Miss-Delectable
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Local Couple Adopt Two Deaf Children — Lemont news, photos and events — TribLocal.com
In April of this year, I received an email from Liz Gastelum, a deaf attorney who adopted two children earlier this year:
"My husband and I adopted our kids from Russia last fall (both with hearing loss). We thought they were the only kids there with a hearing loss, but once we arrived we realized that another little boy in the same group as our daughter also has a hearing loss. He is 5 years old and Buryat (Russian, but of Mongolian descent). He is a sweetheart! Aside from hearing loss, he has a form of Cerebral Palsy (although this did not seem to be severe as he can dress and feed himself, and walk etc.) To make a long story short, I am trying to get the word out about this little boy to anyone that is thinking of adoption."
I wrote a post on my blog, A Deaf Mom Shares Her World, (www.deafmomworld.com)and shared Liz’s message. I was hoping that a family would come forward and adopt the boy. I received several inquiries and forwarded them to Liz. The Schmidt family from Homer Glen, Illinois was one of the families who inquired about the little boy named Luke.
“I thought we were finished with our family,” said Suzie Schmidt, mom of five. “We hadn’t planned on doing another adoption, but we felt our family had been in the right situation—we have a deaf son, Gregory, who is also adopted. We started signing with him when he was five. I thought our sign skills would be a benefit. So George and I discussed it and decided to get more information. We emailed Liz and she connected us with an agency in Wisconsin–the Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.”
Suzie and George watched a video of Luke and asked a lot of questions. They watched Luke climbing up and down in the video and gesturing to his caretakers. They discovered he was a sweet, affectionate boy who was eager to please.
“After watching the video, George and I talked and we decided to adopt him,” said Suzie. “It was a scary thing at first, but we knew we just were supposed to do it. We couldn’t leave him there. We simply couldn’t leave him there. I knew I wanted this child– I want to teach him many things. George felt the same way.”
The adoption agency told them about another child, an 18-month old girl named Anna, who also had a hearing loss. Suzie and George went back to discussing this new twist of the journey. Were they ready and willing to take on another child, especially a much younger one?
Their children stepped forward and helped to make the decision. Mary, their older daughter, announced that she would share a room with Anna. Gregory told them he would help by taking care of Anna even when he became an adult. Again, Suzie and George felt compelled to adopt Anna too. They would call her Annie.
The cost to adopt abroad is a staggering $42,000 to $48,000. The Schmidts are about $10,000 short, but hoping to find ways to raise the rest of the funds for the kids. The Schmidts are in Russia this week, meeting their children for the first time.
“Luke is beyond excited to be with us and Annie is slowly extending smiles to us,” said Suzie. They will need to make one more trip, possibly two, before the adoption is final and the kids can come home to meet the rest of the Schmidt family.
If you would like to make a donation to assist the Schmidts with the adoption of Luke and Annie:
Check payable to: His Kids, Too! 219-B Delta Court, Tallahassee, FL 32303 (Attach a note separate from the check with the Schmidt’s name on it.)
In April of this year, I received an email from Liz Gastelum, a deaf attorney who adopted two children earlier this year:
"My husband and I adopted our kids from Russia last fall (both with hearing loss). We thought they were the only kids there with a hearing loss, but once we arrived we realized that another little boy in the same group as our daughter also has a hearing loss. He is 5 years old and Buryat (Russian, but of Mongolian descent). He is a sweetheart! Aside from hearing loss, he has a form of Cerebral Palsy (although this did not seem to be severe as he can dress and feed himself, and walk etc.) To make a long story short, I am trying to get the word out about this little boy to anyone that is thinking of adoption."
I wrote a post on my blog, A Deaf Mom Shares Her World, (www.deafmomworld.com)and shared Liz’s message. I was hoping that a family would come forward and adopt the boy. I received several inquiries and forwarded them to Liz. The Schmidt family from Homer Glen, Illinois was one of the families who inquired about the little boy named Luke.
“I thought we were finished with our family,” said Suzie Schmidt, mom of five. “We hadn’t planned on doing another adoption, but we felt our family had been in the right situation—we have a deaf son, Gregory, who is also adopted. We started signing with him when he was five. I thought our sign skills would be a benefit. So George and I discussed it and decided to get more information. We emailed Liz and she connected us with an agency in Wisconsin–the Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.”
Suzie and George watched a video of Luke and asked a lot of questions. They watched Luke climbing up and down in the video and gesturing to his caretakers. They discovered he was a sweet, affectionate boy who was eager to please.
“After watching the video, George and I talked and we decided to adopt him,” said Suzie. “It was a scary thing at first, but we knew we just were supposed to do it. We couldn’t leave him there. We simply couldn’t leave him there. I knew I wanted this child– I want to teach him many things. George felt the same way.”
The adoption agency told them about another child, an 18-month old girl named Anna, who also had a hearing loss. Suzie and George went back to discussing this new twist of the journey. Were they ready and willing to take on another child, especially a much younger one?
Their children stepped forward and helped to make the decision. Mary, their older daughter, announced that she would share a room with Anna. Gregory told them he would help by taking care of Anna even when he became an adult. Again, Suzie and George felt compelled to adopt Anna too. They would call her Annie.
The cost to adopt abroad is a staggering $42,000 to $48,000. The Schmidts are about $10,000 short, but hoping to find ways to raise the rest of the funds for the kids. The Schmidts are in Russia this week, meeting their children for the first time.
“Luke is beyond excited to be with us and Annie is slowly extending smiles to us,” said Suzie. They will need to make one more trip, possibly two, before the adoption is final and the kids can come home to meet the rest of the Schmidt family.
If you would like to make a donation to assist the Schmidts with the adoption of Luke and Annie:
Check payable to: His Kids, Too! 219-B Delta Court, Tallahassee, FL 32303 (Attach a note separate from the check with the Schmidt’s name on it.)