Saturday, November 6, 2010

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!


Yes, it has been insanely long since I've blogged (more about that at the end of this post), but I just HAD to share some exciting news!

And by "news" I mean it literally -- a big ole newspaper article in our local paper. The Post and Courier ran our adoption story as their front page article on Friday!

What an exhilarating day for us, and a great day for adoption! The media often tells the sad stories of adoptions not working out. To have a happy story -- front page, above the fold -- is almost unheard of. We were blown away! Heartfelt kudos to Bo Petersen and the Post and Courier for using the power of the pen so kindly. It is our deepest hope that this will inspire others, and lead to more children finding their forever families.

It's hard to believe it has been more than 2 years since Milo landed on American soil. Looking back in retrospect has been wonderfully fulfilling.

This came about because our homestudy agency was doing PR for a National Adoption Month banquet/fundraiser for the charity Through Emma's Eyes, and they asked if we were willing to be interviewed for any potential media coverage. Of course we eagerly agreed, but we didn't expect such a prominent coverage. Their awesome PR woman was inspired and she really pitched it with passion. And she was so intrigued by Milo she had to come and visit him herself! (She took the above photo.)

*WINK-WINK* If you followed our journey as it unfolded here on this blog, you might be scratching your head about the "referral photo" mentioned in the article. Well, the cat's out of the bag. Mum was the word at that moment in time, and we just couldn't share that aspect back then, as much as we were dying to. So here is some of the story-behind-the-story, and the very unofficial referral photo. There were no guarantees he would still be available when we got to Kazakhstan, and we knew virtually nothing about him.

A super important thing that the article did not capture was this: It took a village to bring Milo home. The love and emotional support of family, friends, co-workers, professionals, other adoptive families and sometimes even strangers gave us the courage to pursue the uncertain, and the strength continue pushing forward when we were exhausted. For all of you out there, we are so very grateful! For others who choose to take this amazing leap, you will not be alone!

We understand that adoption is not for everyone. But if it's not for you, then please support one of the many wonderful adoption-related charities creating hope for children who still waiting...languishing... neglected, abandoned, abused or forgotten. Here are a few favorites:



Ok, so here is the article link:


If the link isn't working, here is the article, word for word:

Son turns couple into a family

From a Kazakhstan orphanage, Milo now calls West Ashley home

BY BO PETERSEN
Friday, November 5, 2010



Four-year-old Milo Ruopoli yells for his parents to watch and bounces up and down on the divan. He jumps from running finger rolls on the piano to banging on the djambe drum.

"Let's make music," he yells to his parents.

The Ruopoli family does.

photo

A favorite routine for 4-year-old Milo is getting the mail with his parents, Regina and Frank Ruopoli, who adopted him in July of 2008 from an orphanage in Kazakhstan. Regina said adopting Milo is 'the proudest thing I've ever done. It's just natural.'

photo

Provided

This is the referral photo that Regina Ruopoli 'stared at for months' before she and her husband Frank could go to meet Milo, then 2. Within a few days he became the 'exuberant, smart, fun-loving boy he is today,' Regina Ruopoli said.

Coming Sunday

Two generations of a family have fostered dozens of children. Though the challenges were immense, so was the satisfaction.

In Faith & Values

If you go

What: Adoption banquet

When: 6:30 tonight

Where: Holiday Inn Express, Summerville

Emcee: Terry Haas of Home and Garden Television's 'Designed to Sell'

Entertainment: Storyteller Tim Lowry

Tickets: $50. Raises money for grants to help adoptive families pay for travel, costs, medical expenses and other needs. Sponsored by A Chosen Child Adoption Services and Through Emma's Eyes. For more information or tickets, call A Chosen Child Adoption Services, 851-4004

Regina Ruopoli first saw her child two years ago, as a cell-phone image from half a world away. His left eye crossed nearly into his nose, his right eye stared uncertainly at his Kazakhstan orphanage surroundings.

The disability already had been a deal breaker for some four prospective adoptive couples. Regina just kept staring at him.

"I kept looking at his little hand wrapped around a nanny's finger. I kept seeing my hand holding him," she said. "He was absolutely beautiful."

One unlucky toddler was about to become the luckiest child in the world.

Tonight, a banquet takes place in Summerville to raise funds to help families cover the costs of adopting children and paying for services for them. It's one of a number of low-key events taking place recently to recognize the need for and rewards of adoptions.

The cruel bottom line is that most adoptive parents are waiting in line for a healthy white baby. The odds shrink as a child gets older, has special needs or is a different ethnicity.

"Most people want a newborn or a toddler, and the longer they stay in foster care the more issues a child might develop," said Denice Fisher, director of A Chosen Child Adoption Services in Summerville.

For Regina and Frank Ruopoli of West Ashley, it wasn't an issue. Frank himself is an adoptee. Even as they tried to conceive a child, Regina found herself hoping it wouldn't happen. She wanted to adopt.

"I mean, there are a 143 million orphans in the world right now," she said. "We wanted a child and somebody out there needed a home. It wasn't easy, but it's the proudest thing I've ever done. It's just natural."

When she saw Milo's disability, she got on the Internet to do research. She realized that surgery could help his condition, and that he might never get it without the Ruopolis. He might spend his childhood in the orphanage, then be faced with the prospect of a life on the street as an outcast.

The marketing communications professional and her graphic artist husband took out an equity line of credit on their home and handled the hurdles one by one.

He has since had the surgery.

When the Ruopolis arrived at the orphanage for a two-week bonding visit with Milo, she sat him in her lap and he sat there, virtually catatonic, drooling. He had spent most of two years lying in a crib.

She didn't know yet that he was blind in his left eye, and the crossed-eye disability was an unusual, particularly difficult-to-fix one. It didn't matter.

She held him awhile, then gave him to Frank and got down on the floor in front of them. Frank stood Milo on the floor and held him by his arms.

For the first time her child looked her in the eye. She was in love.

"You want him to have perfect vision. You want him to have perfect everything. But who's perfect, adults or children?" she said. "I saw a spark, and I saw the corner of his lip move, just a hair, like he was trying to smile and just wasn't ready yet. I thought, OK, there's somebody in there."

Within a few days, he became the "exuberant, smart, fun-loving boy he is today." After they had to leave to go home, he would come to his door every day at the time of their visit, stand there and cry.

It would be another month before they could return for the court date, another six weeks for Regina in Kazakhstan before they could clear the red tape and bring him to Charleston.

During a layover in Memphis, she caught her carry-on on the escalator, tripped and cut her knee. People crowded around, asking if they could help. She just began bawling.

For the flight home in a dark plane, Milo asleep at her chest, Frank and her family waiting anxiously, she couldn't quit crying. She had her child home.



Blogging has been incredibly rewarding. I miss it so much! Obviously, it's hard to keep it up right now. Milo is growing and changing like crazy. The hills and valleys continue, and so does the love.

Now that I've knocked the rust off the blog, I will soon write one last update, and then will proceed with our plan to turn this blog into a book for Milo (via blurb.com).

My hope is to start a new blog in the not-too-distant future. I want this one to stand alone as a snapshot of this wild, wonderful, transformational chapter in our lives, and as a gift to our son.