Albany family's plan to bring home adopted daughter from Ukraine derailed by COVID-19

ALBANY – Ten-year-old Myroslava "Mira" Chumakova has lived in Ukrainian orphanages since she was a toddler, surrounded by dozens of other children, seeking new families and new homes.

That was all supposed to change for Mira, in the middle of March.

That's when Albany resident Theresa Grimes, 53, boarded a plane in Newark, New Jersey, on March 13 for the 10 hours of travel to Kiev, Ukraine. It was the fourth time that she flew to the eastern European country, but this time she planned to return home with Mira, her newly adopted daughter, to join her husband, Michael, and their eight biological sons.

But Theresa Grimes never made it to Mira on that trip. About a day after she arrived in Kiev, Grimes was contacted by a U.S. Embassy representative to tell her that the borders were closing because of the COVID-19 pandemic and that she could end up stuck in Ukraine indefinitely if she didn't leave the country immediately.

Grimes made the difficult decision to return home to Albany without Mira, who has epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Two other American families that work with the same adoption organization as Grimes and her family also had to turn around and head back to the states.

“It was the hardest decision I have ever made in my life,” Grimes said. “It was devastating. … It was also hard that she knew she was supposed to be coming home.”

In early February, a court in Ukraine approved Mira's adoption by Theresa Grimes, a customer services agent for Southwest Airlines, and Michael Grimes, 53, a branch manager at American Financial Network Inc., a mortgage firm.

After arriving on the March trip, Theresa Grimes planned on making the six-hour train ride through the rural countryside to Mira. The plan was that they would then finish the final steps of the adoption, which included a medical exam and Mira’s visa being issued at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, Theresa Grimes recalled.

But more than a month later, Mira remains in Ukraine, with little contact with her new family.

The Grimes family is not alone. Families in New York and those across the country have seen their plans to adopt children overseas stalled because of the coronavirus.

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“Our international adoption program is very small, but everyone in the program is affected in some way,” said Michele Fried, founder and CEO of Adoption STAR, Inc., an adoption agency in New York, Florida and Ohio, of which the Grimeses are clients.

Another example from New York, Fried said, is a family in the western part of the state who may not be able to bring home the boy they hope to adopt because he is very medically fragile and the risk of travel during the COVID-19 pandemic may be too great, even if it is permitted. He is a teenager in Bulgaria and his prospective parents fear he will not be approved for adoption even after the health crisis passes.

On March 19, days after Theresa Grimes returned home, the U.S. Department of State advised U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel. The risks associated with the health crisis, as well as the closure of many foreign government services to process adoptions and complex travel logistics, have caused many families to postpone their scheduled travel for intercountry adoption. The department continues to strongly encourage prospective parents to defer travel overseas, according to a State Department official.

Still, intercountry adoption cases remain a high priority for the Department of State.

“As resources allow, embassies and consulates worldwide are continuing to provide emergency and mission critical services, including for families in the process of completing adoptions,” the official said.

Since March 25, the department is aware of 39 American families who have returned to the U.S. with their internationally adopted children, the official said.

Adoptions in New York have also faced some challenges, including accessing necessary paperwork because agencies and institutions are closed. New policies at hospitals around childbirth and infant discharge, and closed courts, where adoptions are finalized, also have added to the delays.

Fried said the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all kinds of adoption and adding to the trauma children already face.

“Now these children will wait longer, adding to their trauma, some will age out, meaning they will be considered too old for adoptive placement, and never have a forever family," she said. “The impact of COVID-19 is profound, affecting all areas of adoption and child welfare, but most immediately its effects on international adoption may prove to be devastating for a child’s chances to be adopted.”

Recently, the Grimes family was able to video chat with Mira for her birthday. She turned 10 on April 28.

“She was so delighted,” Theresa Grimes said. “I was very happy to be able to talk to her, thrilled to get my eyes on her. She was in good spirits.”

The Grimes family also works with the Massachusetts-based organization, Hand of Help in Adoption, which advocates for the adoption of orphans from Ukraine. The organization helps facilitate the adoption process both stateside and in Ukraine. Their work includes helping the families compile the many documents they need, as well as navigating through the Ukrainian court system.

Nancy Thornell, the organization’s family liaison, said Ukraine will have its borders closed until at least May 22, but is optimistic that eventually the restrictions will be lifted.

The Grimeses don’t know when they will be united with their new daughter. As of now, Theresa Grimes said she was being cautiously optimistic for June or July.

“I hope once I’m on the other side of this, it’ll just be part of her story,” she said. “I hope it’s not causing more trauma to her.”

But she also said she understands that sacrifices must be made during this health pandemic.

“Hopefully this is a life lesson for our children about sacrifice, pulling together and sometimes things do not go as planned but to push through until the end,” she said. “As hard as it was to leave without her, I am hopeful that her new life with our family will be amazing. We are looking forward to celebrating our new normal with Mira as soon as it is safe to go get her.”

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