US State Dept Travel Alert
The following link will take you to the official travel alert:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_china.html#
I want to especially point out the part that says:
In some instances, children have been separated from their parents because either the parent or the child tested positive for 2009-H1N1 and was placed in quarantine for treatment. This situation presents the possibility of Chinese medical personnel administering medications to minors without first having consulted their parents.
As important as the trip to China was for GlitterGirl when we adopted TwinkleToes, under the current circumstances I would be strongly considering whether we should take her with us or not.
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I was so happy that our older daughter (a teenager) was with us on Family Day. However, if I were leaving now, I would not take her with us. Even though she is a teen and not a young child, it would be terrifying to her and us if she were away from us in a hospital while overseas.
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:24 pm
As a long, long, long time reader, this is my first comment ever, on a topic that has just sent waves of fear through me. With a LID of 3/27/06, we have planned for almost 4 years to take our two older children with us. They will be 12 and 14 in the fall. Our 12 year old son has diabetes – what in the world would that look like, if a quarantine issue came up?? Oh, my – my head is kind of spinning right now.
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
We have thought about this for some time and we have decided that even thouhg it would kill us to leave Rachel behind (5 years old) that we don’t want to take a chance on anything happening to her.
So she will be staying with her grandparents while we are in China. Better safe than sorry.
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Unrelated to this post, but so sad: the agency I used to adopt my daughter is closing its doors. They just made announcement emails.
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Wise choice, to leave young children in the US, or Canada or other countries. The thought of having any of my children away from me in a foreign country while they are sick having no control on the care they need..no thank you. Our family has been dealing with H1N1 for the last 7 days (oldest daughter got it from school) and I was sure glad to have my girls at home with me. Of course, I got sick taking care (very contagious while fevers are high). My husband was away for the week on business, perfect timing he was home for the week-end to take of us, fevers were down, so he’s ok. It’s not a big deal when you are at home and have control on what to adminster to your children, but in a foreign country, it’s a different story, Now were left with coughing, and the quarantine time will be over on Wednesday! Youpi!
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Jason was 8 when he came with us to meet his sister. He was a great help but if we were traveling today, as much as it would kill me to leave him home, there’s no way I’d be able to take him. The fear of having my child separated from me if either of us were quarantined would be just too much. I’d still go but I wouldn’t be able to take him.
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I wish the State Dept alert were more specific. “Reports of …” is vague. Where were the families? How many times has this happened? What percentage of travelers into China have been quarantined? All this would help our decision making. I don’t like this at all. We may buy the ticket for our son but make the decision at the last minute. If we are all healthy upon boarding the plane, we should be OK, right? I don’t mind us all being quarantined if someone on the plane has a fever, but … forget about this separation thing. Not in a million years.
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Well, that definitely made the decision for me about bringing our 14 year old son along. No way! I cannot IMAGINE him having to be separated from us in China. At least I feel at peace about it now and know that it is probably for the best that he stays at home.
Molly
http://www.allisonpina.com
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:22 pm
I have stayed calm and patient throughout this process, but this latest is making me freak out! We have been planning this trip with our two children for a LONG time (LID 3/29/2006). They are so excited to go and get their sister (or brother). It is going to break their hearts and mine to leave them home, but I am now terrified to bring them. Are we overreacting? I will also have to make the trip alone as we do not have anyone who can care for them while we are away and my husband will stay home. I know we still have some time, but I can’t imagine things will get better as we move into the fall.
Crushed by this news,
akina
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Well, we’re LID 3/21… which means we’re next, and probably traveling in September. (And our son is 14.)
Keep in mind the cases of separation occurred when a parent or child tested positive for swine flu… not just when there was suspicion.
Unless I’m misunderstanding, it seems unlikely that parents and children would be separated unless swine flu was actually present. Right?
