Episode 4: Russell & Emily - Part 1

Listen to our conversation with Russell & Emily, their daughters, and their #Adoption with Gia. Learn some details about cross-cultural adoption and a sweet baby girl with special needs.

1:01 Introductions

1:30 How Terri met Russell and Emily

3:12 Russell and Emily’s Backstory

5:44 How the family learned about baby Gia

8:30 Picking up baby Gia

9:58 Russell identified Gia’s need for a home and the need for legal help

10:40 Russell shared his decision to keep Gia

12:26 Terri asks about Gia’s progress

14:14 Terri asks about Gia’s feeding tube

15:35 Terri asks about Gia’s hospital stay at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans 

17:31 Emily asks how Annalise was prepared when Gia had the seizure

20:52 The family describes how it felt immediately after Gia joined their family

22:41 Emily asks the family if this is what they expected regarding adoption

24:03 Terri asks Emily how she got her training to take care of a special needs child

25:40 What was the hardest part of the whole adoption journey?

27:00 The importance of legal support

27:49 Terri shares some of the legal challenges that she faced for Gia’s adoption

29:15 Emily asks about post-adoption contact with the birth mom

31:03 The family share about Gia’s current health status

31:58 What happened to the diagnosis that Gia had Down Syndrome?

**Information presented in this podcast is not legal advice and not intended to be interpreted as legal advice.**