New Beginnings

The last week has been a busy one. I spent almost the whole week on a complex adoption, but there is little pot of gold at the end of that rainbow! Baby Matthew James is doing beautifully and he'll be going home soon with Dad Eddie and Mom Joanne. It's been late nights all week because we're packing to move the office. After six years at the same location, we're moving a few miles south to a brand new office. I think it will be a great move, although who likes moving? It's a good time to sort and weed out the things you don't want to haul into the moving trucks, but a lot of work! The accumulation of the past six years is nothing short of amazing. We've grown in that time and so much has changed, and yet remained the same. Tomorrow we'll be putting in carpet and getting phone lines working. Friday we'll start the move and by Saturday, it will be complete. Well, all except for the unpacking! Monday is another week. If anyone tries to reach us from Friday to Monday, they might get a message rather than a live voice. We're not sure how long the phones will actually be down, but it shouldn't be too long and we'll be checking messages frequently. Bring on the moving trucks!

Now, everyone is asking me to talk about the octuplets born in Whittier, CA, (which, incidentally, just happens to be my home town). "Octomom" is the new term being given to Nadya, the baby's mother. The mere survival of eight babies is quite amazing in itself. If they turn out to be healthy, it will be nothing short of a miracle. Many internet websites have been created with the specific intent of venting about how a person could have 14 children in a short period of time despite the lack of income and resources. The cost of the birth and care of eight extremely premature infants is more than any of us want to imagine. Of course, we're paying for it with our taxes whether we want to or not. While I agree that it wasn't a wise choice on her part, I have a bigger issue with the physician who allegedly implanted six eggs. You can always count on some people being irresponsible in their decision making, but when participation of a physician is required, you might imagine that the doctor would put the kabosh on the idea of more than two eggs being implanted at once (the medical standard for women her age). Why a physician would risk a career and bring a medical investigation upon himself is something that is hard to imagine. She must be quite a persuasive woman. I believe this "fertility expert" has crossed the line.

Attention is a big motivator. The money that comes with that attention is an even bigger motivator. It's easy to see how a disturbed person would try to find a place in the spotlight. I'm sure the book and movie deals are sure to follow. So in just a matter of months, this woman goes from welfare mom of six, who is admittedly living on student grants and loans, to rich celebrity status with appearances on Oprah and Dr. Phil, who must be about to lose his lunch over this one. I'll leave the psychoanalysis to Dr. Phil, but it doesn't take a psychiatrist to realize that this woman has stepped off a very steep cliff. It may take her a while to make the jump back to reality, but in the meantime what happens to these babies? I certainly hope that the notariety Nadya seeks has brought some attention to the plight of these children. Some of them will likely have special needs. She already has an autistic child at home. I wonder if she has a plan or if she's just making it up as she goes along. I'm sure that we'll hear more about this story, perhaps for the entire lives of these children, who are unwitting stars of a very bizarre new "Truman" show. Life is not fair. These children may learn this lesson at a very early stage. I hope everyone involved in this very sad situation is held accountable and that somehow the children are allowed to flourish.