Continued from the previous posts.

G6PD (Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase deficiency) is, apparently, the most common enzyme deficiency in humans, with an estimated 400 million people worldwide affected. It is most common in Blacks and inhabitants of the Mediterranean region, although Asians are also impacted.

It is sometime also called Favism, as many people who have this condition are also allergic to fava beans.

Like ... more

Continued from the previous post.

By the time I arrived home in the evening, word was starting to come in from doctor friends to whom I'd passed all the info I had and asked for opinions, strategies, and so on.

Being that medical care available on this island is limited, it is often necessary for patients to seek treatment abroad ... my cardiologist is in Singapore, for example ... so figuring out how soon T could be well enough to travel had to be a consideration.

A look at his chart had told me that his ... more

Continued from the previous post.

Although I thought I'd prepared myself, I was shocked when I finally did see T. Looking small and frail in the hospital bed, he was yellow and very weak ... and scared to death.

Because his mother didn't understand what was happening, no one had been able to explain anything to him. Well accustomed to my 'take charge' personality, he looked to me to give him a picture of what was happening. Unfortunately, I knew nothing.

Preparing to hang a second unit of blood for him, there was a problem with his IV ... a minor blockage... more

For anyone who happened to notice that I've not posted a darn thing in a while, my apologies. I've been in the middle of a situation here that required my full attention and most of my energy.

Being that I've been dealing with circumstances that could potentially happen in a number of international adoptive families, I'm taking the time today to share the experience and what I've learned so far.

As long-time readers know, Mark and I were foster parents before we adopted. Our foster son, T, went back to his mother, then to Thailand, but eventually returned to Seychelles a couple of years... more

Although adoption from Lebanon isn't big enough for a Yahoo group or its own category on the Adoption.com forums, it does happen, and it does make the news.

This story about a family from New Hampshire proves it ... but Boy Howdy!!! it ain't easy, or often.

According to the US... more

A state-level orientation program on adoption was held recently in Lucknow, India, with the aim of increasing awareness locally on the issues of adoption in that country.

Domestic Indian adoptions continue to lack popularity, with most people determined to avoid adopting a child.

Also on the agenda, uniformity in adoption rules to remove much of what can be cumbersome when the many religions in the country approach the process.

Also... more

Continued from here.

In an interesting attempt to maintain cultural stability and prevent "insecurities in society", the Cambodian government has banned Christian proselytizers from knocking on peoples' doors.

Distribution of religious literature will be confined to churches, and no new churches are to be built without government approval.

While the ruling applies to all non-Buddhist groups, it is aimed at curbing Christian evangelical influence in largely... more

The week's news from Cambodia is all over the place, so where better to start than with happenings in Minnesota ...

Wat Munisotaram, a bit of Cambodian Buddhism on the prairie, was recently consecrated and its Buddha image blessed.

The $1.58 million temple has been years in the building, but according to some of the 7,000 visitors stopping by during the three-day open house, it is well worth the time and money. Constructed with the layout... more

Issues to do with children and adoption around the world range from the widely different to basically the same, as although cultural differences abound, we are at the base of it all humans.

For example, this story out of the UK illustrates how children of ethnic minorities there wait longer for placement in adoptive families ... up to three times longer ... and there are worries that placing children of color with white families can leave them "without a sense of cultural... more

I have no idea what is going on, if the cosmos is trying to tell me something or get me to tell someone else, but almost every time I've gone online the past couple of days, stories about Moldova have presented themselves before me; not just Moldova as a country, but Moldova as a country with orphans and people who adopt them.

Even yesterday's... more