I BELIEVE IN ADOPTION
When I was little, my mom and dad explained to me that I was adopted. My sister was too. They told me that I had “picked her out because she had blue eyes”. My mom had to have emergency surgery when she was 18 years old. The surgery left her unable to have children. I am proud of the fact that I am adopted. Especially since I was born with a life long disability.
All through my life when I’ve told people that I am adopted everyone says, “Don’t you want to know who your real parents are?” My answer is always NO. My “real” parents are the two wonderful people that brought me up. They cared for me when I was sick, gave me all my values and morals. Brought me up to be a good person. They helped me form my beliefs, even if they were different from theirs. I also thought it was cruel and hurtful to my parents to try and find my biological parents. I know my biological mother was 16 years old and my biological father was 17. I was not interested at all at any time in my life to try to search these biological people out. I am just extremely happy that they let me go and that my parents picked me out.
My disability is not always seen. It is the rarest form of eczema there is. When I was 2 years old I had to wear 2×4 boards on my arms with a cotton sleeve over it to keep me from scratching. Throughout school the children made fun of me. It hurt a lot. I wore long sleeves all the time so that I could pull them down over my hands. There was no covering up my face though. I stayed in the back of the classrooms and cafeteria. I did have plenty of friends that stood by me but it was always in the back of my mind to stay sort of invisible. As I grew older I learned that adults can be just as cruel, maybe more so. Some won’t want to get near me. Other won’t even take the money out of my hand. Some tell me I should try this, do that, and all forms of creative cures. None work. I become immune to the steroids and topical cortisones that are given to me. I have even frustrated one of the head dermatologists in the country. I never stop itching. Think of being in a swarm of mosquitoes with them all biting you. Now multiply itching by 1000 and you may get near to what I feel constantly. My form of eczema comes from…well nobody knows. It is extremely painful, especially in the winter. My condition is hereditary. It skips a generation. Therefore my daughter did not get it but my grandson might I have become a much more understanding person because of my disability. I have learned to accept it. It has made me who I am today. I am grateful beyond words that my parents adopted me. They were not told of my condition and when they found out they did everything in their power to try to help me. Not only physically but emotionally. Don’t judge people harshly. You never know what is happening in their life. You never know what they’re dealing with.
Yes I believe in adoption for all. There are parents out there for everyone!