This National Adoption Month, we celebrate families like Travis and Christina Lewis. The second placement they accepted, came into their care in February, 2017, shortly after the baby’s birth. Travis and Christina understood the importance of reunification and building a strong bond with biological families from the very beginning. They shared photos of the child and worked hard to make a connection with the child’s mother during team meetings and court dates. When the child was in need of additional services for acid reflux, eating issues, and First Steps involvement, the family began researching additional information so that they could be fully educated and pass the information along to the team members and the child’s birth mother. The family even shared their cell phone number with the birth mother so that she could receive updates on her child while he was out of her care.
When their foster son reunified over a year later, the family helped the birth mother by caring for the child on the weekends and providing physical items the child would need to be successful. They even helped her move her belongings into a new home! Shortly after reunification, the child returned to the Lewis’ home after his reunification was not successful. They continued to support the birth mother during this difficult time, providing reassurance during court and team meetings. When the case goal changed to adoption, Travis and Christina were genuinely concerned for her and her well-being. While Travis and Christina are overjoyed that they are adopting this National Adoption Day, the lifelong impact of their child’s history and story are not lost to them.
Christina shares, “After 1,017 days, he will finally join our family. We know now exactly why nothing worked for us before. If any of our other attempts to start a family had worked, we wouldn’t have met our son. He was our son before he was born, and he will be ours long after we are gone. We would take all of the pain and heartbreak again in a second to find him. He is the answer to every prayer we have ever prayed.”
