This brave couple shared their story of a failed adoption, an emotional as well as exhausting experience that will likely leave you in tears.
Audra and her husband, like many other people around the world, decided to adopt a child. Unfortunately for them, it ended up not going as planned. Instead of trying to forget what happened, Audra posted a video on her YouTube channel titled “OUR FAILED ADOPTION STORY: THE DAY I’LL NEVER FORGET.”
Text on the screen explains:
“We got a call 3 weeks ago that we had been chosen by a birth mother and we were going to be adopting a little baby boy. His due date is today!”
The video begins by showing Audra and her husband getting ready for their new baby boy and to make the drive to pick him up.
According to the video, the call came at the perfect time, as it was a Friday, they had had plenty of sleep, and were getting ready to go to work. It even showed their dog, Lucy, saying she’s excited to meet her brother.
They found out that the birth mom was in the hospital about to give birth, and the couple couldn’t hold back their happiness.
As the video says:
“We’ve been waiting for this day to come for 3 years…”
The couple had already been packed for three weeks, so they just added a few things to their bag and hit the road for a 10-hour drive to the hospital. They even had a basket of gifts for the birth mother.
Audra and her husband snapped a final shot of them alone, holding up one of their future son’s baby outfits. During the drive, they took the time to call all their family and friends and let them know the good news. There were 10 hours, plenty of time to make calls. The plan was:
“We’re going straight to the hospital when we get there and staying with him the whole night.”
Unsurprisingly, the couple “couldn’t stop smiling” during the drive to the hospital.
They were also receiving updates every couple of hours. They found out the birth mother’s labor was progressing quickly. During the drive:
“We talked about all the things we’re going to teach him, places we’ll take him to, how cute he’ll look in all his new clothes, showing him off to family and friends. We can’t believe this is actually happening!! We’ve been waiting for this day for so long!!”
In addition to the years spent waiting for an adoption, Audra and her husband spent the final few weeks “getting everything ready.”
They set up the nursery, bought cute clothes, got a stroller, and set up the home for the baby. You can see just some of the things they’ve bought in preparation in the video.
Even though they hadn’t met their son yet, they knew they loved him and would do anything for him. They dreamed about him and couldn’t wait to tell him how they felt in person and hold him.
At 4:30, they got an update that the baby was born and if possible, their smiles got even wider. Now, they had a picture of their son, as well.
“To think that God created this little baby, perfect in every way, is almost unfathomable.”
Finally, they were just 20 minutes from the hospital, having driven 10 hours.
That’s when the day went from exciting and joyous to sad and life-changing in a bad way.
The video simply says:
“She changed her mind. She’s going to keep the baby.”
In the video, Audra writes that she can’t really explain how they felt, with the best word being “empty.”
“It’s a feeling I’ve never experienced in my life before. A feeling I didn’t even know existed.”
They started to wonder why, asking themselves that crucial question.
This experience was made worse by the fact that Audra had just had a miscarriage.
She had actually miscarried just days before the adoption fell through.
“I found out I was pregnant. We’ve been actually planning for TWO babies, not just one.”
They had been “holding on so closely to this adoption” to help cope with the miscarriage and were even more heartbroken when neither baby got to go home with them. Their faith helped them get through this tough time.
The couple has no hard feelings for the mother, knowing she will do a great job.
The video ends with a thank you for friends, family, and the community who “reached out, prayed, and have been such an encouragement through this time.”
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