Haitian boy’s new family in Lolo struggles to pay the bills

Haitian boy’s new family in Lolo struggles to pay the bills

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By MICHAEL MOORE of the Missoulian | Posted: Monday, February 8, 2010 11:20 pm | (6) Comments

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Judi and Jay DeWaters brought Jean Mary Lozard, their adopted Haitian son, home to Lolo last month. They say that the long adoption process and a series of financial hardships have depleted their resources. Photo by TOM BAUER/Missoulian

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Judi and Jay DeWaters didn’t expect it to be easy, this business of adopting a Haitian orphan.

After all, the Lolo couple had already adopted a South African boy, Elias, so they knew well the cultural barriers and the costs of adoption.

But for reasons beyond their control, the effort to adopt the boy from Haiti was far more grueling than the DeWaterses imagined.

“We knew there would be difficulties on the Haiti side of the equation, but we didn’t know that what would be happening in our own lives would have such a dramatic effect,” Judi DeWaters said recently.

To wit, Judi’s bout with cancer, the loss of her job, along with the loss of medical insurance at Jay’s job.

Those difficulties, occurring amid a recession and the family’s effort to adopt, took an unwelcome toll.

“Basically, we really depleted our resources while we were still working to get Jean Mary’s adoption finished,” Judi said.

Then a few miracles came along. First, Jean Mary and other children in the orphanage where he lived survived the devastating earthquake of Jan. 12.

Then, with the country in ruins, the adoption process suddenly motored full-steam ahead. One day, Jay and Judi were just doing anything they could to get information about the 6-year-old boy, the next they got word that he’d been flown to Pittsburgh, where they needed to pick him up.

“We’re so grateful that he’s finally here, but this is going to be a very tough adjustment period, especially for Jean Mary,” Judi said.

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In Haiti, Jean Mary lived with between 20 and 50 other children. He was constantly stimulated.

“For him to be here, mostly alone with me for part of the day, has been very hard for him,” Judi said. “The language adjustment is going to be hard as well, and it’s very important for him to not just drop his Creole language altogether.”

Judi said people from the University of Montana have been very helpful on the language front. That includes an assist from Grizzly basketball player Vassy Banny, who is from Ivory Coast.

“He’s been very willing to help, and that is just a godsend,” Judi said.

Jean Mary has also been through a battery of medical tests, and without insurance, those costs are mounting.

With an eye toward relieving some of the DeWaterses’ most urgent financial needs, an account has been set up in Jean Mary’s name at Farmers State Bank. The money will be used solely for educational and medical purposes.

“If this adoption had come through two years ago, we wouldn’t be struggling like we are,” Judi said. “We just want to make sure we can provide him with the things he needs, because he’s been through such a hard time.”