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fron Y kvaine with love! ...a Scugog couple shares their long and arduous journey to parenthood Many people take for granted that they’ll meet the ‘one’, get married, have children and follow that common life path that many of us do. This story reveals one couple’ 's journey toward p d, the joy, pain and disapp they endured to eal become parents. Deb Ward, a lifetime resident of Scugog is one of the most remarkable people you'd ever have the pleasure of meeting. She is warm, friendly and unbelievably talented in so many ways. She can make a dress, weave a basket, create stained glass works of art or create a piece of furniture. She also makes a mean apple pie. But something eluded her... motherhood. She and her husband, Larry, met a little later in life than most. “1 found him late” she jokes. But their similar inter- Carter ests and desire to have a family brought them to marriage in 1999. “We suffered five miscarriages” Deb says sadly. The dream of giving birth to a child faded but the hope of adoption began to glimmer brightly. They knew they wanted to become parents but faced numerous roadblocks while pursuing that dream. The wait list was more than two years with the Children’s “ Aid Society and she felt they we suffered were often overlooked and a i ‘, discriminated against because five miscarri ag es they were in their early forties at the tine. and our dream of These challenges brought Vii i them to a Toronto-based giving birth to a organization called “Mission ij a of Tears” and in 2002 they child faded began the formal adoption process, including numerous home studies and mountains of paperwork and red tape. Within nine months however, they were on their way to an orphanage in the Ukraine to meet children awaiting adoption. It may not be widely known that many parts of the Ukraine struggle with profound poverty, unemployment, Deb’s first meeting with 14 month old homelessness and isolation. This leads to any given time ‘Mikola’ at a Ukraine orphanage in 2003. 80 FOCUS - OCTOBER 2009