Negatives can be Positive

We have had quite a couple of weeks. . .a little bit of worry; a little bit of concern; a little bit of wondering; and now a lot of happiness!

Aidan had his 3 year old check up on May 18th. At that time, he got two shots--one in each shoulder--and a TB test. Normally a big deal was made even bigger because we drew the luck of having a new nurse. Aidan felt a bit like a pin chushion--the nurse put the needle in for both shots about half way, started to pull it out and then went all the way in. Ouch!! Mommy flinched. Aidan knew Mommy was upset and said as much on the way home. The kid reads me like a book. . .

The TB test was even worse. The stuff is supposed to be injected just below the skin to create a bubble (as I'm sure you all know) and then you wait 48 hours and then go back to have the test read. Well, again this new nurse did it all wrong by going too deep causing Aidan to bleed at the site. Again, ouch!! Poor kid!!

So, back we went a few days later to have the test read and, you guessed it, it was positive. Let me back up here by saying Aidan, along with about all Internationally Adopted children, received 3 TB tests prior to our court date, the most recent being February 18th, 2008--all negative. He then received a BCG vaccine around April 1st--A BCG vaccine is a TB vaccine given to most people who don't live in the U.S., Canada or Mexico.

So, to recap: three negative TB tests, a BCG vaccine and then a positive TB test. Sounds fishy, right?? Yes, I thought so, too. Fortunately, our pediatrician did as well. We were referred back to our International Adoption doctor, Dr. Patrick Mason at Fairfax Hospital who, coincidentally, is involved in a Federally funded study to show the CDC that the BCG vaccine in Internationally Adopted children gives a false positive result and these children should, therefore, receive a Quantitative Blood Test to test whether or not the actual disease is in the system or if the test is reacting to the BCG vaccine. We called him immediately about Aidan.

We were fortunate to get Aidan into the study, signed the waiver forms on Tuesday, had the test on Thursday morning at Georgetown University Hospital (not a fun blood test, either, but Aidan survived--so did Mommy!) and got our test results back this afternoon. . .NEGATIVE!!!

What a relief.

So, all you International Adoption parents, keep this in mind if your child receives a TB test. . .check your medical records to see if he or she has had the BCG. If so, get the blood test done. It's only $75. out of pocket if you're not a part of the study.