Adoption Consultants, Inc.
Birth Parent Line:
1-800-605-4588
(1-800-605-4LUV)
Adoptive Parents:
(818) 766-2222
Testimonials
Adoption Consultants, Inc.
E-mail: info@adoptionconsultantsinc.com
March 21, 2008
At the time we started looking into adoption, we had 2 wonderful children biologically, a girl and a boy. After several years of trying to conceive again without success, testing revealed that Trish's PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) had progressed to such a degree that pregnancy would be highly unlikely. None of the infertility treatments that we tried helped either.
At this point we began looking at other alternatives including local and international adoption. What we found was a wide range of options, many of which could take 2 to 3 years, carried a considerable degree of non-placement risk, or would require extended time away from family during the final stages of the adoption process. We even ran into agencies where we were advised not to bother signing up since we already have 2 children and would be kept near the bottom of the waiting list in preference to those without any children. Since our biological children were already 7 1/2 and 6, none of these options were ones we were willing to consider. We had some very close friends who were in the process of adoption and we talked with them about who they were using and why. One that they highly recommended was Cathy Mantell and Adoption Consultants, Inc. After reading through the testimonials on Cathy’s web site, we decided to call her. We were impressed by her compassion for our situation, her experience with so many other families like ours, her protective measures for both the birthmother and us, and her passion for providing good homes for these children. Cathy explained although there are no guarantees, it's not unusual for a family to be chosen by a birthmother within a year’s time of having their profile circulated. This possible timeframe was very exciting to us. We decided this was the place for us!
We started our paperwork in October and were completely surprised when we got a call from Cathy about a birthmother who was interesting in us while we were visit with our families that very Christmas! Cathy put through a conference call so we could speak with the birthmother. After our first talk, we were so excited but also a little concerned because of an abnormality discovered at the birthmother’s first ultrasound. We soon learned that the baby boy had gastroschisis, a birth defect where some or all of the baby's intestinal tract protrudes outside its body through a hole near the umbilical cord. Although it's correctable after birth by surgery, we learned that there can be many short-term and long-term complications with this condition. After considerable prayer and counsel, we had peace about our decision to move forward with the adoption and to trust God with the outcome, whatever it might be. Cathy allowed us to take our time in making a decision about proceeding forward or not. She made sure we were given all the time necessary to do all the research we felt needed to be done and to wait for medical results to come in before making our decision.
In the months leading up to Ryan's birth at the end of March, we developed quite a good relationship with Ryan's birth father and birthmother. We made arrangements for our whole family to meet them in February for an ultrasound and lunch, and really enjoyed our time getting to know them better. To this day we still have a great relationship with them.
Because our birthmother’s pregnancy was considered high risk, she was seen at a special hospital. This meant it was very difficult to obtain updates on how the pre-natal care was going and how our birthmother and baby were doing. Cathy was instrumental and breaking through the red tape time and time again in helping us obtain those medical regards and also in helping us get our birthmother’s physicians on the phone to better understand her condition and progress and that of the baby.
On March 25th we received a call from the birthmother that she was in labor, and so we hurriedly got stuff together and drove out to California to be there for the birth. Ryan was born the following day March 26th, and was such a precious sight to see. He was lovely in every way...and still is! There are no words in our language to describe the inexpressible love and joy we felt that day! We hung out with Ryan's birthparents for a couple of hours and then went on to the children's hospital to wait for Ryan to come out of surgery. The doctors did an excellent job taking care of him and the nursing staff were so wonderful. Cathy continued to check in with us throughout our hospital stay make sure we were all doing okay. We were given her 800 number and told to call at any hour if we needed her. She was always available for us.
Rob returned home after a few days to take care of the kiddos while Trish stayed back to be with Ryan in the hospital while he was healing. It took about 3 1/2 weeks for Ryan to completely heal and the day he was released Rob flew back so that we could drive home together. What a joy it was to present our newborn son to the whole family for the first time. Our older children were so thrilled and excited when we got home and haven't stopped loving on him since! He is perfect for our family and we love him dearly.
During this whole process, we had so many questions and so many decisions to make, and we found Cathy there every step of the way, answering all of our calls quickly and helping us process things that were going on. We just can't say enough about how helpful she was and how grateful we are for all her hard work and devotion to her job. You can tell that she LOVES what she does. It was such a wonderful experience for us that we are working with her on our next adoption!
Trisha and Rob
Queen Creek, AZ
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