Wednesday's Child Success Stories
Success Stories…
Finding Adoptive Homes for Children
Jron Taylor, Washington DC
Jron was placed in foster care at four weeks of age when doctors linked his health difficulties to shaken baby syndrome. When Jron was three, he was featured on Wednesday's Child. Earl and Sarah Taylor were watching and had been talking about opening their home to a child in need. Having already raised two children to adulthood, Earl and Sarah felt a responsibility to reach out at this time in their lives to help a child.
"I think God put Jron at the right place and the right time so that we could find him," explains Sarah. "When Jron came to us, he had some fairly significant developmental delays and he was a very quiet, shy boy. Now, just a little more than two years later, at six years of age, Jron is a normal, rambunctious kindergartner. There are so many children that need saving – my husband and I can't save them all, but we can help this one and try to mold him into a responsible, caring adult."
The Moe Family, New York City
One Wednesday night in November 1999, Jean Moe surprised her husband: she sat down to watch the news with him. It was a rare occasion for them to watch television together, but it was happening on the right night. Because together, they saw Jonathan for the first time.
Eight-year-old Jonathan had been in foster care most of his life and was being featured on the Wednesday's Child program to help him find a permanent home. Jean and Raymond, who had been trying to adopt for several years, were immediately drawn to him. Jean said to her husband, "He's calling me. Give me the phone." But Raymond was cautious. "With all those people out there watching, how can you think we'll be the ones who get to meet him?"
But a few months later, the Moes did meet Jonathan and it was clear that a match had been made. As they spent more time together, the Moes let Jonathan know this would be something permanent. And Jonathan liked the idea. He wrote "Jonathan Moe" on school papers long before the adoption was finalized, and his new name became official within a year of meeting the Moes.
What surprised Raymond most about his new son was that "he was not the child we saw on paper. We were told he had some problems. But so do we!"
With the Moes, Jonathan began to improve in school and with peers. The Moes currently care for two foster children who are happy playmates for Jonathan.
Raymond remembers, "We were number seven on the list of people who called asking about Jonathan. Lucky number seven!"
Our First "Wednesday's Child" Success Story…
Little Emilio prayed for "[his] family, [the] food that God made, and a good life". For Emilio, a good life was "to have a family, to have a home". These are words from a then 8- year old boy who was featured with his brother, Alex, 7- years old, on Wednesday's Child in Los Angeles, which airs on FOX11 News.
Both he and his brother prayed that they would be adopted. But after having two disruptive adoptive placements, it seemed that it would be a difficult prayer to answer. On their featured segment, the boys' social worker shared with anchor Christine Devine her concerns and her hopes that they might be adopted and " have a real family." Emilio and Alex had been in foster care since they were babies and had lived with a number of different families.
Little did they know that their story would touch so many. Ted and Scott, whom later would become "papa" and "daddy", saw these beautiful boys on the internet (www.adopt.org). Then they recorded the boys' Wednesday's Child's segment and watched it over and over again, wondering if the boys were right for them and they were right for the boys. Ted and Scott said what drew them to the boys was their strong attachment to each other.
They knew it would be difficult, but the boys' social worker had faith in them. Emilio and Alex were placed with Ted and Scott in October 2000.
The day for their adoption to become final arrived at last: July 28, 2001. Ted said Alex was anxious the entire week before the adoption finalization day. Every night, Alex said he couldn't wait to go to court. Alliance for Children's Rights assisted the family with the finalization proceedings. Family and friends entered the courtroom along with Christine Devine and a few adoptions staff. As the fathers and judge signed the legal documents, you could feel the pride and love throughout the courtroom.
Afterwards, Devine interviewed the family about what the adoption finalization day and the whole experience was like for each of them. During the interviews, tears of joy and happiness were flowing not only from the fathers, but the children and the staff. It was truly a wonderful day for everyone. Ted and Alex expressed that they now felt so complete and that parenting was so rewarding. The boys both stated that they were just glad to have a family.
Both Scott and Ted felt blessed and privileged to be the parents of Alex and Emilio. Alex and Emilio had been through so much in their short lifetime and the boys were true survivors. Scott and Ted know they can't undo the boys' past or their past hurts, but they can make sure the boys have a good life from now on. They are looking forward to creating a loving future for their new family.
When Devine interviewed the boys, she asked them about the day that Alex and Emilio were featured on Wednesday's Child, a day which seemed so long ago: "Aren't you glad you went on Wednesday's Child?" They both exclaimed, "Thank God!" They found what they were looking for"a forever family.
At the end of their busy day, the family trekked off to celebrate at Universal Citywalk. The prayers of a small boy echoed in our hearts, the prayer for a family. Alex never thought it would happen. Emilio said he knew it would. And yes, it finally happened, after all those years. They finally had a family.