I’ve known Muriel Fahrion and her husband, Michael, for years, but I never knew their personal story about adopting their second child. When I asked Muriel if she would like to share her adoption story with CMomA, she readily agreed, and even included the photos you see here. I hope you find inspiration in reading Muriel’s story! Please drop us a line if you have questions or a story of your own to share.
I was always open to adoption and had actually put in for adoption to our county because we were married for over three years and not pregnant. As things turned out, I finally did get pregnant with our son. He was an only child for 7 years. We loved him, but he had chronic asthma—a gift from the combination of our genes. We didn’t want to chance bringing another child into the world with this life threatening illness (though he went on to be a healthy adult who keeps his asthma under control).We once again applied for adoption. We weren’t looking for a baby: we already had that experience. We were looking for a child that needed a home. After 8 classes with the welfare agency explaining what baggage some children bring with them when they come, we were ready to adopt. We did want a girl this time and that is what we were lucky enough to get. Our daughter was 3 1/2 years old when she moved in to our house. She was a ward of the county and had lived in 6 different places before us. Her history was one of neglect and abuse.
I am nothing if I am not tenacious and we worked on issues as they arose, reading the latest books and getting professional help when we needed it. We joke that she only cost us $6, which were the court costs.Today, our daughter is a high school teacher and has an amazing heart and sense of giving. When you adopt you are getting, in many respects, a surprise package! She carries a bit of us and some interesting genetic characteristics that are not us, but remarkable. We are glad we opened our home and our heart to our daughter.
Postscript: I kept a diary of the adoption process, which I shared with her when she was older!
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