My Heart Beats with Gratitude

I didn’t have a lot of information about my health when I came to the United States. I had lived in an orphanage since shortly after my birth and the information provided to my parents was minimal. My Bulgarian court decree stated that I was born on August 5, 1994 in the town of Novi Pazar, the district of Varna. My birth mother’s name was stated, but the father was listed as unknown. The medical information that was provided simply stated that I was in good physical health, but had slow speech development. It also stated that I had all immunizations. I was an energetic and gregarious child at the age of four. My adoptive parents brought me to a pediatrician for a thorough exam when I arrived in the United States. Even though the records stated that I had immunizations, the United States doctors felt I should get all of them again, so that they fully knew the quality of the vaccinations. Additionally, according to the averages for height and weight I was in the 5^th percentile and was physically about the size of an average 3 year old.

For the most part, when seeking healthcare or medical treatment in the United States, I have greatly appreciated the services. There are only a couple challenges that I have faced when seeking healthcare in the United States and those stem from not knowing my genetic health history, and also from people assuming that my speech delays were a result of English being my second language. I was first able to get speech therapy in a clinical setting, but it was more difficult to get it in the school setting. The schools wouldn’t provide speech because of this and my parents had to get special assessments in order to get those services for me.

I would say it’s difficult to fill out health forms 100% accurately because I don’t technically know my complete health history and I don’t know my genetic history. I think I get colds and sore throats more often than most people, and when I go in for treatment for these types of health concerns I have limited information to provide. Everyone was in the clouds as to the reason why I would get sick more often than most people, because I was very physically fit in all other ways. It was only recently that I could provide the relevant information that I was almost two months premature and weighed about 3 pounds. I learned this information from my birth mother when I met and visited with her in Varna, Bulgaria in 2014. This visit really opened my eyes about my health.

I always wanted to meet my birth mom and my adoptive parents were supportive of this. We agreed that we would try to find my birth family after I graduated from high school. My adoptive mom contacted an organization named TIES and they gave her the name of a lawyer in Bulgaria who would do a search for my mom. This search cost $1000 dollars and I contributed $500 to this search. At first my birth mom was hesitant to meet me, because she had started a family. The lawyer from Bulgaria sent a video recording of my aunt and grandmother. They were smiling and very excited and said please come to Bulgaria no matter what. I don’t know what changed my mother’s mind, but by the time I was leaving for Bulgaria she said yes to meeting me and insisted I come to her home. When I got to Varna I met my brother first at a Cathedral in central Varna. He had a different father, but the same mother. He took us to my mother’s house and I met my stepdad, sister, grandmother, aunts, and several other relatives. My mother was out shopping and when she came home she stopped in her tracks and started to cry. She held me for several minutes and for the next two days we were together almost constantly. My mother kept saying to me, “Rumen you look...