Adopted as an infant, I grew up in western Texas and stayed active as a kid. Good health was a byproduct of life on my parents’ ranch. Tending livestock, after all, is a physically demanding job. It kept me on my toes all day, every day.

My son, Steve, likewise, is in tip-top shape and runs marathons for fun. Imagine my surprise, then, when he experienced a sudden cardiac arrest — an event that baffled Steve’s medical providers, who decided heart trouble must run in the family.

For many adoptees, access to their family medical history is limited or non-existent. So, news of a personal illness or child’s illness is especially devastating for adoptees. Without access to family medical history, adoptees are often powerless to identify the root cause of medical issues that plague their kids.

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