Stories and Testimonials

Testimonials from adoptive couple:

After 61/2 years of marriage and dealing with infertility issues, my husband and I decided to look into adoption. That was the best decision of our lives! We now have three beautiful children. Here is our story of our journey into adoption and ultimately into parenthood.

We told that the first step we had to take was to find a private social worker licensed to complete our home study. The homestudy is a very detailed document that is completed after several meetings with the Social Worker and visits to our home. Overall, it was a good experience and allowed for self-reflection on many issues as well as good discussions between my husband and myself.

Once the homestudy was complete we took it to the Children's Aid Society and met with the Adoption Worker. There were more home visits and questions to answer. We felt we had a good, loving home, and we desperately wanted a child to nurture and love. We said that we would be interested in a child 0-4 years of age. Finally, all the paperwork was complete and we were on the list of waiting parents. How long would it take? Would we ever be parents? Rick and I both felt that if it was meant to be, it would happen.

I'll always remember that July evening when I received a call from the Adoption Worker. She said, "Carol, this is the call you've been waiting for." We were elated!! A little boy, Ben, 16 months old had been matched with our profile. She gave me a few details - big smile, healthy, and very active! We met with the worker to go over Ben's background and to see our first photo of our little angel. We were thrilled, excited, on the top of the world!!

There were a number of visits with Ben and his foster mom to get acquainted and to make the transition as smooth as possible. Although we were extremely happy, it was hard to see the look on his foster mom's face. She was losing a little one she had raised and loved since he was only weeks old. Ben was a real cutie and a bond was formed immediately. Could life get any better?

Well, eight months later we received another call. Ben had a sister Kaylee, who was 2 months old and in foster care. She would be up for adoption soon. Wow! We were being blessed once again! The process continued with visits to see our new little one, meet her foster parents etc. Baby formula, colic, up much of the night - these were new experiences for us. But the daytime smiles and playfulness were wonderful.

Now we were busy! We had the family we always dreamed of. The CAS continued to do home visits for about six months following each placement to support and encourage us through our adoption. In fact, we came to view our Adoption worker as a friend and value her insights into questions we had.

One year later we adopted our third child, Cassidy. We met Cassidy at the age of one month. She was a real beauty! We visited her often. Her foster mother had concerns about her health and development. I went with Cassidy and her foster mother to see specialists and have tests done on her hearing and vision. For some reason, there was a delay in Cassidy's paperwork and she wasn't available for adoption just yet. The CAS felt she should be free to adopt shortly. We continued to visit Cassidy; however, my husband and I discussed that we should wait until the paperwork was completed before bringing her to live with us. Our greatest fear was that she might come to stay with us and then she might need to be taken away in the future. The doctor's appointment continued. Although I was concerned about her health, I knew in my heart that she was going to be just fine. I will never forget one day I was visiting with Cassidy when she was about two months old. This little infant looked right up at me and I felt she was trying to communicate with me, trying to tell me that she was okay and that she wanted to be part of our family. Right then I knew what I had to do. I talked with my husband and told him that I felt we needed to take the risk - I wanted Cassidy home with us. I was so much in love with her already. We met with the CAS and decided to foster Cassidy with the view to adopt her when (and if) she was clear to be adopted.

The night Cassidy came to live with us she was very ill. I was up all through the night rocking her and listening to her breathe. The next morning I tool her to our family doctor. He sent her to the local hospital where she had oxygen treatments. She was later sent by ambulance to CHEO. Cassidy and I stayed at CHEO for three days. We were now bonded for life. I missed my other two children immensely, and I was very happy when we were all healthy and back at home. Cassidy did indeed come up for adoption. She is now legally our child.

As I mentioned earlier, the decision to adopt was the best decision of our lives. We now have 3 amazing children. They are all happy, active, and healthy! Ben, Kaylee, and Cassidy make us smile everyday. I know there will be issues that arise through the years, and I hope our love, faith, and honesty will guide our family. We would like to thank the Children's Aid Society for making our lives complete.