Keeping Secrets
As the boy ran to her ex-husband, the judge looked at Jessica. She looked nervous and scared. He couldn’t quite figure why, but he knew she was keeping something from him.
The judge asked the kids if they wanted to be adopted by her and waited for their answer, but instead, another voice echoed from the sidelines. What he said rattled the court to its core.
Adoption
Wisconsin mother, Jessica, gained fame when she decided to adopt six boys that she had been fostering. However, with two biological children of her own, and as a recent divorcee, people began to question her motives.
It didn’t take long before the cracks began to show, and the upsetting truth finally began to seep out.
Misunderstood
Jessica entered the courtroom with her chin held high. She was the talk of the town. Everyone knew of her mission to give these children a home, but not everybody understood it.
In fact, a few people questioned her motive. Six children, including her own two, were a lot of mouths to feed. Her character was under scrutiny, and for good reason.
Looking To Adopt More
Jessica looked slightly nervous as her two biological kids and six foster kids followed suit. They all sat in front of the judge.
The children she wanted to adopt were two sets of siblings. They came from difficult childhoods, something the state of Wisconsin was all too familiar with, adoption often happened here but never one like this.
A Woman Who Spurred Questions
There was something about Jessica that people just couldn’t relate to. She was quiet yet confident and self-assured, but she was also shrouded in mystery.
No one knew her story or where she came from, or why she wanted to adopt so many children alone. Something seemed off. There was definitely a lot more to Jessica than meets the eye.
Questioned By The Judge
As the hearing commenced, the judge announced that this was the first time he dealt with an adoption case as big as this, and with kids as old as they are.
Usually, adoptions occurred before the child was two and of course, with only one child. The judge had a lot of questions, and it wasn’t long before he asked Jessica about the absence of a father figure. But what she said next surprised him.
An Unlikely Situation
Jessica pointed to her ex-husband sitting in the corner of the courtroom and told him that just like her biological children, he was also their father. The judge, however, knew they were divorced and felt something was off.
After all, what ex-husband would want to help his ex-wife adopt six boys? Soon, the first crack began to show.
Understanding
As the judge began to wonder if she was doing this just for fame, and hadn’t considered this adoption with serious thought, the youngest boy ran out of his chair, across the courtroom.
He was elated after suddenly seeing Jessica’s ex-husband. “Dada!”, he blurted out as he ran into his lap. It was all the judge needed to hear to understand what was happening here. Was the boy running to get away from her?
Deciphering Their Actions
The judge looked at Jessica as the boy ran to her ex-husband. She looked nervous and scared. The judge couldn’t quite figure out what it meant, but one question still remained. Why did she want to adopt so many children?
And most importantly, did the children want to be adopted by her? After all, she had been fostering them for a while now.
Surprise From The Sidelines
The judge asked the kids if they wanted to be adopted by her but it looked as though they were too shy to speak up in front of the court. Instead, another voice echoed from the sidelines.
Jessica’s ex-husband spoke up, standing tall with one of the children in his arms. What he said rattled the court to its core.
Time For A Speech
He apologized for interfering but mentioned that he could sense Jessica and his kids were very nervous. Jessica looked with her eyes tearing as he continued to tell the judge why Jessica wanted to do this and why the kids equally wanted her to be their mom.
Jessica could no longer stare in silence, it was time for her to make her speech. Her heart pounded as she spoke to the judge.
Coming Out With The Truth
With tearful eyes Jessica said, “Everybody tells me how lucky these kids are and what a good thing I did, but... I’m going to cry... they grounded me. I went through my 20’s thinking I didn’t really need a family. But I did. They give me purpose”.
Jessica continued to open up and tell the court the upsetting pieces of her life.
Her Childhood
Jessica had a hard childhood growing up. Coming from a broken home, her mom lost custody of her when she was just 12 years old. And because of her old age, she was met with the realization that no one would ever adopt her.
She grew up moving from home to home, never feeling like she had a safe place. But there was something else.
Making A Change
Jessica also had a brother who got lost in foster care. She has no idea where he is now or how he’s doing. She didn’t want this to happen to any other child. In fact, it’s the reason she got into fostering herself.
She always knew she wanted to adopt, and now she couldn’t imagine a life without her big family. Her speech was enough to win the whole courtroom over.
Heart Of Gold!
Now, Jessica lives in the kind of stable, loving home she always dreamed of when she was younger, moving from family to family. She has a basketball hoop in the living room where the kids can play and every weekend they do family pizza and a movie night.
Jessica’s newly adopted sons are beyond grateful to be together, but she is even more grateful for them. But her story is only one among many others, showing that some people truly have hearts of gold!
Welcome To Washington
In a small town in the state of Washington, something similar occurred. An unsuspecting foster carer found herself pushing to adopt one of the baby boys in her care.
