“So when we received the call a little more than 3 months into our sacred experience that some distant family members in one of the Carolinas had come forward claiming they wanted to fight us for custody, our world exploded. Help.”
If you have ever been through the trauma of losing a loved one, experiencing a serious illness, injury or attack, or enduring an experience that wipes you away emotionally, physically, psychically, and spiritually--for us, this was it.
For 12 months, we endured home visits from a revolving door of caseworkers and supervisors from the State of NJ, who, I suspect, were wary of us because when the news was received that our daughter was in jeopardy, we swung into action--notifying pertinent legal institutions, foster parent associations, Oprah (no luck there), the Governor’s Office; and we were relentless in going up the chain of command in the Department of Youth and Family Services. “How could a case,” we asked, “that was to be a no-brainer going for adoption suddenly turn up family in the Carolinas? Wasn’t a diligent search conducted?”
And the simple answer was: “There are no guarantees.”
