 referrals we looked at more closely, we received a paragraph on each child talking about their development and basic birth records, APGAR scores, subsequent hospitalizations.

A Polish friend of mine told me about the health book that all children receive, so I have good reason to think that it's something worth pursuing once you get to Poland.

I didn't realize that some agencies/orphanages made you stay in country once the temporary custody was arranged. I will have to talk to my counselor about this.

Anyone in the Chicago area? PM if you are; maybe we can form a network of Polish adopted children and families. We've just had the best time rediscovering old recipes, etc.

Good luck, everyone, with your new children. How exciting!

[ADDY S.]

hi; please give me the name of the agency you used for your adoption from poland. we too are interested.

addy s.

[LisArno]

Walt - Congratulations on your three boys! My husband and I are also working with Mimi and have asked for 2 or 3 children, preferably at least one boy and one girl, with all 2 or 3 children under the age of 5. I'm curious how it goes with three kids!

[yusen]

I am wondering, if there is anyone tht is currently adopting from Poland, if yes I would like to chat.