November Adoption Awareness Month – Day Thirty

I just cannot believe I did a post every day of this month.  I usually don’t have that much to say but it has been good for me.

Yesterday I had to take mom to the doctor – seems easy enough but for me it puts me over my limit physically and mentally, I don’t have the stamina and just getting there and back is an effort.  The after effect of not having any family health history and what I will have to live with for the rest of my life – all thanks to being adopted.  I would still have my disease but I would not have been mis-diagnosed that is what caused the damage.

So I got to moms and visited for a bit while she got ready and then took her to the cardiologist in town.  I wasn’t feeling that well and had told her I wouldn’t stay when we got back but just head home.

So the doctor comes in and mom introduces me as her daughter and said her heart is in worse shape than mine, you should look at her because she isn’t feeling well.  The doctor looks at me and I give him the abbreviated version of my story noting the mis-diagnosis due to my age and no family history, what happened and my rare disease.  Then mom pipes in to me – your mother died in her sleep quite young didn’t she? and then realizes how that would sound to the doctor and turns to him and notes her birth mother – we adopted her, and then I add in the additional family members who had the same events…and we talk a bit and then the doctor says they adopted too…

And as I was driving home I had a couple of thoughts…

Good for mom for using just the term mother without giving it a second thought, and only qualifying it when she realized the doctor was probably confused…

Good for the “new” adoptive dad to realize that the “old hand” at being an adoptive mom does not use a qualifier before referencing my other mother.  I am sure he picked up on it.  Mom did good – she provided some educational thoughts to a new adoptive parent…

I think he will start to worry about his little adoptee and the lack of medical history he has…I think people think there are so few of us and never hear about those impacted…hopefully I planted a seed in someone who could speak up and make a difference.

And finally – adoption seems to always be around me wherever I go, there is no escape.  I am an adoptee.  Adoption is not just a one time event like they are trying to make it out to be now-days…being an adoptee is for life, being reminded of it time and time again wherever I go, is for life.

If this post does not make much sense it is because after yesterday I am totally done in, my body is exhausted and my brain does not want to work…