Dissolved in Ohio:
Chapter Eleven
Home for a Day
By the time they pulled up to their driveway in the dead of night, they were finished. Natasha was not going to be living with them in her present condition. They couldn’t have explained what was happening in their lives right then, but this was certain: something had to be done to help Natasha. And maybe they were not the people to fill that prescription.
Exhausted, sleep-deprived and nearly manic themselves they brought a wild eyed Natasha into the house and brought her upstairs to the room they had set up with such high hopes. When they placed her into the crib, she began to throw herself against the bars. Her eyes were wild with terror and exhaustion.
To Natasha, who was mentally damaged, this beautiful room — all hers — meant nothing.
Even after not having slept in over 24 hours, she would not fall asleep. She would not make any transitions, and insisted on taking a bath, which they gave her, in hopes of making her rest. It did not work.
Changed into pajamas and clean from her bath, they placed her back into the crib in hopes she would fall asleep. But the raging began again. This time, she rapidly and repeatedly banged her head on the bars. Not lightly, hard ... very hard. When her head banging failed to produce the desired result, she threw herself against the crib. Literally threw herself against the bars – like an enraged animal.
She began to chew on fingers until her parents saw blood.
While she raged, the Ponishes attempted to protect Natasha from her own fury, and tried comforting her. Nothing, absolutely nothing worked to bring the child’s rages down.
That was it. At 4 a.m., barely an hour at home, Margaret Ponish picked up the telephone and called Denise Hubbard, leaving the following message: “Hello Denise. It’s Margaret Ponish. Natasha cannot stay here.”
Four hours later, Denise Lynn Harding-Hubbard called them back. The Ponishes told Denise all that had transpired on their ten-hour airplane ride and the ride on the car back to their house. Margaret described in full detail all that Natasha had done and was continuing to do.
Do you know what Denise Hubbard told her? After hearing about the girl’s rages, anger, and obvious RAD symptoms, Denise reached the natural conclusion for her and her adoption agency.
She asked Margaret: “Are you abusing her?” (In light of her role, or lack thereof, in the Hyre case, it’s interesting that she asked. As if anyone would ever answer yes!).
What a caring, believing response from our well-meaning agency director! Margaret wanted to ask Denise if they could drop Natasha off at the Hubbard McMansion for a short visit with Emily. Surely Emily would like having her hair pulled out of her head and to have her hand bitten by one of her Russian compatriots.
Margaret was hurt by this comment. She said to Denise that they had specifically asked not to be placed with a special needs child, and again, let me direct your attention to the question in their initial “Required Information” sheet that BBAS had all its clients fill out. Under the question “Are you willing to adopt a special/medical needs child(ren)?” they circled “N” for NO.
Natasha was above and beyond “special needs.” Her behavior was out of the ball park of normal. It was a very serious emotional and mental illness.
Denise countered by saying, “I NEVER said the child would be healthy!” Denise has a very short memory when it comes to placing sick children and selling her clients on an illusion, probably because she manages to believe it herself. She never promises anything except angles and princesses, Love and Happiness.
But when the child fails to be the “healthy and well adjusted” person promised, it ain’t her fault! She told you that they were all healthy! Just look at Emily!
Margaret Ponish said this to me about Denise which perfectly sums her up: “It is kind of like her having a Reactive Attachment Disorder to her clients that she is so concerned about before she takes our money. Charming and manipulative just like RAD and then she is quickly unattached when she needs to produce.”
Something must have sunk into her Denise’s brain (or perhaps she actually read the Ohio statutes that pertain to matters like this, or (more likely) was advised by someone who had) for she honed into her duties as an adoption agency director and contacted Jennifer Marando of ACW to remove Natasha from the Ponishes’ home.
By noon Jennifer Marando showed up at their house to see Natasha. She suggested all they needed was some “respite” care for Natasha. After a week, she could be returned and they could “give her a chance.” Although, Jennifer did say, after having observed Natasha, that she did have a “touch of RAD” symptoms.
Define “touch of RAD”. RAD is for LIFE. It’s like being “a little bit pregnant.” How can somebody this vapid be allowed to do homestudies for international adoption, for foster care placements in Ohio? Yet another example of Ohio’s finest adoption professionals on the job.
Margaret and Peter told Jennifer to remove the girl immediately — she was beyond what they could handle and way beyond what they had been promised. Nobody had told them about how sick some of these kids really were. Nor did they have the support systems in place to handle her mental illness. They had not been prepared to adopt this special needs girl.