Adopted children in general have a history of loss--no matter if they were passed from their birth mother's arms to their adopted parent's arms in the hospital, if they were abandoned at the local orphanage, or if they were taken from their original home because of their birth parents' choices.
Bubby is a twin. He has a condition called Amyoplasia, one of the most common forms of Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita. If you've never heard of it, don't feel bad. I hadn't either, before I started the process to adopt him. It's fairly rare. As a rare disorder, there is very little knowledge and treatment for AMC in the worldwide medical community. Therefore, many doctors advise mothers pregnant with a baby with AMC to abort. That's what Bubby's birth mom was told. I actually had the opportunity to tell her thank you for choosing life for him. She chose life for her twin boys; and because they didn't have the medical support necessary to care for him, they lovingly placed him in the local orphanage and took his brother home.
In 2011, just before his sixth birthday, I went to Ukraine and adopted him. Almost two years ago, I told him of his twin brother. He's had a desire to reunite with him ever since.
After years of occasional looking, I got the push I needed to help Bubby find his brother when I saw this reunion of adopted twin girls on Good Morning America.
I contacted a missionary who works in the orphanages in the area Bubby is from, and asked if he knew of how we might find his birth family. I was pleasantly surprised when he messaged me back with the family's contact information and the offer of a translator. I spoke to his birth mother first, while he was at school. Her first question to me was if he had learned to walk. I proudly told her that after many surgeries and therapies, that he could now walk. We cried happy tears together about the boy that we both love.
The next week, Bubby had the chance to talk to her via the translator.
Here is his account of their conversation:
I was nervous while waiting to talk to my birth mom. If you're wondering if I have a birth mom, yes I'm adopted. I was scared to talk to her but I prayed to God and he give me courage to say the right words I had to say to her. The first word I said to her was "hi"and she said back to me,"Do you have good grades?". I said back to her "Yes, I have good grades". I asked her if my brothers know that I'm their brother. She said, "No. Are you mad at me?" I respond to her, "No. What does your house look like?" She said it is a small house.
Of course, there were many more details that they talked about--like the fact that he also has a nine year old brother, but these were the topics that were the most memorable for him. We are just waiting on them to decide when the right time is for them to tell the boys that they have a brother in America. This is their story too; and they have the right to discuss the situation on their timetable.
We're excited to continue to communicate with them, exchange photos of our families, and hopefully meet one day!
Bubby is a twin. He has a condition called Amyoplasia, one of the most common forms of Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita. If you've never heard of it, don't feel bad. I hadn't either, before I started the process to adopt him. It's fairly rare. As a rare disorder, there is very little knowledge and treatment for AMC in the worldwide medical community. Therefore, many doctors advise mothers pregnant with a baby with AMC to abort. That's what Bubby's birth mom was told. I actually had the opportunity to tell her thank you for choosing life for him. She chose life for her twin boys; and because they didn't have the medical support necessary to care for him, they lovingly placed him in the local orphanage and took his brother home.
In 2011, just before his sixth birthday, I went to Ukraine and adopted him. Almost two years ago, I told him of his twin brother. He's had a desire to reunite with him ever since.
After years of occasional looking, I got the push I needed to help Bubby find his brother when I saw this reunion of adopted twin girls on Good Morning America.
I contacted a missionary who works in the orphanages in the area Bubby is from, and asked if he knew of how we might find his birth family. I was pleasantly surprised when he messaged me back with the family's contact information and the offer of a translator. I spoke to his birth mother first, while he was at school. Her first question to me was if he had learned to walk. I proudly told her that after many surgeries and therapies, that he could now walk. We cried happy tears together about the boy that we both love.
The next week, Bubby had the chance to talk to her via the translator.
Here is his account of their conversation:
I was nervous while waiting to talk to my birth mom. If you're wondering if I have a birth mom, yes I'm adopted. I was scared to talk to her but I prayed to God and he give me courage to say the right words I had to say to her. The first word I said to her was "hi"and she said back to me,"Do you have good grades?". I said back to her "Yes, I have good grades". I asked her if my brothers know that I'm their brother. She said, "No. Are you mad at me?" I respond to her, "No. What does your house look like?" She said it is a small house.
Of course, there were many more details that they talked about--like the fact that he also has a nine year old brother, but these were the topics that were the most memorable for him. We are just waiting on them to decide when the right time is for them to tell the boys that they have a brother in America. This is their story too; and they have the right to discuss the situation on their timetable.
We're excited to continue to communicate with them, exchange photos of our families, and hopefully meet one day!
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