Meet the Bradley Family!

My name is Aurora Paige Bradley, although that has not always been my name. When my parents said they would adopt me, I asked if I could change my whole name. I wanted a fresh start.

You see my family was split up. My brother and I were together for two years with an abusive stepmom. She finally left us alone to fend for ourselves, but I am in a wheelchair, so we really couldn’t do it. My grandpa tried to get people to live with us; they were the ones who called for help.

I was 12 years old when social services sent me to my first foster home. One day my foster mom said, “Hey - you have an aunt and you’re going to live with her.” I was scared because I didn’t know her, and I was moving again. My life felt like chaos. All I wanted was to go home, even if it meant going back to an abusive environment.

Our aunt tried her best, but my brother and I were used to being on our own. My Nana who I didn’t know existed would come to pick me up and take me to her house. There I was able to relax and just chill out. Then one day she told me she was going to foster me and her daughter was going to foster my brother.

It felt like forever before I could go live with Nana, but the day finally came. I was happy and sad because I would miss my aunt and cousins and it was yet again another move.

We got me moved in my Nana and Shelton’s and they got my Drs’ appointments lined up. I hated having all those people come to the house: caseworker from DSS and another caseworker, CASA, Therapist. It seemed like we never had time to do anything but talk about coping skills, how I’m feeling, and my health.

Every time I thought I was almost ok, I would mess up. I didn’t like myself and I would lash out at others. I didn’t understand why I had to get cancer as a baby, why I had to be paralyzed, why my family had to get torn apart, why I had to go to court. I hated sitting in that courtroom and testifying right beside my stepmom.

Then one day my caseworker and I were talking about adoption, so later that night I asked Nana and Shelton if they would adopt me. They said yes.

Barbara and Shelton –

I Barbara (Nana) was previously married to Aurora’s grandfather, so I had a little history with her. When she was between 6-8 months old, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma on her spinal cord. She experienced chemotherapy and radiation, without success. We were often told she wouldn’t make her first birthday. So every day was Christmas, Birthdays, etc.

One day we received news the hospital had a contract with Children’s Hospital in DC. They transferred her there. We watched her grow and crawl and we took her to appointments. Then one day everything changed. Her mom had left. Soon after the dad told us he didn’t want us to have anything to do with the kids.

Ten years later, I received a call from their mom’s half-sister telling me they were in foster care, but Aurora was in the hospital. The aunt worked to foster the kids, but she had a full plate herself with her three kids. Aurora was a handful and needed more attention and medical care.

During this time was the criminal trial for the stepmom. Aurora was terrified to enter a courthouse because of this woman. Aurora was a shell of a child now, not the happy little toddler I used to know. She weighed only 67 lbs. Her 13th birthday was coming up, but she looked like a toddler in that wheelchair.

We started the foster paperwork and oh my, what a fiasco. The organization we were going through kept losing paperwork, needing new signatures, etc. I asked about kinship status, but I was not eligible because of the divorce.

Standing outside of the courtroom the day Aurora’s parents signed off parental rights was bitter-sweet. It meant we could adopt her but it also meant she would have to deal with a new barrage of feelings.

We went through a roller coaster once Aurora moved in. It was at first wonderful. But soon the honeymoon ended. Caseworkers demanded reports, or they withheld checks. With cookie-cutter therapy, Aurora learned very well how to manipulate each therapist. When she started to rebel, I became her target, the surrogate for her stepmother’s actions.

We went through two surgeries to heal her “sacral level 4 bed wound,” then seven months of Homebound schooling, depression, and PTSD. Our least favorite word was “normalcy” - a word DSS threw around like it was a wonderful new future. I asked Aurora what “normalcy” would be. Her response – “Living with my stepmom and Dad and Brother and my animals.”

Aurora can now stand with a full-body brace and a walker. Cancer remains in remission. Caseworkers are gone and thanks to C.A.S.E we were able to get through the rough patches and finally find a therapist that works for her. We pray we can stay with that therapist because now the funding has run out. C.A.S.E should have been a part of the adoption process not after it. It was so helpful not only for us as parents but for Aurora.

After 856 days in foster care, we adopted Aurora on her 15th birthday. So much has changed over the last year. We are excited to have a foster child returning, normally this would be sad. But after over a year the return will complete a void our home has felt since he left. The kids call each other brother and sister and we are glad we will be able to foster to adopt him to complete our family. So much healing has begun.