|
Lora Cullipher sent me the following on Sept. 6, 2006:
David,
Please re-post the following to your website.
Thanks,
Lora Cullipher
The following statements are my personal opinions. The following statements are
allegations only.
My goal in sharing this information is to help other prospective adoptive families.
I have no other motive in sharing this information than to help prospective adoptive
families.
I allege that my adoption experience involves the following entities:
Agency: Reaching Out Thru International Adoption (ROTIA) in Somerdale, New Jersey
Guatemalan Attorney: Maria del Rosario Cordero Ramirez
Guatemalan Facilitators: Jennifer Rojas and Mayra Elizabeth Garcia Berrera
Guatemalan Physicians: Francisco Montiel and Roberto Tobar
I allege that I received the referral of my daughter, Zoe, on July 12, 2005; her
date of birth is June 30, 2005. I allege that ROTIA e-mailed to me medical updates
once per month beginning with Zoe's referral in July through December 2005.
The July, September, and November updates all contain the following phrase: ". .
normal physical and neurological exam."
The August and October updates contain the following phrase: "no obvious physical or
neurological abnormalities."
The December update contains the following statement: "(Zoe) was medically examined,
and is clinically healthy. She's not presents abnormalities, . ."
The pick-up trip occurred January 9 - 12, 2006.
I took Zoe to a pediatrician who runs an international children's clinic in my
hometown. Her first pediatrician's visit in the U.S. was January 18, 2006, and she
was diagnosed with hypotonia, plagiocephaly, torticollis, developmental delay and
failure to thrive.
A referral to a pediatric neurologist was made. Zoe, at 6 1/2 month of age, lacked
head and trunk control; she did not move her legs at all; she did not reach for or
grab at objects.
I began taking her to physical therapy twice per week starting January 19, 2006.
She was examined by a pediatric neurologist on February 3, 2006, and
an MRI of her head was ordered.
The MRI was done on February 16, 2006; the radiologist's interpretation reads: "Mild
nonspecific microencephaly, probably related to some perinatal
insult."
I took Zoe to a second pediatric neurologist on February 23, 2006. He rendered a
written opinion dated March 2, 2006 which contains the following:
"Based on the history provided to me and my clinical examination, I have concluded
that this child is suffering from a chronic non-progressive encephalopathy,
(cerebral palsy), which may stem from either pre-natal or perinatal causes. I
strongly believe that she, more likely than not, presented abnormal neurological
symptoms at an early age. Normal infants usually develop head control by the age of
4 month, this infant is 7 months old and she still is not able to control her head,
therefore, this finding alone should have alerted physicians and caretakers of this
child's neurological impairment. Her prognosis for meaningful neurological
functioning remains guarded, she is at risk, among other things, of suffering mental
retardation, epilepsy, severe neuromotor handicap."
With this devastating news, I made the heart-breaking decision to disrupt the
adoption. Zoe was placed with another family who received full disclosure of her
medical diagnoses.
I have suffered loss of sleep, weight loss and nausea and vomiting. I have suffered
repeated, spontaneous weeping episodes that are disrupting my quality of life and
work performance. Panic attacks and severe anxiety prevent me from walking into the
area of my own home, particularly at night, where Zoe's nursery was located. During
a brief period, I considered suicide, but through the support of friends around me,
I no longer feel that way.
The preceding statements are my personal opinions. The preceding statements are
allegations only.
Lora Cullipher
On April 26, 2007, Lora sent me the following, terrible and tragic update:
David, My experience with ROTIA is a link on your website. I am providing an update: On January 5, 2007, I e-mailed the agency that assisted me with the disruption (not ROTIA) to request Christmas photos of Zoe. I received a reply telling me that Zoe had died and that I had been sent a letter informing me of her death. I never received the letter to which the agency referred, otherwise I would not have requested Christmas photos. When I e-mailed the agency to ask exactly when Zoe died and that a copy of the letter be faxed to me, they stated that they "did not maintain the letter" and that Zoe "passed away in October right before Halloween." That means I spent all of the 2006 holidays thinking about Zoe, wondering how she's doing, only to learn that she had been deceased the entire time. Zoe was approximately 15 months old when she died. I have never been told where she is buried or exactly how she died. Here's what I have learned about adoption through this horrific experience. The following does not refer to any specific adoption agency, but is my opinion of agencies and the adoption experience in general: 1. Adoption agencies are providing a service and a product (a child) in exchange for money. That sounds harsh, but that's how a business is run -- to make money. Persons working at adoption agencies have mortgages to pay, too. When money is being made, they forget quickly that they are in a human-based business. 2. Adoption agency contracts are very one-sided and consumer unfriendly. Take your contract to a lawyer and let him/her read it and explain to you --- let him/her take the emotion out of it. I failed to let my attorney review my contract -- I lost over $32,000 and my soul in this experience. 3. When things run smoothly in an adoption process, the agency is prompt to claim the limelight. When things go very tragically, as in my experience, the agency is quick to abandon the adoptive parent and assume no responsibility for the incident. 4. If your process happens like mine, (and I wouldn't wish it on anyone), don't expect the agency to offer you another referral. 5. Be ready for threatening, harassing phone calls and nasty pieces of mail. 6. The agency will find ways to place the blame for the tragedy squarely on the adoptive parent.
|
