As a child I was responsible, did excellent in school and was extremely athletic. When I was 14, my athletic dreams crumbled due to financial difficulties and I found myself without any goals or the friends that had surrounded me for years. Spending more time at home, I also came to the realization that my sister’s drug addiction had destroyed my family. My parents put all their energy into helping her and I was lost and all alone. I found someone who consoled me but found out that I was only temporary to them. However, things were different. I was no longer alone. I was pregnant.
In a time when I should have been so afraid, I was actually comforted because my life once again had a purpose. I loved my child more than words could describe but I knew that I had nothing to give him. My family was very clear they would not support us, so I reached out to Adoption Options.
It was through counselling here that I learned about open adoption, and the choices I had. With the help of a social worker, I built an adoption plan and explored the many ways I could be a part of my child’s life. I read letters and profiles of perspective adoptive parents for hours and hours but none of them felt right. When I got to the last letter, I knew I had found my child’s adoptive parents. “
It was the hardest and most painful thing I have ever done. But I know that without Adoption Options, my son would not have the opportunities he has today. His adoptive family is able to provide for him in ways that I could not. Knowing Liam is important to me because it validates that I made the right choice. Watching him grow and flourish gives me strength and makes me proud to be his birthmother. I know now that in an open adoption you do not lose a child but you gain a family.
Stephanie