I have a niece who is 8 years old and lives in Romania. When she was 2
years old, she was diagnosed with encephalitis. The doctors were not
exactly sure what triggered the encephalitis; most likely a virus from
a respiratory infection. This lead to siezures for a number of years.
After she stopped having seizures with medications, she has been
fighting a respiratory infection every month. By respiratory infection
I mean, congested nose, fever, sinusitis,sore throat and coughing. For
weeks in a row she will be very sick and without intravenous
antibiotic will not get any better. It got to the point where she has
been taking pretty much all possible antibiotics available in Romania.
The doctors don't know what is her diagnosis but they incline to
believe it's probably some kind of deficiency in immunity; which kind,
they don't know because of limited testing posibilities in Romania. My
family is desperate. Whenever she gets sick which is every month
sometimes even more often she also has seizures from time to time.
I am her only aunt and I would do anything in my power to help her I
just don't know how exactly. Is there a way I can bring her here to be
tested and diagnosed and eventually treated? Is there any hospital in
America (preferably in Southern California where I live) that offers
free testing for a child that lives outside US. I can pay for the
transportation and hosting but I don't know how I can get her tested
and treated. I was even thinking of adopting her and have her under my
medical insurance. Do you think this will be easier than finding a
hospital that helps international children?
Thank you so much for your help.
Iuliana

I can appreciate the bind you're in, it must be tough being so far away. 

First, as far as adoption goes, there is currently a moratorium (as of
Jan 2004) on Romanian adoptions, meaning that this path is almost
certainly closed to you. You may have extenuating circumstances as you
have humanitarian grounds and you are family. Check with the Romanian
Embassy in Washington DC at www.roembus.org for the latest
information.

As far as getting medical attention in the United States is concerned,
you can try the following non-profits. Although they may not be able
to help directly in providing financial aid, they will almost
certainly know who you can turn to for further help and information:

Cure International, www.ccure.org (Lemoyne, Pa)
Brave Kids, www.bravekids.org (Santa Monica, Calif)

Also, many hospitals make room in their budgets for cases just like
yours. Without knowing where in SoCal you're located it's tough to say
but try the UC hospitals and Children's Hospitals first. Don't give up
- getting this sort of information is hard and you need to persevere.

Thank you krooglik. I live in Orange County, Ca. I started looking
into UC hospitals as it happened that I recently got hired for UCIMC
in Orange. I just didn't know who to ask for help.
Your sites were very helpful. I have some hope and I am not going to give up.