[kryslm]

My wife and I are really going through a difficult time right now.

We received the referral of two boys just a few days ago. The older of the two has a pretty good medical report. The medical for the younger child (14 months) throws up a couple of red flags. The neurologist exam yielded a diagnosis of "vegeto-visceral disorders." Under Diagnosis, there is the following notation: "Aftereffects of cerebral ischemia in the form of vegeto-visceral disorders." We know what cerebral ischemia is, but here is our question to all of you: Has anyone else seen a referral (medical report) that mentions cerebral ischemia?

Our agency is trying to get a clarification on this for us. We're trying to determine just how that diagnosis was made. Then, we'll consult an IA doctor--when and if we can get any additional info. What makes it even worse, we apparently will not get a video of this child.

He's is such a cute little guy... Good birth weight, good AGPAR scores, head size that is at least on the low end of the charts. We are just freaking out about the cerebral ischemia (which, if its correct, can be really scary).

Thanks,
Mike

[tschuitema73]

Hi Mike,

We were where you are back in February when we first we received our two referrals. Our daughters was actually a pretty good looking medical report . Our son's on the other hand raised alot of red flags. I should mention they were in 2 different orphanages examined by different doctors.
One of his many diagnosis was Cerebral ischemia II . This was the one diagnosis I had a hard time finding info about. His report states he was kept in the hospital after birth for one month after birth due to this diagnosis. We sent this medical to an IA doctor Dr. Sarah Basham. She was not concerned at all about it.
Let me tell you he is sooo healthy he is right on target develpmentally.
Believe me I know where you are coming from. But one thing I learned while in Russia, from Russians is that their favorite saying for things that go on that don't make sense is "thats Russia..."
Use your mind, heart and gut.

[kimber413]

Congratulations on your referrals. I would urge you not to make your decision until you have an IA doc look over the information. This could be just another one of those diagnoses that seem horrible to us, but in the greater scheme of things don't really mean much.

Best of luck to you!

[ahnasmom]

We had a different diagnosis; intraventricular hemorrage or brain bleed, which here would mean a real chance of CP. We (I) were concerned but we went ahead with the adoption. Our IA doc could really not address the CP chance as our son was just 4 1/2 mos old but we decided to accept the risks.

While we were waiting to travel we found out he was a home birth and were told he probably had a bruise on his head when he was brought to the hospital, thus the diagnosis. Once we got to meet him, I was checking him out constantly to see if he had any signs of CP.

Once we were home, we had to have a CT scan for another reason and I asked if there was evidence of any bleeds...they looked at me funny and said no!!

My point is, as was Kimber's, is the diagnosis' in Russia are so much different than here....

Best of Luck and congrats!!

[LHecht]

Hi Mike,

It is just so, so common for there to be scary sounding stuff on the medicals. Some of it may sound like diagnoses that are also made in the US, but they can mean something entirely different to a Russian doctor. Before we got a referral, our agency showed us some example medicals so we could see what we might expect. We had things like this on our two girls' medicals too. They're not yet home, so we don't know the outcome yet, but I can tell you both of the IA docs we checked with (we had two evaluate both girls) were not at all concerned about the scary sounding things and explained how Russian medical practices and diagnoses are completely different from the US. I was told that Russian docs believe we are all born with lots of problems and these problems usually resolve over time. I too would really encourage you to not decide until the IA doc can review this info with you. If you talk to someone familiar with Russian medical practices, as most IA docs would be, I bet they could give you confidence in your decision, whichever way you decide. Maybe ask how this child compares to other referrals from Russia they have reviewed.

Congrats on your referral and best wishes to you!

Lisa

[lisag74]

I just wanted to tell you that I am a member of another group which discusses medical issues all the time. They have actually given us the names and info on several IA's who everyone highly recommends(although I am not yet at that point myself). If you want to, feel free to p/m me and I will provide the names and web addresses!