[amyfk]

Hi to the List,

I hope everyone was well.

As you may remember, we got a referral a week or so ago. The IA doctor that we use wanted to get more information from the region regarding the baby and her health surrounding her actual birth and about Hepatitis C.

Anyway, my agency called me today. They tried to get more medical information from the region and the region wasnt cooperative.

We had some hesitations initially and were hoping to get more information this way. We have a phone appt this afternoon with the iA doctor to see what to do.

Has anybody gone over to see the child without tying up loose ends? The Hep C part concerns us. Can we hire an independent doctor in Russia to evaluate this kid? In a way Id rather have more information than waste money flying overseas for something that's not all that certain.

Thanks,
Amy K, NJ

[Ktates]

Amy we went anyway. We did have someone evaluate her and do a blood test in country. We did have the option of waiting for this to be done before we traveled but we didn't want to wait and like I mentioned we weren't overly concerned about the Hep C (our personal opinion/comfort level based on our research). We were quite surprised to find she had been tested several times since the info we had and had been tested for the pcr test and was negative (or she couldn't be in the orphanage). But we still had the bloodwork done anyway although we signed papers before we got the results.
PM if I can be of any help!
Karen

[calikismet]

We travelled for our son's referral without updated info. His HC numbers were troubling, and we considered asking for additional info, but travelled anyway. The rest is history, as they say.

Good luck in your decision!

[kimber413]

Yes, you can hire an independent doctor to evaluate them in Russia. There are several good ones that I'm sure folks can recommend via PM.

Good luck!

[angelkisses0102]

We never even had Arianna's referral looked at...we knew she was high risk...we had Dr. Downing review her in person...on trip one. But as soon as we saw her...we 'knew' she was our little girl...so regardless of what the Dr had said...we were moving forward. It all worked our perfectly for us....

[amyfk]

Hi,

Thanks for your information. I have a phone appt to sit down and talk with the IA doctor this evening. I think I will see what she has to say. We will then take it from there.

Thanks again,
Amy K, NJ

[Vicki H]

Our son was a blind referral. We received very little info and went anyway, and are so glad we did.

Good luck to you,

Vicki

[another2]

Our IA doctor requested more information too. Potentially serious health issue. After waiting 2 months, we were told we wouldn't get any updated info. We went anyway -- turned out she didn't really have the problem listed.

KT

[tchr_678]

We requested more info on our oldest son as well, and the region wasn't cooperative. Everything has been fine since we've gotten home and he's gotten a clean bill of health from the IA doctors upon our return. Our IA doctor wasn't disappointed by the lack of medical on him though, as he said that when doctors find something wrong, they do not hesitate to write it down. He was cautiously optimistic that Dima's medical info said he was evaluated by doctors and they said he was healthy. It was a leap of faith, but we are happy with the results.

[Javalita]

You will unlikely get more info and it will probably be something else with another referral. There is always something that you need to clarify, but it is easier in person.

Did they do the PCR test though? On our son they told us of both his first positive test and then they retested in Russia with the PCR which was negative (BUT maternal antibodies were present).