The journey to that goal was long and arduous, but after many months, she finally got what she wished for. If only she knew what her ‘boy’ would do to her twenty-six years later.
Meet Aisha
Aisha had always loved kids. Growing up, she adored caring for her little sister and cousins, always going out of her way to make them feel loved and comfortable.
For Aisha, kids were the epitome of happiness. She couldn’t wait to be old and stable enough to have some of her own. But fate had other plans for her.
Tying The Knot
Aisha fell in love and married her college sweetheart. Motherhood couldn’t come fast enough for her. She and her husband began trying for a baby.
But after years of the same, it became clear that something was off. As expected, Aisha and her husband rushed to their doctor for a check-up. The news they’d receive would break them.
The News
The doctor’s findings were clear and heartbreaking. Aisha couldn’t biologically have kids. The doctor suggested a few alternatives, such as adoption and IVF.
What began as Aisha’s journey into adoption evolved into something she couldn’t have ever imagined. She had opted to turn her house into a foster home, not knowing what the future held.
The Foster Home
With the help of her sister and husband, Aisha managed to keep the foster home afloat for over a decade. She impacted many lives across her town, ensuring that kids received the love and care they needed.
But even though Aisha was constantly surrounded by kids she loved to the moon and back, she still felt empty inside because none of the kids remained with her permanently.
The Void Within
She was almost thirty-five when she started reconsidering adoption. Her husband had just passed, and the need to have someone she could count on other than her sister was overwhelming.
Needing to feel the void within, Aisha considered adopting one of the kids under her care. Although she was never one to have favorites when it came to the children under her roof, something about this boy struck her as unique.
Timothy
The boy in question, Timothy, was an adorable one-and-a-half-year-old baby that no one seemed to want to adopt. For months, couples came in looking to adopt kids but brushed right passed him.
Each of those times broke Aisha’s heart; by the end, she grew very fond of the little boy. She had to adopt him.
The Problems
The adoption process was difficult for Aisha and Timothy. For starters, Timothy’s birth mom had requested that Aisha find a colored home for him.
Aisha was not colored, which means she would be going against the birth mom’s wishes. Additionally, she still had several other kids under her care that needed her undivided attention. Could she be a mom to Timothy while also looking after all the other kids?
A Wonderful Mom
Aisha had no problem dividing her time and affection equally among the kids in her house. She’d been doing it for years and wouldn’t break a sweat adopting Timothy while caring for the others.
She’d already raised Timothy for five years, and his birth mom was happy with how everything turned out. As far as she was concerned, Aisha was already his mom. If only they knew what he’d do to Aisha in the future.
Her Flesh And Blood
Aisha faced many hurdles while trying to adopt little Timothy. Most people couldn’t understand her love and adoration for the boy.
Still, she fought for him as if he was her flesh and blood. The way she saw it, he already was. It wasn’t long before she could officially call him’ son.’ What he’d do to her would leave her speechless as doctors wheeled her into an operating room.
Two Decades Down The Line
Years passed, and Timothy grew into a strapping young man. He was well-spoken and hardworking and had snagged a full scholarship to medical school, where he was in his final year.
But one night, he got a call from his mom’s doctor, who he’d been working under as part of his fieldwork. The news would leave him stumped.
Thinking It Over
“Your mom’s kidneys are failing,” said the doctor. “She didn’t want me to tell you, said you worry too much.” Timothy leaned back in his chair and listened to the doctor’s report. He couldn’t believe that his mom was sick.
If his years in medical school had taught him anything, it’s that when it came to kidneys, a transplant was among the surest ways of saving someone whose kidneys were failing. But Timothy also knew how long moving up waiting lists could take. He couldn’t stomach the thought of his mom enduring unimaginable pain. He had to do something.
The Waiting List
The first thing Timothy did was check for possibilities for Aisha to be moved up the waiting list. But this endeavor was cut short by how many people are in need of a transplant.
Timothy was still looking for the best way forward when a thought hit him. Why not check if he could donate one of his kidneys to his mom? Granted, they were not blood-related, and the chances of a match were small. But what did he have to lose?
A Perfect Fit
Timothy got checked, finding out that he was a perfect fit. He rushed home that same evening, thinking about how much he wanted to save his mom’s life. She’d saved him by adopting him all those years back. This was his chance to show her how much she meant to him.
He found his mom asleep and had to wake her up to tell her the good news. But Aisha’s response wouldn’t make much sense.
Fight For Each Other
Aisha disagreed with Timothy about the transplant. She loved him too much to put him through such an extremity. But Timothy was her son, and just like her, he could be stubborn. He spent the night insisting until Aisha agreed to the transplant.
She last thing she remembers while the doctor wheeled her to the operating room was Timothy smiling over her. Recalling his selfless deed, she said, “He insists that I fought to keep him when no one else could. It is only right that he does the same for me now.”
In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.