My last blog talked about “adoption medicine” and why in the world someone would want an “adoption doctor”. By way of example, this blog will write of what an “adoption doctor” did for us.
Our adoption agency, like most international adoption agencies, suggests that parents have whatever medical and/or developmental information is available on a child reviewed by a pediatrician of their choice and by any appropriate specialists. Our agency gave us the name of a doctor in the area who had adopted two children herself and pioneered the concept of “adoption medicine”.
We saw a child on a “waiting child” list who had congenital cataracts and a cleft palate. We felt we could handle these issues and asked for the full referral file. This had some minimal information on the birthparents, description of the child’s birth and subsequent medical visits, a video, a few pictures, and a few notes what the child was doing developmentally (all information and pictures were about two months old when we actually received them). In addition, this child had had a CAT scan done and those results were summarized.
Our doctor did what most adoption doctors will do. She looked at the medical information for any red flags. She looked at the CAT scan records. She looked at the picture closely. (There is a whole list of syndromes you’ve never heard of which have some pattern of several minor facial abnormalities as a common characteristic.) She consulted a colleague who specialized in one of these syndromes to rule that one out.
The doctor looked at the video and noted how the girl sat, how closely she looked at things, whether she responded to her caregiver’s voice and to a bell or a clap, what she did with the toys she was given, and how she interacted with others.
The doctor found that the child had hydrocephalus which had not been treated, and was likely to have mental retardation. She spoke with us by phone for nearly an hour. She did not try to dissuade us from adopting her or persuade us to adopt her. She discussed risks, likely therapies and their intensity, and most of all that no one can be certain of a child’s prognosis.
This consultation cost about $300. When we did not end up adopting that particular child, the doctor did not charge us a second time when we asked her to review another little girl’s history. The doctor set up a conference call with me and with my husband, who was traveling on business.
This girl was younger and there was no video. The doctor looked at the medical record and photos, and developmental report. There was a poor pattern of growth in head circumference and height/length, which is usually more concerning than poor growth in weight. The doctor advised us to wait for new measurements to determine if there was a neurological problem, or if her growth had simply stalled due to the pneumonia she had had. She also had a heart defect which might or might not need surgery and we were fully informed of what that entailed.
The girl began to grow again, our fears were allayed and she became our daughter. The next duties of an adoption doctor will be described in the next blog.
Please see these related blogs:
What Is An Adoption Doctor and Why Would I Need One?
Adoption Doctors A Great Resource For Families Adopting Internationally