Questions Answered

I was adopted from an orphanage in Ukraine at four years old. From then, I was raised in a loving Christ-centered family. My parents mean the world to me! But I have also grown up with unknowns about myself that I often wondered and desired to know. In October of 2019, my parents helped me to begin the search for my birth family. I knew very little information. I expected it to be a very long process; within three weeks they were located! I finally received answers to many questions that I've had all my life. I received a report back from an interview with my birth mother, Natalia, and my grandmother, N., which was led by a local Ukrainian. In short, my birth mother got heavily involved in drugs and alcohol by the age of 15 and she injected consistently. I have a maternal half-brother, E., who is four years older than me. My birth mother had me to a different man, S. at age 22. Natalia received money from S. for an abortion. As soon as the procedure began, Natalia managed to escape out of the back window of a hospital and steal the money back to buy more drugs and alcohol. Her friends were drug dealers. In the process, Natalia was systematically beaten by the police to the point that her legs were paralyzed. She received treatment and she is no longer paralyzed. However, Natalia continued smoking, drinking, and injecting so much all through her pregnancy with me. She could no longer afford the abortion and God used what was meant for evil and turned it for good (Gen. 50:20). She nearly died of a weak heart and kidney failure while giving birth to me. She gave me up for adoption and never saw me after birth. I stayed in a hospital for nine months before being placed in an orphanage. I came out of that only needing surgery in my mouth along with some learning disabilities and processing delays. Somehow, years later, Natalia’s gynecologist knew what happened to me and she told Natalia that I was adopted by a believing family and taken abroad. Months after Natalia gave birth to me, she was diagnosed with HIV that she now takes immunity pills for everyday for the rest of her life. She has also lost all of her hair, she has no eyebrows, and no eyelashes. She wears a wig (or a bandana) and makeup. She is 44 years old now. My birth father (who now lives separate) was called and told about me over the phone, but he refused to believe it was true. I have three more younger half siblings on his side. My paternal aunt, I., has lovingly reached out to me and we have grown close. She told me this, “It is a scary thing to look into your eyes, Katya. It is like coming face to face with your own conscience...”. Natalia, E., and N. have all reached out to me and we are in communication daily through messaging or through Skype calls. I use a translation app to communicate, because I’m not fluent in Russian and they don’t speak English so we teach each other.

#Ukraine #Adoption #Birthfamily