⋙ [PDF] Gratis Sunday Child eBook A Foster Parent

Sunday Child eBook A Foster Parent

Download As PDF : Sunday Child eBook A Foster Parent

Ronnie was nine-months-old but he weighed only nine pounds. He was labelled a "failure-to-thrive" case and sent to a pediatric center for more tests. Doctors agreed there were general
symptoms indicating congenital central nervous system disease, but they refused to be more specific. Such problems were so rare they were called "orphan diseases."

The caseworker told the baby's fifteen-year-old mother, if she relinquished him to the state's custody, he could receive "special needs" care and might qualify for adoption. She had no other options. She signed the papers.

While the state processed his case and looked for placement options, my husband and I were investigating adoption as the most likely means of adding to our family. We had one
son, but our future fertility prospects were poor and adoption waiting lists discouragingly
long. Then Ed read the Sunday Times column "Sunday's Child" featuring hard-to-place
foster kids in need of a home. Most of the kids were black. Many had what the state termed
slight disabilities. All needed long-term homes.

Should we respond? To me, race wasn't an issue, but I might not know how to handle some
handicaps. And the impermanence of foster care scared me. I wanted a child to keep.

Caseworkers said Ronnie would be free for adoption as soon as the court finalized his natural family's case. Doctors at children's hospital could tell me his prognosis and detail
his needs.

I decided to meet him, and then, despite our stormy trial period, I began to understand his
reserve and his wariness. He needed a basis for trust. Shouldn't we give him that?

How was I to know I'd be pregnant the next month? Or that Ronnie's doctors would
shrug their shoulders when I asked them what to expect? Or that the state would stall
for eight years to clear up his adoptive status and then renege on their side of the deal?

When we make commitments, we take risks without seeing the future. I saw instead
that Ronnie insisted on absolute honesty, demanded dignity, loved generously, laughed
a lot, and fought with no holds barred.

Ultimately Ron's story is a success story. He gained more family than he ever expected,
multiple circles of friends who loved him, and colleagues who respected him. I was proud
to help him achieve an independent adult life and a productive career. I was humbled by
what he taught me about caring, courage, and forgiveness. I was a slow learner.