Dissolved in Ohio:
Chapter Twelve
Natasha Gone
The first week Natasha was out of their care, they examined their options in earnest. They had never heard of a dissolved adoption, they had never learned of post-institutionalization issues and hadn’t realized Denise Hubbard deliberately misled them about the health of the children she was marketing.
They began by educating themselves on RAD, after having finally found information on the Internet, speaking with RAD counselors, parents of RAD children and Christina Zima. What they learned opened their eyes to the point that they were shocked.
In every description they read of RAD, Natasha presented every symptom listed. Every one.
When they looked into intensive therapy for Natasha, they found the costs were prohibitive. They called local psychiatrists in their area, looked into qualified therapists and realized the costs to treat RAD children were astronomical. There was the possibility of re-entry into the home after a while and continuing therapy with counselors and therapists, and all if it with no guarantees that it would work for Natasha.
If they had the income of a Bill Gates, they could perhaps have swung the $1-2,000 a month it would take to get Natasha into leading a normal life. But they just did not have that type of money or the emotional reserves to make it happen, especially since they also had another child who needed them as badly as Natasha did.
The Ponishes spoke with the foster family once. The foster mother told Margaret that Natasha’s tantrums were still going on that week. She invited them to visit Natasha, but Margaret declined.
They went to Jennifer Marando and told her about Denise’s behavior towards them during Natasha’s adoption process. They told Jennifer it was Denise Hubbard who had personally warned the Ponishes to stay off the Internet, and upon hearing that, Jennifer Marando told Denise to visit Natasha.
And she did Natasha’s first week in foster care stopping by the respite family’s home. Denise viewed the charming, manipulative Natasha in her new surroundings observed (or what Denise takes as observation) that Natasha was so sweet and loving. She claimed the girl was normal, that she was just fine. All this with a 15-minute visit.
Upon hearing of Denise’s visit to see Natasha, Margaret felt it a “contrived visit” on Denise’s part, most probably done by Denise to cover all her bases. Denise only saw Natasha’s charm and manipulative component with strangers. If Denise had taken Natasha home for the day, it would have been another story.
Denise called to tell them, that after having seen the charming little blonde, blue-eyed girl, whose third birthday was approaching, there was nothing wrong with her, that she was a “normal” child.
We wonder — did Denise’s normal children act in the same way for her to make that comment? Or is Denise both blind as well as deaf and dumb (in the intellectual sense, that is)?
At the end of their tether, the Ponishes decided the best outcome for Natasha would be to dissolve her adoption in Ohio.
One family did come forward to adopt her while she was in respite care, but upon meeting her, bid a hasty adieu. Remember, we are talking about a slight, three-year-old blonde, blue-eyed child.
ACW took temporary guardianship of Natasha and the Ponishes gave ACW a full testimony under oath of what they had witnessed during their time in Russia with Natasha. They had to say they would receive no money for Natasha’s next placement, and her release and subsequent readoption in the State of Ohio was handled ethically and legally.
Thankfully, Natasha’s time in the Ohio foster care system was brief. Another family came forward to adopt her and Mrs. Ponish had to testify in a court hearing about her.
She gave the court all of Natasha’s medical information, her videos and photos they had received from BBAS and Amrex.
As per Ohio’s laws, the Ponishes do not know the identity of Natasha’s new family. But today they are happy in knowing Natasha found a home, for she was not a suitable match for their own family.