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:16 pm
adamanderin,
What you describe (a positive result to testing) is how it sounds to me based on the State Dept alert.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 pm
adamanderin – we are 3/22 and our son will be 14 in December… I am for the first time questioning whether he will now go with us…
Search for “Welcome to Quarantine” in the forum to find the thread. This family is in China right now with their 3 kids and someone on their plane contracted the virus, their whole family was quarantined and subjected to throat cultures, her husband came up positive, he is in the hospital and she and her kids were moved to a ‘quarantine’ hotel near the hospital…
Her experience is really making me question whether or not to bring our son…
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:15 am
I agree with sewhopefull22..please read the blog of the family now in quarantine with her children. I took both of my two elder daughters to China with me in 2003 (post SARS) and in 2007. Based on this family’s experience, I would be choosing NOT be taking my children right now if I was going to China within the next few months..
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:34 am
We leave in a little more than 24 hrs. We have been struggling that we are taking our 9 yo daughter with us in light of the swine flu issues. The younger brothers are staying at home. Everything is ready…she has been waiting and planning on this for months.
We have tamiflu in our suitcase.
Tonight we registered with the State Dept and read this latest advisory.
Tears, prayers, and decision made. Her flights are cancelled and we are repacking bags. She is not going. Its just too much to risk. We love her too much and she has the rest of her life to spend with her sister.
We are heartbroken and she is too. But we are grateful to be able to make this decision before leaving.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:19 am
It is sound as if I was crazy, but we are going to travel next week with our two sons. I can imagine let them here. It is a very remote possibility to tested positive for swine flu. And if it happened to one of my sons, I hope that my husband or me get infected too. We travel with my parents to help us in case something occur.
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:09 am
Is the State Dept alert causing us to re-think taking our daughter? Absolutely. Is it the slam-dunk “no” for us that it apparently is for many others? Absolutely not. I’m not questioning the anguish of csb and others, but I also appreciate the sentiments of fromSpain and adamanderin.
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:21 am
I have to say, I can’t really imagine leaving my 14-year-old son here. I almost think leaving him behind would be more traumatic than any quarantine-related “adventures” in China. And, after all, three days in a foreign hotel by himself it would be one heck of a coming-of-age trial ;-)
Of course, I say that now, while it’s still just an unlikely hypothetical.
As we don’t expect to travel until September, however, we’ll just take a wait-and-see approach for now. If there’s one thing that remains constant, it’s change. I mean, three months, come on, something’s bound to shake up by then.
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:30 am
Just realized my last post had an uncomfortable “famous last words” ring about it…
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Needless to say – this is a huge hiccup in a process already riddled with challenges and delays.
We just received our referral and will be taking our 6 year old as we absolutely have no other choice. However, if one of us tested postive – can we not all go into quarantine? (In truth – they would have to kill me first before they would take my daughter from me.) Surely they would not separate a 6 year old from her parents?
Anyone have more details?
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I spent a week with our DD in a Ch*nese hospital, reported to be the “best in province and region.” No way, no how would I take my children with me right now. We are not set to travel for at least 6 months as we are hoping to be DTC within 6 weeks. However, medical care there (from our experience, no flames please) is VERY DIFFERENT from western standards. The cleanliness factor alone (or lack of it, shared needles, no hand washing, shared rooms w/ communicable germs, list could go on and on) is enough to make me say no. Like I said, no flames please but we experienced medical care firsthand last fall and it is not what I would want for my children. We had planned to take our two boys, 10 and 6, and decided last-minute to leave them w/ grandparents when we got word our daughter was sick. It was the right decision for us and we still had a nice hotel to go *home* to at the end of the day. They would not allow us to stay at the hospital btw. We had to go when the orphanage director allowed it. Another story but anyway, this is just our experience. I am sorry for you all facing this decision. I truly am.
June 24th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
We are still planning to take our 2 boys, ages 6 and almost 8, because we think the chance of them getting infected and quarantined is just so small. We are supposed to leave a week from tomorrow, and have been very excited as we have waited so long. But now I am just heartbroken. After all this waiting, delays, one flight last month cancelled to swine flu, Hague stuff, I feel like I can hardly stand anymore. But of course you do what you have to. At this point I can hardly imagine either taking them with us, or leaving them behind. Both seem like terrible options….