Help Ease the Burden of Loss
Donation protected
In 2017, my husband and I were in search of childcare for our then 1-year-old twins. Corrie reached out to me over Care.com and told me she had availability in her in-home daycare. She began watching our children in the Fall of 2017. Shortly thereafter, our bedtime routine consisted of hugs, kisses and “is it Corcor tomorrow?” She was a dream come true…a real-life Mary Poppins. Often it felt as if she loved our kids like her own.
Fast forward about 6 months and Corrie told us that they were starting the process of adopting their 2nd child so she may need time off here and there. She shared with us that she has always had a heart for adoption and never considered children any other way. She asked us to be part of the process and write a letter of recommendation which we were overjoyed to do. Finally, in January 2019, it happened. Shawn and Corrie got the call that their baby was waiting for them in Oklahoma. They jumped in the car with a car seat, a diaper bag and a few essentials and hit I-35 south. We waited for the update over the next 24 hours and then it came…heartbreak. The birth mom had changed her mind and Corrie and Shawn were left broken in the waiting room of the hospital with an empty car seat.
Fast forward a few months. They received a call that there was another baby, in Georgia this time but the birth mom was only 4 months pregnant. Corrie and Shawn spent the next 5 months financially supporting the birth mom and her family, paying attorney fees and adoption fees, and flying to and from Georgia for doctor appointments. On October 8th, Corrie and Shawn went to the birth mom’s last OB appointment before delivery to check on things. Later that day I received a text: “There’s no heartbeat”. Harper Grace was stillborn. I knew without a doubt Corrie felt the pain of loss as if she were laying on that exam table. As if she had carried Harper for 40 weeks and 6 days. No one could go to the depths of pain and grief that Corrie and Shawn were living in. Again, they returned home with an empty car seat.
On June 30th, in the height of COVID, I received a text from Corrie: “We have some exciting news” followed by a picture of the most perfect human you’ve ever seen. There he was, Parker Gray. They had received the match two weeks prior and were on their way to Ohio to pick him up. The next few days I checked in periodically. She said things had been a bit of a roller coaster but seemed stable. On Thursday June 2nd she texted me that the birth mom wouldn’t sign the papers and that it was over. They were on their way home. 5 days later they got a phone call that the birth mom had changed her mind and wanted Corrie and Shawn to raise Parker. They took all the legal precautions to ensure they were protected and the birth mom signed the adoption papers before they left Kansas City. The next day, Corrie and Shawn picked up their son, Parker Gray. Papers were signed. He was theirs.
Corrie and Shawn were required to stay in Ohio for a week before returning home so they hunkered down in their hotel room with their new baby boy and waited out the process. Throughout the next few days I received pictures and texts filled with nothing but love for this little human. Amid the craziness of this pandemic, for just a few days – the world felt perfect. At the end of those 7 days I awaited the “we’re home!” text but it didn’t come. What came was something that puts a painful lump in my throat every time I think of it. The birth mom had changed her mind…again. This time, after Corrie and Shawn had spent 9 days with Parker. They sought legal counsel with several attorneys but due to a loophole in the system, they were told that they could go bankrupt spending months fighting the birth mom only to lose Parker in the end. On Saturday, July 18th Corrie and Shawn said goodbye to Parker for the last time and flew home with an empty car seat.
God knows we could all use some good news these days. I wish I could say that there’s a happy ending to this story but right now, there’s not. Corrie and Shawn have been left brokenhearted and financially spent. For those that have walked the adoption path, you know the financial hardship it creates. Imagine creating that hardship with nothing to show for it in the end. Imagine paying bills for a baby that you don’t even have. Will you help create a happier ending for Shawn and Corrie? Will you help ease the pain in a tangible way? If this story resonates with you in even the smallest of ways, please consider donating to help ease the burden that the last 3 years has created. Together, let’s rewrite the story for Corrie and Shawn.
Fast forward about 6 months and Corrie told us that they were starting the process of adopting their 2nd child so she may need time off here and there. She shared with us that she has always had a heart for adoption and never considered children any other way. She asked us to be part of the process and write a letter of recommendation which we were overjoyed to do. Finally, in January 2019, it happened. Shawn and Corrie got the call that their baby was waiting for them in Oklahoma. They jumped in the car with a car seat, a diaper bag and a few essentials and hit I-35 south. We waited for the update over the next 24 hours and then it came…heartbreak. The birth mom had changed her mind and Corrie and Shawn were left broken in the waiting room of the hospital with an empty car seat.
Fast forward a few months. They received a call that there was another baby, in Georgia this time but the birth mom was only 4 months pregnant. Corrie and Shawn spent the next 5 months financially supporting the birth mom and her family, paying attorney fees and adoption fees, and flying to and from Georgia for doctor appointments. On October 8th, Corrie and Shawn went to the birth mom’s last OB appointment before delivery to check on things. Later that day I received a text: “There’s no heartbeat”. Harper Grace was stillborn. I knew without a doubt Corrie felt the pain of loss as if she were laying on that exam table. As if she had carried Harper for 40 weeks and 6 days. No one could go to the depths of pain and grief that Corrie and Shawn were living in. Again, they returned home with an empty car seat.
On June 30th, in the height of COVID, I received a text from Corrie: “We have some exciting news” followed by a picture of the most perfect human you’ve ever seen. There he was, Parker Gray. They had received the match two weeks prior and were on their way to Ohio to pick him up. The next few days I checked in periodically. She said things had been a bit of a roller coaster but seemed stable. On Thursday June 2nd she texted me that the birth mom wouldn’t sign the papers and that it was over. They were on their way home. 5 days later they got a phone call that the birth mom had changed her mind and wanted Corrie and Shawn to raise Parker. They took all the legal precautions to ensure they were protected and the birth mom signed the adoption papers before they left Kansas City. The next day, Corrie and Shawn picked up their son, Parker Gray. Papers were signed. He was theirs.
Corrie and Shawn were required to stay in Ohio for a week before returning home so they hunkered down in their hotel room with their new baby boy and waited out the process. Throughout the next few days I received pictures and texts filled with nothing but love for this little human. Amid the craziness of this pandemic, for just a few days – the world felt perfect. At the end of those 7 days I awaited the “we’re home!” text but it didn’t come. What came was something that puts a painful lump in my throat every time I think of it. The birth mom had changed her mind…again. This time, after Corrie and Shawn had spent 9 days with Parker. They sought legal counsel with several attorneys but due to a loophole in the system, they were told that they could go bankrupt spending months fighting the birth mom only to lose Parker in the end. On Saturday, July 18th Corrie and Shawn said goodbye to Parker for the last time and flew home with an empty car seat.
God knows we could all use some good news these days. I wish I could say that there’s a happy ending to this story but right now, there’s not. Corrie and Shawn have been left brokenhearted and financially spent. For those that have walked the adoption path, you know the financial hardship it creates. Imagine creating that hardship with nothing to show for it in the end. Imagine paying bills for a baby that you don’t even have. Will you help create a happier ending for Shawn and Corrie? Will you help ease the pain in a tangible way? If this story resonates with you in even the smallest of ways, please consider donating to help ease the burden that the last 3 years has created. Together, let’s rewrite the story for Corrie and Shawn.
Co-organizers (2)
Caroline Strohm
Organizer
Overland Park, KS
Corrie Beldin
Beneficiary
Farrah Brown
Co-organizer