As you know, I’m more than delighted with St. Joseph Home. Angie’s care is excellent and her life is full because she lives there. Before she lived there, she had been on the waiting list for many years. In fact, she was on the waiting list twice, which is a story for a bit later. First, I want to share the story of my personal connection with this amazing place.
To explain this connection, I need to take you back to when St. Joseph Home was St. Joseph Orphanage and Maternity Home. When I was seven months old I was adopted from this very orphanage by the most amazing parents ever. I had won the lottery when they took me home. I discovered as an adult that my original name was Rose Eileen, the same name as of one the sisters who had taken care of me. In addition, I also found my Mom’s “diary” where she wrote a few lines about finding out they would finally get the baby they had been waiting for over 5 years and about the day they brought me home.
As a little girl, I remember going back there for visits. One visit I vividly remember was when I was five because it was then that I won 500 dollars in a raffle. My case worker had been Miss Malloy so we went to see her to pick up my winnings. I still remember her handing me 5 one-hundred-dollar bills. And I still remember giving her two bills back and then giving one to my Mom and one to my Dad while I kept one. I was so happy that day even though I had no idea of the value of money and my parents made me feel very good about giving back. I was one lucky little girl.
As I grew up my connection continued with St. Joseph Orphanage, because my Aunt Irma, my aunt with downs syndrome, used to live and work there. Every six weeks we would go pick her up on Sunday mornings and bring her home for a day-long visit. She was happy there helping with the children and the laundry. The sisters took good care of her along with the children. They gave her a purpose and that made her happy. As the need for orphanages declined and the sisters transitioned their mission to care for the severely handicapped, she needed to move on to another facility. Even as a teenager I remember that life was never as good for her after she left. St. Joseph Orphanage had been the best place ever.
But what if you’re not from Cincinnati? If you live in another part of the US or in another part of the world, what can you do? As I’m writing, I’m thinking about what I did even though I knew about St. Joseph Home. I knew I needed to find an excellent home for my daughter and because there was a long waiting list for St. Joseph there were no guarantees she’d ever get in, so I asked for suggestions from everybody in my support group, which included doctors, teachers, therapists, caseworkers, and aides, plus other parents. If it hadn’t worked out for Angie the way it did and I still hadn’t been satisfied, I would have checked with churches too. If there had been nothing excellent nearby, I would have expanded my search to nearby cities that have a children’s hospital. I don’t live in the same city as my daughter now and I know for a fact that I am not the only parent who lives rather far away from their child, so know it can work out. So, if there is nothing nearby, research places that are farther away. And when all else fails, there is always the possibility of working with your local doctors, hospitals, schools, caseworkers and other parents to establish a small group home. Honestly, I had been thinking about doing just that. I had even started to explore funding options and checking into government requirements. This was certainly not my dream solution, but if there had been no other options, I would have pursued this. I believe that allowing Angie to live in her own place and have her own life is the best thing for both of us. I love her, but if I were her caregiver day after day, she would not have the good life she has now.