January 17, 2015
Family Stories, guest post, HepB+, Infectious, January 2015 Feature
3 Comments
When my husband and I decided in 2008 to adopt from China’s Special Needs Program, we knew we would have to fill out a medical check list. One of the needs we readily checked was Hepatitis B. I had contacted HepB as an adult and had cleared the virus without really getting sick. Of course, …Read More
July 7, 2013
Eileen, HepB+
2 Comments
My youngest just graduated from kindergarten. Come September, he’ll ride a bus, he’ll carry a lunchbox, he’ll have a pencil case. And so in preparation for all of that, we took him to the “big kid” school to register. I was given the usual forms–proof of immunization, emergency contact list, permission to access the internet, …Read More
May 7, 2013
Eileen, HepB+
3 Comments
If you’d asked me seven years ago, right before we adopted our beautiful daughter, if I knew anything about Hep B, I’d have said sure. It’s a virus. It has something to do with the liver. What else do you need to know? As it turned out, our daughter’s case taught us that there was …Read More
March 7, 2013
Eileen, HepB+
5 Comments
It was 2 weeks ago and I’d just dropped my son off for afternoon kindergarten. On the radio, a woman with some title that I fail to remember was saying how important it is for children adopted from other countries to have ties to that culture, how crucial it is that their parents make every …Read More
February 7, 2013
Eileen, HepB+
8 Comments
If you ever check out special needs adoption forums, one of the most commonly asked questions, certainly in the top 5, goes something like this: Which special needs are EASY? It’s an honest question and one that parents who’ve experienced raising children with different special needs have tried to answer. I’ve jumped in many times …Read More
December 7, 2012
Eileen, HepB+
1 Comments
I have a great-grandmother, Verna, who lived to 103 years old. She tended her garden and lived in her own home until the very end, passing peacefully in her sleep. Verna is a shining star on my family medical history. My own father had debilitating arthritis as a child, as did a great uncle. Autoimmune …Read More
November 7, 2012
Eileen, HepB+
16 Comments
We met our son just a few month’s shy of his fourth birthday. He spoke clearly (clearly enough for us to understand many of his basic phrases), he had no speech impediments and was a good communicator. Our guide in his province said, “He speaks well and knows very much.” At home in the United …Read More
October 8, 2012
Eileen, HepB+
1 Comments
This is the night we’ve waited for! KICK! Always a treat we have in store KICK! We love each other more and more… KICK With every family night…. I’ll spare you the rest. My teenagers would turn 10 shades of red if you happened to look into our windows on a Sunday night and see …Read More
August 7, 2012
Eileen, HepB+
9 Comments
When we adopted our nearly 4-year-old son, it felt completely natural and right for him to copy the sibling closest to him in age, his 6 year-old sister. He needed a tour guide to escort him through his new life and she was mostly happy to fill that role. What I didn’t realize was that …Read More
July 7, 2012
Eileen, HepB+
1 Comments
Her saddest child. I don’t know who said it, but dang it if it isn’t true. When all 5 of my children are happy (not necessarily ecstatic about life, but you know, content and satisfied), it’s fairly easy for me to follow suit. Life is good. But when one of those 5 precious souls is …Read More
March 28, 2012
Eileen, HepB+
5 Comments
Hepatitis B Foundation 2012 “B” Informed Parent Conference An Outreach Program for Parents of Children Chronically Infected with HBV Saturday, May 19th 9:00-4:30 Holiday Inn Express Midtown 1305 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 1. The “B Informed” Conference for parents of children with Hepatitis B happens just once a year. You do not want to miss …Read More
March 8, 2012
Eileen, HepB+
4 Comments
ADOPTING A CHILD WITH HEP B WILL PUT MY FAMILY AT RISK: A few years ago, a woman looking to adopt a special needs child sent me several emails, asking questions about Hepatitis B. After a fairly long, friendly exchange, her last email included the following line, “I guess I’m just not comfortable bringing in …Read More
January 7, 2012
Eileen, HepB+
0 Comments
