Little girl, undiagnosed medical

angela m · 04-03-2007, 01:35 AM

My friends little girl (7yrs old) has undiagnosed medical condition, where she doesn't eat and has a feeding tube in tummy, known as gastric tube - to date still no diagnosis. My friends (air con engineer) are looking to move to oz at same time as us.

Does anyone know how this is likely to affect their situation.

All comments would be welcomed.

Angela

ali · 04-03-2007, 01:00 PM

I'm sorry I don't know the answer to that one would they be looking to go to aus after the condition was diagnosed? It may be better to stay in the UK and get the initial diagnosis and treatment so they can then know what support/medical services they would need in Aus.

Ali

Gollywobbler · 04-03-2007, 09:30 PM

Hi Andela

Which visa are your frienda applying for?

Apart from that, I agree with Ali. I suspect that the Medical Officer of the Commonswealth might defer making a decision about the child's meds until the MOC has a definite diagnosis from the child's specialists about what is causing the problem. That would delay the processing of the visa.

What stage has your friends' application reached and are they using a Migration Agent? If so, which one? I'd have thought that most migration agents would advise against making the application until the child's condition is sorted out, unless the main applicant is about to turn 45 or something.

If your friends have made their application but have not yet been asked for their meds, I might be inclined to consider frontloading the child's meds only, and to ask the Panel Doctor to send a covering letter explaining the situation and requesting that the child's file be referred to the MOC urgently. I think it might be worth flushing the MOC out in order to discover what info he/she wants and who from, and this idea ought to have that effect. The list of Panel Doctors is here:

http://www.uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/Vi...Migration.html

I hope it will work out OK for your friends. Please let us know?

Best wishes

Gill

gail.crease · 05-03-2007, 10:06 AM

Hi

Sorry to disappoint but I doubt you will get through the medical assessment until it's resolved. We were due to get our visa's in January but my baby had a blockage to a kidney tube which was detected ante-natally. It was a straighforward operation with a 95% success rate and the worst case scenario was he would lose a kidney but still had a good one. This wasn't acceptable for the medical assessment and our visa was deferred until after the operation. His consultant won't sign him off for 3 months after the operation which is standard procedure so our case officer has given us an extension until the middle of June for him to be signed off and pass his medical.

I think you should do your best to get your daughter diagnosed as soon as possible before applying.

Good luck

Gail

angela m · 06-03-2007, 03:03 PM

Thanks for all your support and sharing your stories with me.

When my friends baby was born she was 1lb 3oz, she has had this condition since around 3 months old and for the last 7 years.

My friend is constantly trying to obtain a definite diagnosis, but is always turned away without one from the specialists, as they seem to have no idea and no funding to look into it any further.

As you can imagine, she is at her wits end. But as a mother you have to keep going anyway.

They have all been through so much, that they now just want a better life and standard of living, which they were hoping to get from Oz.

gail.crease · 06-03-2007, 10:40 PM

Hi Angela

Sorry I got confused thinking it was your daughter not your friends.

I really feel for your friend. Not only did she have a premature baby, she's had 7 years of worry for her health. It must be heartbreaking when she really wants to move to Oz for a better life for her family.

Is there any chance she could afford private care or travel to another european country for care? What about helping to do some fundraising for treatment. My father-in-law lives in Spain and recently my husband needed a CT scan. Father-in-law told us to fly to Spain to get it done as it was half the price compared to here. If you get an European health card (free on the internet) you can travel to any EU country and get free or cheaper medical treatment.

Hope it works out for them in the end.

Regards

Gail

angela m · 07-03-2007, 06:12 PM

Hi Gail

Not to worry about the mix up, I would be quite proud if she was mine as she's is such a sweetie.

I don't really know what options are open to them. Maybe they could look into private health care for a diagnosis, because they really are getting no where fast. It's just a real shame that they have paid so much money to the government in one way or another and it's letting them down when they really need it.

We've had experiences with the A & E dept down in Spain and they were top notch and thankfully the OH is pretty much fluent - but I'm sure that there are places in other parts with English speaking staff.

Thanks for giving me the alternatives to think about, I will suggest them to her.

Angela