Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010

From Ukraine, with love

Raleigh families share adoption bond

When the Wojcik family decided to adopt a toddler with Down syndrome from a Ukrainian orphanage 5,100 miles away, they never imagined that a North Raleigh neighbor was doing the same thing.

Home since September, Milana Wojcik, 3, plays with fellow Ukrainian adoptee, Nadia Irina Ferguson, almost 3, who arrived in June. Settled in their North Raleigh haven, carefree giggles now replace stark orphan stares.

They connected through Reece's Rainbow, a nonprofit dedicated to international adoption of children with Down syndrome.

Eastern Europe is about 50 years behind the West, said Andrea Roberts, Reece's Rainbow's executive director. With scarce economic and medical resources, outdated stigmas prevail, she said. Children are orphaned - and thus available for adoption.

In the U.S., with advanced prenatal testing, perhaps stigmas still prevail, as 90 percent of pregnant women choose abortion upon diagnosis. Ironically, there are waiting lists of prospective parents are eager to adopt children with Down syndrome, Roberts said.

"It's a very interesting dichotomy," she said.

Changing Attitudes

"I think that it is sad that these children are seen only based on their 'disability,'" said Quail Ridge Road resident Jennifer Wojcik, who adopted one of the Ukranian orphans. "Parents are told their children won't ever learn to read or write or have jobs. We know this isn't the case. We looked at it more that we were adopting a child. The Down syndrome didn't matter."

A reading teacher at Douglas Elementary, Wojcik "always had a soft spot for children with Down syndrome," with her background in special education. With husband Chris, daughters, 8-year-old twins Riley and Peyton, and Karissa, 19, they chose Milana.

"It's an amazing journey watching our biological children learn about orphans around the world and have such a strong heart to help them," Wojcik said. "Milana is such a character. She laughs so hard and will laugh for such a long time. She brings so much love to our home."

Four blocks away, Kristin and Jim Ferguson of Hedgelawn Way were a few months ahead in the process to bring Nadia home from Ukraine.

Also parents of three, (Allen, 14, Josi, 12, and Michael, 10), all were excited. Josi, who has Down syndrome, repeatedly pointed to Nadia's picture, saying, "I want her."

Since starting 41/2 years ago, Reece's Rainbow has helped place 350 children.

Four children with Down syndrome have arrived in Louisburg from Ukraine since 2009 to Jenny Sousa-Brown and husband Steven, who have adopted nine children through U.S. foster care, and six from Ukraine.

International adoption red tape includes child services, Homeland Security and foreign authorities.

"They asked us why would you want to adopt someone who won't be (accepted) in society," Steven Brown said.

Smiling at his thriving children in tacit rebuttal of low expectations, he said, "Everyone has a purpose."

As if on cue, little Noah snuggled serenely into his mother's arms. He was literally on the bus to an institution when they reached the orphanage.

"They told us Noah was so severe, we should pick another child," said Sousa-Brown, a pediatric ICU nurse at Duke University Hospital.

The couple pleaded for the bus to return.

"Sometimes Noah reminds a lot of people that they need to slow down," Sousa-Brown said.

Had Noah been transferred - children with special needs routinely are at 4 - his adoption might have been derailed, his future bleak. Once transferred to state-run institutions, 80 percent die within a year, Roberts said.

Down syndrome is a genetic condition in which individuals have three, rather than two copies of the 21st chromosome, resulting in varying degrees of intellectual delays and health issues.

With medical advances, education and awareness efforts to improve their lives, life expectancy has dramatically increased to age 60.

"When I think of what Nadia's life would be like if we hadn't gotten her out of the orphanage, it makes me cry," Kristin Ferguson said.

"Not everyone is in a position to adopt, but everyone can help in some way to make sure those that want to adopt are able to and that more of these little ones can be brought home to families where they belong."