Spring Break
Memories, points of view on adoption of children
Casey Curlin
Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
The plus sign on the pregnancy test does not usually bring about a positive reaction for most college women who are suddenly faced with an unplanned pregnancy.
The shock of the moment often results in waves of emotions before the reality of the choice that must be made sets in. Three legal options exist: to have the baby and keep it, abort it or put it up for adoption. All three involve intense emotions.
"If you've ever been on a roller coaster, you know what the adoption process is like," said Joe Lofaro, director of UTM Athletic Communications. He and his wife, Susan, have adopted three children.
"We knew if we were going to have children we were going to adopt," Lofaro said, explaining that his wife has endometriosis, a condition that can cause infertility.
The Lofaros tried to adopt children through two adoption agencies and were denied because Susan was previously divorced and the two had not been married long enough. They were finally accepted by the Catholic Charity in Nashville.
They were finally introduced to their son, Daniel, at a Hardee's restaurant when he was 9 years old. Lofaro still remembers what Daniel was wearing that day ? purple sweat pants and sweatshirt with high-top tennis shoes.
"We stayed at Hardee's for about three hours playing, talking and having a good time with this kid," Lofaro said.
The Lofaros adopted their two daughters, biological sisters Leslie and Kourtney, when Kourtney was 5 months old and Leslie was 21/2 years old. The girls first came to the Lofaros as foster children when a social worker contacted them and told them they were desperately in need of a home
"I asked what would happen to these two children if I didn't take them. She said that they had nowhere else to go," Lofaro said.
Leslie and Kourtney were eventually adopted by the Lofaros but it was a long, difficult process because the mother of the girls was still fighting for their custody.
Lofaro said it was a particularly emotional experience for his wife, who actually spent a length of time alone talking with Leslie and Kourtney's birth mother.
The shock of the moment often results in waves of emotions before the reality of the choice that must be made sets in. Three legal options exist: to have the baby and keep it, abort it or put it up for adoption. All three involve intense emotions.
"If you've ever been on a roller coaster, you know what the adoption process is like," said Joe Lofaro, director of UTM Athletic Communications. He and his wife, Susan, have adopted three children.
"We knew if we were going to have children we were going to adopt," Lofaro said, explaining that his wife has endometriosis, a condition that can cause infertility.
The Lofaros tried to adopt children through two adoption agencies and were denied because Susan was previously divorced and the two had not been married long enough. They were finally accepted by the Catholic Charity in Nashville.
They were finally introduced to their son, Daniel, at a Hardee's restaurant when he was 9 years old. Lofaro still remembers what Daniel was wearing that day ? purple sweat pants and sweatshirt with high-top tennis shoes.
"We stayed at Hardee's for about three hours playing, talking and having a good time with this kid," Lofaro said.
The Lofaros adopted their two daughters, biological sisters Leslie and Kourtney, when Kourtney was 5 months old and Leslie was 21/2 years old. The girls first came to the Lofaros as foster children when a social worker contacted them and told them they were desperately in need of a home
"I asked what would happen to these two children if I didn't take them. She said that they had nowhere else to go," Lofaro said.
Leslie and Kourtney were eventually adopted by the Lofaros but it was a long, difficult process because the mother of the girls was still fighting for their custody.
Lofaro said it was a particularly emotional experience for his wife, who actually spent a length of time alone talking with Leslie and Kourtney's birth mother.
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