[PaulaLC]

I have a friend who is also thinking about adopting from Russia. She has Crohn's disease. Could this prevent her from adopting? The packet of materials I received from my agency states that Russia does not allow adoptions if you have a disease of an organ. I was afraid to say anything to her. Has anyone had something like Crohn's or ulcerative colitis and still been able to adopt?

[Jim_in_PA]

My 75 year old mother has Crohn's (since the early 1970s) and based on that experience, it's a very treatable desease. It's actually more common than many folks think, too. I think that the medicals need to show that it will not affect parenting ability, but agency advise is a good start.

[britfish]

It may depend on the agency she uses. Also she may want to consider the food and travel for two trips to Russia. I know my friend who has it has quite a limited diet and has difficulties on lengthy travels and bringing all her own food.

[Kasey]

I think it would be totally agency and even region dependent but definately doable.
I have a bad iron deficiency anemia for which I have had iron injections, iron transfusions, and have to take iron three time daily on top of multivitamin, so it is chronic problem, it never came up, I also had a malignant bone tumor in 1996 which was treated thankfully with only surgery, I did have to have an extra letter from an oncologist saying that I was in complete remission and they never expected a recurrence.
Hope that helps!

[kimpob]

Hi,

My husband has Crohns. We adopted out of Kemerovo in 2004 and it was not an issue at all. It didn't even come up during court. AS long as you can show that you are able to care for a child then you should be fine.

[labdakota]

I have had Ulcertive Colitis and gone through surgery to cure the problem, for the most part.

Everything I have been told and researched indicates that there shouldn't be a problem at all. May just have to do a little more explaining, but it is not terminal or dibilitating to the point you couldn't raise a child.

[flanderz]

My recommendation to you (and anyone else with a medical condition) is to not disclose it to anyone. Of course if its serious you shouldn't be adopting, but if its a manageable condition, do not disclose it.

Do not think of this from a rational person's perspective. Think of this from a hysterical Russian nationalist perspective. Do not expect anyone to be understanding of your situation or to care what your doctor says about how its not a big deal.

Once you disclose your condition the cat will be out of the bag. I personally wouldn't recommend you take the chance. If its something the Russian's understand (like high blood pressure), then maybe, but I wouldn't take the chance with a chronic condition.

If you go this route, then be sure to tell your friends not to mention it and make sure your doctor is comfortable omitting it from the medical. If not, find a new doctor.

For those of you who have already disclosed, don't worry it will probably be fine. But for those still thinking about it, why take the chance?

[Jim_in_PA]

Flanderz, if you do not disclose a chronic medical condition, then you are putting a lot of things in jeopardy, including the validity of your homestudy and immigration approval. You may even facing legal issues in that regard. What is important is that your homestudy and medical report clearly define that the condition is not detrimental to your ability to parent or to your life expectancy. It's always best to get your agency's advice on how and what to disclose...don't make assumptions that if you don't say it that it will not magically apear at the worst moment and in a bad light. That could be devastating!

[flanderz]

You are taking a risk either way. Don't look at it in such black and white terms. If you tell your agency, they will be obligated to put it in the homestudy. That puts the agency in a difficult position.

I just want to let people know there is another option that they might want to consider.

[evildishrag]

My son (age 16) has Crohn's. Say nothing to no one. It should in no way hamper one's ability to parent and I would be crushed to find out something like that would stand in the way of adopting. People sometimes become alarmed and hysterical at any disease they know nothing about. It's so frustrating.

[kimber413]

Not disclosing something major on your medical is not a sound judgement call. Just as Jim says, the trick is to make sure your doctor words the diagnoses in such a way as to make it clear that the condition is not life threatening and will not shorten your life expentancy. Leaving something off and thinking it will remain unknown is taking a huge risk that could jeopardize your adoption. It's not something that I would want to take a chance on, whether it's considered black and white or not. Many things in adoption are black and white.

[sickmeig]

i don't think you could get an american doctor to sign off on your medical papers and not reveal your condition. i found the doctors afraid to sign anything even slightly misleading as they are afraid of being sued. and now with some regions requiring eight sign offs. i would try to go to a region where you know people with this condition have adopted previously.

[flanderz]

You have options beyond what your agency may be advising you. That's all I'm going to say on that.

Telling the Russians about your condition is a risk. Not everyone may see it that way but if you search the archives you will see plenty of examples of judges being less than understanding.

Do not assume that everyone is going to be reasonable. There are plenty of people in the process who have the kids best interests at heart, but sadly, they are in the minority.

You may be uncomfortable with taking the risk of not disclosing but just be mindful of the risks of disclosing. Certain regions have better reputations than others. If you do decide to disclose, consider limiting your search to regions that have traditionally been reasonable with the medical. There is no guarantee but that may save you headaches (or worse) down the line.

Good luck. This is the first of many difficult decisions you will have to make during the adoption process (and then later as a parent.) Everyone chooses their own path, just do your homework and trust your own instincts.