Patti,
Yes, we're all disappointed about not going to ILCA this year. :-( -maybe next
time. At any rate, I must have been really lucky to get some of the bizarre
cases I have, but I think the mom you describe sounds very similar to one I
worked with a couple of years ago.  She wanted to rent an EBP for a future
adoption.  We started talking about the normal stuff we go over with these
moms and she shared alot about her medical history.  She had fertility
problems and also some rare combination of endocrine problems that it seemed
her body was eating itself. Making a long story short, the adoption didn't
happen, but during the course of trying to bring in a milk supply her health
status turned around completely and she elected to purchase a pump and
continue pumping the enjoy the health benefits induced lactation had conferred
on her.  At last conversation, she was "maintainence pumping" a couple of
times per day and her health status was still positive - much to the amazement
of her highly specialized HCP.  She isn't the only one I've seen that
breastfeeding has had a positive change in a mom's health status, she's just
the most dramatic.
Your adoptive mom has nothing to lose and it would not be the worst thing in
the world for her adoptive daughter to get mama milk on her cereal!  If we can
remove the blinders of our cultural considerations this could be a great thing
for all concerned. I think I'd stop short of encouraging her to try to bfeed
the 9 yr old.  It would be ok if they'd been doing it all along, but it seems
like too many potential wierd problems could result in starting at this late
stage.  Hope it all works out for her/them/you.

Gretchen Andrews, BA,LLLL, IBCLC
private practice, Redlands,CA