Emma Mallon
Newsprint
Mercy HS
1st Place
Division 4, News Writing
Human Interest Feature
I remember every detail of the day I was taken away,” said senior Lizzie Adragna. “I remember bits and pieces of my birth parents, but the most important thing I remember is the abuse.”
Adragna’s birth parents were running from the police for years before they were caught. Adragna says she was physically abused by her biological parents. She lived in fear that she would be sent away if she ever disobeyed them and told others about the abuse. This all changed the day she was removed from the care of her birth parents by Child Protective Services at the age of 3.
“As [the officer] was taking me out of the house I cried to my mom, ‘I promise I’ll be good, just please don’t let them take me,’” said Adragna.
Adragna and her siblings were placed into separate foster care homes. Today, her brother, Alex, and sister, Florence, still require more care since they suffer from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder due to their mother’s consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.
In situations like those of Adragna’s siblings, children need more attentive care, especially in the foster care system. According to the Northern American Council on Adoptable Children, 58% of children in foster care need specialized health care. Adoption provides these children with a life of increased parental involvement in order to aid in their growth and improvement.
“My parents visited us at the foster agency for a while, but eventually they stopped coming,” said Adragna. “Even though they didn’t take care of us, I forgive them.”
Adragna’s adoptive parents were hesitant as to whether or not they could provide a sustainable life for the three children, but they prayed to God for the guidance to make the correct decision for the family. Their prayers were answered when they were driving to the adoption agency and were cut-off in traffic by a minivan.
“The entire car was covered in a combination of the Our Lady of Fatima stickers and Adoption is the Loving Option stickers,” said Adragna. “They took this as God’s sign as this is what they were meant to do, so they adopted all three of us.”
The first time the Adragnas met Lizzie, she was wearing an Our Lady of Fatima scapular that she reportedly never took off.
“It has been God’s will for us to be a family,” said Mary Jo Adragna, Lizzie’s adoptive mother. “There are challenging issues inany family, and adoption is no exception, but we were meant to be together.”
Lizzie is extremely grateful for the opportunities that her adoptive parents gave her and understands that a life of abuse and neglect would have made her a drastically different person.
“My experiences make me who I am,” said Adragna. “My selfesteem has been affected, but I don’t try to make it part of my daily life.”
Adoption is a chance to provide a better life, not only for children in harmful situations, but also for women who are incapable of providing an adequate life for their child.
Many adults are apprehensive about adopting a child from a broken home, while others are cautious about adopting a child of a different race. The National Health Interview Survey found that only eight percent of adoptions occur between parents and children of different races. Sophomore Lexy Arthur was transracially adopted from Detroit when she was 4-days-old.
“I am the only African-American person in my family …, [and] I live in Brighton, where there is a black minority,” said Arthur. “Being adopted has given me tougher skin and made me more independent.”
Arthur is grateful for the ‘new life’ she was given through adoption, but she admits that it was no “walk in the park.” “Adoption is hard . . . but the benefits are worth it any day,” said Arthur. “I would never trade my family for the world.”
Senior Kathleen McGee was adopted from Russia when she was 6-months-old. Growing up with her adopted family allowed Kathleen to develop a close loving relationship with them.
“My adopted parents are my real parents,” said McGee. “Adoption is nothing to be ashamed about; our love is just the same.”
McGee commonly forgets that she is not biologically related to her family. She admits that being adopted at such a young age has aided in the bond she shares with her family. The life they have given her has grately impacted McGee’s future.
“My birth mom had the right intentions . . .,” said McGee. “She wanted me to have a better future.”
November, the National Adoption Month, is used to promote the numerous benefits of adoption to both children and families. According to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, only eight percent of all women have adopted or are in the process of adopting children. The other 92% either have their own children or do not have children due to choice or infertility.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, more than 1.5 million children were adopted in the United States and 57,072 of them were adopted in Michigan. In 2012, according to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, only 24% of children in foster care were adopted.
The impact that a loving family and nurturing environment have on a child is incomparable to the experiences of many in foster care. Their new lives following adoption provide numerous opportunities for them to grow mentally and emotionally. Adoption should be considered as a viable option, not only for infertile families, but for anyone who wants to have children and make a difference in someone’s life.
“No child deserves the kind of life I had,” said Adragna. “To be rescued through adoption is something God had a lot to do with.”