Iryna and Slava are raising their adopted son Serhiy. Their family moved from Kramatorsk to Lviv two years ago. The woman told the story of meeting her son, the decision to become a foster mother and what difficulties she had to face.
In Kramatorsk, Iryna worked as a medical worker at the Children’s Home and raised her son Yury alone.
“Despite the love that the institution invests in the child, the system breaks it. Because it seems that there are many mothers-educators around, but there is no mother. I so wanted to take in a small child and raise it. The eldest son supported me a lot in this,” says Iryna.
However, the woman had little information about family forms of upbringing, because in 2007 there was only one foster family in Kramatorsk. However, Iryna began to prepare documents. The director of the institution where Iryna worked did not support her decision, even refused, and then the woman went to Bakhmut, which was nearby.
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“In Bakhmut, they showed me documents and even photos of all the children from the Children’s Home, took me to groups, and then I met Serhii. Big blue eyes, long eyelashes and so thin, like a small bird. I extended my hand to him, he was embarrassed at first, and then put his palm in mine. And that’s all, I didn’t see any more children,” Iryna recalls.
The woman visited the boy and dealt with documents. The process took several months. The first period after coming home was not easy. The boy did not sleep well, was afraid of public transport, did not eat many foods and did not speak well. He was then 2 years and 7 months old.
“We had a tradition of going to the supermarket every day and choosing a new product. We could walk for hours among the shelves and racks. I got to know the world through his eyes. They also worked with a speech therapist, and my silent son suddenly chirped,” the woman shares.
The eldest son Yuriy helped Iryna in raising her brother, was an example and support for him. And over time, Iryna got to know Slava, who became a real father to her sons.
“I had no children of my own, and I was happy that Ira had children, and therefore I would have a big family. He immediately accepted the children as his own. Serhiy started calling me Papa Slava, he is a wonderful child,” the man says.
The woman knows the birth mother of the child. She came to her with documents that she had to sign. Her name was Monica. Apart from Serhiy, she had no children, and she was not interested in her son’s fate. She died two years ago. There is no information about the father.
“We told my son that he was adopted when he attended kindergarten. It seemed to us that this way he would accept it more easily. Serhiy only asked a few words about his mother, what was her name, and didn’t ask anything else,” the woman recalls.
Two years ago, the family decided to move from Kramatorsk to Lviv, as the eldest son Yuri had a good job here. At first, they came to visit him, but when Yurko offered to move, they did not hesitate.
“We immediately liked Lviv. When we moved, it was not easy, because we had neither friends nor acquaintances here. However, they have already gotten used to it, have come to love your city with all their heart, as if it were their own. They took a large album of memories with them. Now our heart sinks every time we read the news about our hometown. During a rocket attack on the railway station on April 8, a close friend of ours died – also his adoptive father. It hurts a lot, because we know every path there,” says the woman.
In Lviv, Iryna and Slava immediately turned to the “Service for Children” department of the Lviv City Council, because they are a foster family. They say that the management team has become close to them.
“We were accepted as family in your “Children’s Service”. These are good specialists who are always in touch, will help, give advice, and support,” says the couple.
Serhiy will celebrate his coming of age in a few weeks. The young man is fond of playing the guitar and cycling. Iryna’s mother has many dreams and plans for her son.
“I really want him to create a strong family and give birth to many grandchildren. I thank myself every time for the decision I made many years ago – to take Serhiy into my family. It was my best decision,” the woman concludes.
Iryna advises future adoptive parents to weigh and consider everything well, to get to know other adoptive families. And when you decide to start a family, invest all your love in it, because the children will give back a hundredfold.