It’s been nearly two years since our youngest daughter had her last shot of PEG Interferon. Two years since we happily bid farewell to the sharps container and the alcohol wipes. Two years since we left behind the marathon naps and achy tummy and bloody noses. And two years since we learned that our daughter …Read More
August 7, 2010
Eileen, HepB+
1 Comments
My littlest one, my almost five year-old Cholita, is ecstatic about a certain date circled in red on our calendar. It’s not her birthday, it’s not Christmas, it’s the day she’ll head back to school. She adores all things scholastic–sharpened pencils, little chairs, worksheets, story time, sharing time, recess, and don’t even get me started …Read More
July 7, 2010
Eileen, HepB+, video
23 Comments
It’s been less than six months since my daughter finished her year-long treatment with interferon. The needles, the sharps container, the smell of the alcohol wipes, that whole experience has quickly become a distant memory. At age four, it’s doubtful that my daughter will remember anything about it into adulthood. That’s wonderful, but at the …Read More
March 6, 2010
Eileen, HepB+
1 Comments
Have you read many medical journals? Have you perused through any articles in the Journal of Gastroenterology? Let me tell you, I’m not completely convinced they’re written in English. So when my big kids started asking questions about their sister’s hepatitis, I had to get creative. If you happen to be a pediatric gastroenterologist/hepatologist, just …Read More
December 7, 2009
Eileen, HepB+
4 Comments
When my oldest was in kindergarten, each child in his class was assigned a number and asked to show that amount. If they had the number 50, they could bring in 50 M&M’s or 50 marshmallows, or 50 whatever. Somehow we landed the big kahuna–one thousand. My son hopped with excitement, waving his paper in …Read More
August 31, 2009
Family Stories, HepB+, Infectious, Living Hope
0 Comments
by Mary, mom to a daughter from China with Hepatitis B It all started after watching three beautiful Chinese girls in dance class with my daughter each week. I had time to sit and chat with the mother who adopted these three beautiful girls from China. Each week we talked more about the adoptions. Adoption …Read More
May 4, 2009
cleft gumline, cleft lip, Family Stories, HepB+
0 Comments
by Amy, mom to Naomi from China with cleft lip and gumline, Hep B and an abundance of joy Our adoption journey started in 2002. My first born son was just 2 years old. We were at an Easter party when a friend stopped by with her brand new daughter from China. She did not …Read More
February 8, 2009
Craniofacial, Family Stories, hearing loss, HepB+, Infectious, microtia, Sensory System
0 Comments
By Andrea, mom to Lydia Mei from China with a SN of unilateral microtia/aural atresia We began our adoption journey in hopes of adding children to our home, but ultimately we found a much greater purpose and passion. The road to parenthood by way of China brought us into a deeper understanding of how we …Read More
January 31, 2009
Family Stories, HepB+
0 Comments
By Tamara, mother to ShuQin from China with HepB+ I have three children. My son is a teenager, biological and a great kid who adores his sisters and is their hero. My two girls are adopted from China. They are 8 months apart in age (virtual twins) – the tiny twosome are the same height, …Read More
December 10, 2008
Family Stories, heart defect, HepB+
0 Comments
By anonymous, mom to Fei Yan from China with a heart defect (VSD) and Hep B+ When we began the adoption process we were pursuing a healthy child. God had other plans and soon opened our hearts to the children on the waiting child list. We filled out a form with our agency in April …Read More
November 19, 2008
Family Stories, HepB+
0 Comments
by Eileen, mom to Maya from China who is HepB+ May 23, 2006 was a landmark day for our family. The day started with a phone call from our adoption agency. They told us that the night before they had e-mailed us the file of a special needs child and they wondered if we’d had …Read More
October 20, 2008
Family Stories, HepB+, Infectious, Lifeline
0 Comments
by Lisa, mom to Grace from China who is HepB+ My goodness. Where to begin. My husband and I were perfectly content with our life and the way our average sized family filled out our average sized home and average sized vehicle….life was sort of just bouncing along and then, there in my contented state, …Read More
