Monday, May 10, 2010

First things First!

Following many failed attempts to have kids, we like many other couples turned to what other options were available in allowing us the pleaseure in experiencing parenthood.  And like many others our first port of call was fertilty treatment.  Unfortunately not all of us are so lucky in being blessed with a baby and find themselves looking for the next alternative.  I don't mean it to sound like you try just any method in making your dream of becoming a parent a reality, but it does  become an obsession for most of us; an obsession that takes over every living moment of your life.  You become resentful but not through jealousy.  You can't face the truth that perhaps you may never have a child of your own, you despise anyone who takes their role as a parent for granted and you would almost do anything to get that very one thing in life you feel robbed off. 

With so many options at hand such as foster, permanent care, overseas adoption and local adoption, you are forced to expose yourself to the world in order to seek what might be.  I remember the very first information session my husband and I attended for overseas adoption.  We truly believed we would walk away that same night with all our worries about becoming parents answered.  How very wrong we were, in fact it wasn't until we investigated all options at hand that we thought we had a fairly clear idea of how we would finally fulfill our dream of becoming parents; again suprise! We had very little idea for what we were in for.

Following our attendance to a seminar on local adoption, we left feeling we had exhausted every avenue and we were ready to give up our plight.  Luckily, something inside me said to go ahead and what comes of our journey we will have to accept, after all we really didn't have anything to lose.

The process was nothing short of a truly frustrating, testing and at times a powerful emotional roller coaster ride, but without taking that ride, we wouldn't have the most beautiful daughter we were blessed with; a system, a process many of us are unaware that still exists, a process that many don't forge on to see where it takes them purely because they are either led to believe or assume this process will never become of anything.  Many will become so disheartened with false belief or innuendo, before making a real go at it.

Looking back on the process it was nothing short of agonising with no up-to-date and specific information which could have helped us understand the process as we moved slowly through it.  Everything on the internet or published is after all aimed at Americans, and lets face it our country, it's laws, systems, departments, organisations and governments are very different; so why does Australia rely so strongly on information that just does not have any relevance to our specific needs?

Now as parents to a locally adopted child, and finally passed the phase of proving ourselves to the world in being responsible, loving parents we still have and face many questions and issues we wish we could find an easy answer for.

I want to share my journey from infertility right through to adoption, I want to show all the non-believers or those who hesistate to take the same journey, just how fulfilling and how very real that dreams do and can come true - even to those who are as sceptic as I was.

So here we go...
Sit tight and take the ride...
Believe in yourself and let fate do the rest... We did.