Whether you're preparing the information for the future or getting it ready because your adult child has asked, getting your medical history information in line for your relinquished child is of vast importance. I cannot stress how important it is so let me just repeat: it is of vast importance. Even if you're not sure you're ever going to reunite or you have been told that your child does not want to reunite, you need to get this information together.

Everyone always talks about getting that medical history in order but what should you include? Everything, of course. And I do mean everything.

Some things to consider for a female that you might not have thought of: the age in which you first started menstruation. Maybe this doesn't seem pertinent, especially if your relinquished child is already an adult. But is important considering the fact that early onset of menstruation is a warning sign for breast cancer. Didn't know that? Do you now see why everything medically related is important to pass on? Even if you don't know how or why it could be important for your child to possess such information, you need to pass it on.

The medical history doesn't just stop with you. Include your parents medical histories, your siblings, your grandparents, aunts and uncles and your parented children. As an example, if you have a child who develops cystic fibrosis, all other siblings should be tested. Things like heart disease, cancers, high blood pressure, kidney disorders and so on should all be noted in the history.

And, as I said yesterday, the point is to write it down. Yes, you can call your child or your child's parents and say, "Grandma was just diagnosed with breast cancer." That is letting them know of an update to their medical history. But writing it down and passing it on assures that the information cannot be forgotten. (True, it can be lost but we'll go on the assumption that it will not be.)

If you have not prepared a detailed medical history or if you have not updated it in the past five years, please take the time to do so this week. You will not regret it.




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