Russia invasion of Ukraine impacts adoption plans

“I had my daughter 8 1/2 weeks early. She weighed 2 pounds, 4 ounces. She stayed in the NICU for six weeks. And then my son was born six weeks early. Both he and I ended up in the ICU. I had blood pressure issues. He had lung issues. After those experiences, we decided having additional kids biologically wasn’t a safe option.

“At the same time, we knew there were children all over the world who didn’t have families. Even before we had our own kids, adoption was always on our minds.

“Max was 8 years old when he first came here from an orphanage in Ukraine. My sister and brother-and-law hosted him, thinking maybe they would adopt him. As things progressed, we all came to the realization that my husband and I were supposed to adopt him. It’s hard to explain. It was just this really cool thing that happened, and it became very clear to us.

“We went on to host him for two summers and three winters. The last time he was with us, he returned home in January 2020. Then the pandemic happened. We had just gotten the green light to do our home study, which is a key step in the adoption process. But everything shut down because of COVID. Then our daughter needed major surgery. So we’ve had delays that have caused it to take much longer than we ever expected.

“We’ve always felt like we’re going to push through this, no matter what. But this past week, with Russia invading Ukraine, has been extremely stressful thinking what it could mean for Max, for his country, and for our family. It could mean that he’s never able to come here and be in our family forever. I’ve been torn wanting to consume every bit of information coming out of Ukraine, but not letting that overwhelm me with fear and what if’s.

“Hearing some of the stories from over there, it’s made me appreciate just how resilient the Ukrainian people are. They fought against the Nazis in World War II. When the Soviet Union disbanded, they fought for their independence. And now they continue to fight, which is so encouraging to see.

“We don’t know how long this conflict with continue or what the result of it will be. But we haven’t given up hope that one day, we’ll be reunited with Max. We’re committed to pursuing adopting him until it’s no longer an option. As long as that door remains open, we won’t give up that dream.”

— Alecia Simmons Chapman