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I get news alerts of things that have to do with adoptions from Guatemala. Many times they are feel good stories that are important but not something to inform you guys about here. Then there was this story from the Rockford Register Star (http://www.rrstar.com). As I read, I had no doubt that the readers of The Guatemala Adoption Blog would find this interesting!
Big day for a new mom
Janine Brass was first to adopt through group’s Guatemala programBy Melissa Westphal
ROCKFORD REGISTER STARJanine Brass hasn’t had much time to think about celebrating her first Mother’s Day this year. She’s too busy following 1-year-old daughter Aria around the house, watching what the curious infant will discover next.
Aria bops around Brass’ Rockford home, a little wobbly at times because she’s still feeling out how fast she can walk.
You hear her giggle and see her tiny, dark brown pigtails rush by as she goes for a toy or reaches for the family dog, Bailey. She scales mom’s wheelchair when she gets too tired to cuddle in Brass’ lap.
Brass, 34, always wanted to be a mom, so she says Aria’s nontraditional arrival last year certainly came as a blessing. Aria also has the honor of being the first baby to be adopted from Guatemala through the local Children’s Home & Aid Society’s special program.
“She was such an easygoing baby, and she still is,” Brass said. “Life is different, but in a great way.”
Brass’ adoption research took about a year because she wanted to find countries and agencies with experience in working with people with disabilities. Brass, a music teacher in the Beloit School District, has been in a wheelchair since age 11, when a blood vessel in her back burst, leaving her legs paralyzed.
Countries can’t necessarily restrict adoptions for disabled parents, but agencies do handle the adoptions and the necessary foreign travel on a case-by-case basis. Brass wanted to be prepared for the challenge of promoting herself as a single, disabled parent.
She saw an advertisement for CHASI’s Guatemalan adoption program and said that after she made her first phone call, “I felt connected right off the bat.”
“They were impressed with her,” said Jane Brass, Janine’s mother. “She had done her homework, written her bio already. They could see she was educated and that she lived on her own even though she’s handicapped. She had done her homework on parenting from a wheelchair. They knew she was serious and had given a lot of thought to it.”
CHASI started its Guatemalan adoption program in October 2004. Babies there are kept in foster care, so Brass felt reassured that her baby would be well taken care of before she was able to adopt. CHASI officials provided Brass with pictures and a DVD of Aria shortly after she was born.
“She already had her dark hair and brown eyes,” Brass recalled. “That has stayed pretty consistent.”
The trip to get Aria made for a quick turnaround. Brass found out she could leave on a Wednesday, booked a trip and left on a Saturday. She was nervous because she finally would get to see Aria, but also because she had never traveled to a foreign country and didn’t speak Spanish.
Brass interviewed with CHASI in October 2004 and saw Aria for the first time on Sunday, July 31, 2005. Aria was 4 months old.
A new life
It was difficult to get around in Guatemala, considering the country has no handicap-accessibility requirements, but Brass said people treated her with tremendous respect.
“I came into the hotel, and the concierge knew my name,” Brass said. “I felt like a movie star.”
The concierge called up to Brass’ room on the Sunday she was to see Aria and said, “There’s a lady here with a baby for you.”
When the elevator doors opened, Brass saw Aria, complete with the two tiny sprouting pigtails she still sports today.
“It was a very emotional moment,” Brass said. “The foster mom started crying; I started crying. She gave her such wonderful care.”
Brass said the first few hours with Aria were pretty easy. Brass and her mom shopped at local markets to pick up some souvenirs for Aria, and they all returned home by Wednesday. Relatives greeted them at the airport.
She was able to take family medical leave until November to be with Aria.
“I was so happy to do that because the bonding was immediate,” Brass said.
She brought Aria to her first Green Bay Packers game last year to hear Brass sing. Aria wore a team cheerleader’s outfit, which she’s wearing in a framed picture that hangs in the hallway of Brass’ home.
Brass said being a teacher and working with kids and having a structured schedule made adjusting to life with Aria a little easier.
“I really lucked out,” she said. “She’s awesome. I love her so much.”
A co-worker of Brass’ designed a jungle-theme mural for Aria’s room that covers an entire wall and stretches into the corners. The rest of the walls are pink. Aria has a closet full of clothes and another closet filling up with outfits for when she grows a little more.
Jane Brass helped her daughter care for Aria this year after Brass had surgery, and she babysits during the week.
“There I saw what she had to do from a wheelchair, and it’s pretty amazing. To think that she’s a full-time mom holding down a full-time job. I was newly impressed with my daughter,” she said.
Jane’s motherly advice? Be consistent and offer tough love, meaning be willing to discipline but also show that you love your child.
“Family traditions are important, and so is the church home,” Jane said. “You have to raise your children to have values and keep family first above a job.”
Several other couples traveled to Guatemala around the same time Brass did, said Peggy Franklin, CHASI’s adoptions program manager.
“She sold us on her ability to care for a child,” Franklin said of Brass. “Her mother, friends and relatives provide a great support system. And she’s just a remarkable woman.”
The group assists with its seventh Guatemalan placement this weekend, just in time for Mother’s Day.
Staff writer Melissa Westphal can be reached at mwestpha@rrstar.com or 815-987-1352.
