Court - The Final Chaper -- Part II

The next person to address the judge was Ludmila, the Director of the Orutukan Boarding School, where Kylen attended school. She told the Judge of our first meeting with Kylen. She told how he was very afraid and frightened. She stated that shortly after coming into the same room with us, he began crying and sobbing uncontrollably. She commented that she was quite surprised at his extreme emotional response. She stated she did not expect this. But, upon questioning Kylen, he stated that seeing us reminded him of the last time he was with his biological Mama and Papa, and that it was very painful for him. Ludmila explained to the Judge how I began to read to him and point to the pictures in the book, to get his mind off of being afraid. She stated that he slowly began to feel more comfortable with us. Then Ludmila began to tell the judge of the abuse that Kylen had endured. She told of when the parents used to get drunk and beat him. She told of the time that he ran away from the father, in the middle of winter, in minus 60 degree temperatures, when he was trying to get away from a beating. Kylen was probably around age 4 to 5. His father was drunk, and when he staggered just a minute, Kylen grabbed his coat, but could not find his boots. He had to flee quickly in order to escape his father’s grasp. He ran out into the snow and his feet sustained horrible frostbite damage. He was treated at a hospital for apparently, sometime. When we petitioned to adopt Kylen, he had to be taken back to the same hospital for a medical examination, required by Russian law. Ludmila stated that about 20 to 30 minutes away, as soon as Kylen realized he was going back to that hospital, he began to get sick, and began throwing up, due to remembering the trauma and stress of his frostbite episode. She then told the Judge that the next day we visited with Kylen, he was very comfortable with us, and told her that he wanted to go live in America with a family and live their with his brother. She told the Judge of the picture album we furnished him with that had pictures of all of our pets, and other children and of our home. Ludmila told the Judge that Kylen had every person and pet in the book memorized, and that he went around the school telling others that this was his Mama and Papa, and told the names of the cat and dogs, and that this was his new home. She stated how he was so happy to have a new home with parents, and that he was happy that he would be living in a home with his brother. Ludmila also stated that he had memorized the names of all of the people and animals in the photo album we had given him. She said he had told all of the children and teachers at the boarding school all about his new family in America and the names of his new dogs and the name of his cat. She told the Judge that she felt very positive about Kylen (Denis) being adopted by us, She also told the Judge that again, no other family had stepped forward to adopt these boys. She again told the Judge that she felt this was a good thing for the boys and that we would be very good parents for them. She stated she based this on the interaction she saw between us and Kylen. She also had observed us in the baby home with both Kylen and Sasha. She stated the way we related to the boys was very good. Then, she looked at me (instead of the Judge) and she told me that she hoped I would try very hard to keep Kylen Denis speaking his native language. She realized that he would need to concentrate on learning English, but she also wanted to preserve his heritage by having him remember about his culture and about his language. I felt the burden of finding a way to keep him reading, writing, and speaking Russian.