Minnesota Mom Battles 2 Years For Adoptive Child
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minnesota mom waited years to be able to spend Mother's Day with her daughter.
Justine Topel adopted 3-year-old Ida almost three years ago from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Just weeks shy of being able to bring Ida home, the central African country suspended overseas adoptions in September of 2013.
Topel spent the next two years trying to work with elected officials like U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) to bring Ida home to Minnesota.
"It was immediately like she was my daughter," Topel said.
Ida was about 8 months old when her young birth mother could no longer care for Ida's Sickle Cell Anemia, a genetic blood disorder with no cure.
Ida ended up at an orphanage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Justine Topel first met her.
"She was 13 months old and she weighed 11 pounds, and I just remember the orphanage nanny handing her to me and I could feel the bones in her bottom," Topel said. "I was holding her and I just knew I would do anything for her."
Justine never imagined just how much she would have to do to bring her daughter home.
In September of 2013, the DRC's president suspended issuing paperwork that would allow hundreds of children like Ida to be with their adoptive families overseas.
"They had concerns about how the children were coming to be orphans and needing families," Topel said.
Sen. Klobuchar said Minnesota has one of the highest rates in the nation for international adoption.
"These kids should not have been political pawns," Klobuchar said.
With the help of other lawmakers and parents, the two women continued to pressure the DRC's government to allow children who had already been adopted to get the final steps needed to be with their adoptive families.
Klobuchar said these types of bans have happened in several countries around the world and there are hundreds of children waiting to be adopted.
"It was sudden and unexpected and they have political reasons for doing it," Klobuchar said. "At some point our president actually talked to the president of the Congo himself to try to move because these kids were just stuck in this political mess."
"It was an emotional rollercoaster, something I've never felt before," Topel said. "You worry if she is sick or getting the care she needs."
Two weeks ago, Ida was finally granted the proper paperwork and permission to be able to come home to Minnesota.
"It was all worth it," Topel said. "I feel content all my kids are under one roof, they're safe they're healthy and I'm able to take care of them as a mother wants to."
While more than 150 adopted children have recently been granted permission to come to the U.S., the government estimates more than 100 adopted children in the DRC are still waiting on paperwork to be able to leave the country.
