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67
s ecial
re ort
health
“We wanted
another child,
but could we
afford it?”
THE DIAGNOSIS WAS UNEXPLAINED INFERTILITY. Tessa and Justin Palmer received
this news in 2014 after a year of trying to get pregnant. Still longing to add another
child to their family, which included 4-year-old son Owen and 12-year-old Arden
(Justin’s daughter from a previous marriage), the couple decided to adopt. After all, like
one in 10 Americans, Justin had been adopted, as a newborn.
Following the lead of Tessa’s sister, who had recently brought home a toddler
daughter from overseas, the Palmers leaned toward adopting from China
—
the
country that, in 2018, completed 36% of international adoptions. If they considered
an older child with medical special needs from China’s “waiting child” list, the wait
could drop from five years to two. But could they afford it?
To adopt from China, the Palmers learned, would cost them roughly $40,000.
Though they lived modestly in rural Coopersburg, PA, they also had careers with
modest earnings. Justin was an emergency room nurse at the local hospital. Tessa,
a social worker, had worked weekends for a hospice care provider since Owen was born.
The job let her be home with him and available to Arden during the week but limited
her income.by MELODY WARNICKPRICELESS SMILES
Tessa and Justin
with Harbin, Owen
and Arden.Ph
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OCTOBER 2019 GH 61