Family Seeks Help Finalizing Adoption

By Theresa Katalunis

Nancy Tate welcomed a "medically fragile" 1-year-old from Haiti into her home and heart two years ago.

She and her family shelled out $20,000 to formally adopt him and their self-pay insurance has covered close to $1 million in care at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. 

"He has had 11 surgeries and has spent over 120 nights there (so have we)," Tate, of Bensalem, told Patch. "We have entered the world of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and vision therapy (he is legally blind from his brain injury)."

He was brought to the U.S. in 2011 for medical care after being abandoned at a medical mission in Haiti called Angel Missions, according to Tate. 

"When it was learned that his problems were too great, initially, there were no medical facilities willing to donate his care," Tate said, of the tot, who suffers from cerebral palsy stemming from shaken baby syndrome, as well as other afflictions. "He would have gone back to Haiti and died."

In November 2011, Tate stepped in as his host family to facilitate his care. In April 2012, she and her family paid $20,000 to a Haitian adoption agency to adopt him. 

Tate said she and her family have since had to go back to the drawing board after the Haitian adoption agency ceased operation and failed to finalize the adoption.

The family has contracted with Kentucky-based All Blessings International to formally adopt Bryon. To help cover the anticipated $14,400 "start over" costs, Tate launched a GoFundMe campaign and has since raised close to 50 percent of her goal through the crowd fundraising Web site.

In the meantime, Bryon, now 3, remains in the Tate home under a medical visa, but could be forced to go back to Haiti at any time.

"Bryon would die if forced to return to Haiti in the interim, as he requires consistent electricity to run his feeding pump and CPAP machine," she said, adding that he is considered "medically fragile." 

Tate said that in addition to proving why it's imperative that Bryon remain here under care, she must prove that Bryon's birth parents are actually his parents with a DNA test and prove that they abandoned him and that they know he is being cared for safely in the states.

"The Haitian liaison is traveling there in early January with Power of Attorney to begin pleading our case and attempting to locate our original dossier," Tate said. "If she is able to convince the government that Bryon needs to stay with us in the interim, on medical visa, and find our dossier so we do not have to collect all of our paperwork all over again, that will be great."