AUTHOR: M. DATE: 4:42:00 PM ----- BODY:

Talked to Leslie last night, who adopted an infant through A Red Thread about 4 years ago. She loves Leah, adores her son, is thrilled about the whole deal. Would lay down her life for Leah, has no hesitations whatsoever about working with her. When she and her husband were trying to adopt, they had two situations fall through. The first was a young woman whose parents didn't know she was pregnant (Leslie's editorial comment on this: EVERYONE HAS TO KNOW). They put her up in a hotel for three weeks, flew out to CA when she called to say she was going into labor, found out she wasn't in labor, went home to wait. She disappeared, resurfaced weeks and weeks later: her parents had found out, had a fit, and insisted on her keeping the baby. The second time, same placement agency. They found out the woman had been drinking through her pregnancy - and that the agency knew and hadn't told them. They pulled out, and, because of what had happened with the first situation, the agency refunded their placement fee. Third time, a woman in Arizona, everyone knew, everyone felt it was the right choice and supported her. The original adoptive family pulled out when they found out the baby was a boy, Leslie and her husband got a call two weeks before the birth. They flew out there and picked up their son at 27 hours old. The entire process, including the home study, took 6 months from start to finish. Unbelievable. She said they were heartbroken both times, but that it was still worth it. And four years later she sounded so zen about it - I think her exact words were, "those weren't my babies. This one is, and that's why he's here with us."

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