Most of us think that adoption is permanent once the papers are signed, but as one unlucky boy learned in a very traumatic fashion, you can actually cancel your kid like a Netflix subscription.
Anthony thought he was getting a happy ending when he was adopted by a supposedly loving family at the age of four.
Sadly, that all came to a crashing end seven years later when Anthony’s parents inexplicably took him to the hospital, where they carelessly discarded him like a piece of trash.
And get this – their actions were totally legal!
“All the promises of a forever family were thrown out the window and this young boy was left alone, abandoned, frightened, and crushed emotionally.”
After his ex-parents drove away from the scene of the crime, they never looked back to see the terrible thing they had done. Incredibly, it wasn’t even the first time the heartless couple pulled off a “pretend parent” charade like this!
Anthony’s harrowing experience almost reads like a bleak, Brothers Grimm-style fairytale on Love What Matters:
“He didn’t know when or if they were ever coming back for him because he was not in on the plan they orchestrated to abandon their child. Most people could not conceive that a parent could do this to a child, yet this was not their first time. You see, they did the exact same thing to their other adopted son a couple of years before, sadly enough.”
Thankfully a hero named Peter Mutabazi stepped in to help rewrite this kid’s story!
When Peter first began his journey as a foster dad, he took in two brothers who changed his life. They also changed his understanding of how much a person could actually love another human being.
Sadly, seven months after the boys were placed in his care, Family Court decided to reunite them with their birth parents. Peter was gutted and unprepared for the goodbyes that followed.
You see, in all the endless hours of training he went through to become a licensed foster parent, there was nothing in the manuals that taught him how to deal with sudden breakups like this!
On the drive home from court, Peter came to realize that these boys would actually get to grow up with their birth family. Although the thought filled him with tons of joy, it didn’t necessarily dull the hurt he was feeling in his heart.
And that’s why Peter initially refused a request to foster a then 11-year-old Anthony “just for the weekend.” It had only been four days since he lost his foster children, and the pain of love and loss was still too fresh. He needed more time to grieve!
But his social worker had a way of swaying him with talk of “the right kid at the right time,” which meant that the bedroom Peter had setup for his foster children would not remain empty for long.
In fact, it was going to be permanently filled with love!
He had no idea at the time, but Peter was about to meet the boy who would take his last name and start calling him ‘Dad!’
Peter grew up with an abusive father in a small, impoverished village near the border of Uganda and Rwanda. His childhood experiences, although quite horrific, left him with a deep desire to create a better future for all the children out there who deserve more out of life.
So when his real estate business in Oklahoma started booming and he could afford to take care of a couple of kiddos, Peter decided to dedicate his life to the greater good by becoming a foster father.
He thought it would involve temporarily looking after kids whose parents were unable to care for them, but then “just for the weekend” Anthony happened.
And that’s when Peter’s worldview was turned upside down!
“Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate I would be parenting the child of two parents who had led lives that passed the extensive background check standards involved with parenting foster children, only just to abandon not one, but two of their children.”
At first Peter refused to ask his social worker why Anthony was in foster care – he couldn’t handle any more heartbreak and didn’t want to get too attached. He was adamant that the boy would only be allowed to stay for the weekend as agreed, and once that time was up, Anthony would have to skedaddle.
However, that was before Anthony straight up called him ‘Dad!’
“I told him he could call me ‘Mr. Peter’ and 20 minutes after his arrival, he asked if he could call me ‘Dad.’ What? I didn’t even know his last name, yet he was asking to call me ‘Dad.’ This was not typical, as most children in foster care initially want to remind you that you are not their father and ‘never will be.’ This child I had just met was not even presenting that argument.”
Peter was caught off guard by the boy’s casualness and blurted out, “NO! NO! NO!” He even went so far as to remind Anthony that since his stay would be a very short 48 hours, there was no need to start getting personal.
Yet, when Monday morning arrived and he knew that Anthony would be leaving, Peter finally found the courage to ask his social worker about the boy’s backstory.
The heart-wrenching answer she gave was a punch to the gut. Peter didn’t even know that such a thing was possible – or even legal!
The woman quietly explained how Anthony had been abandoned first by his biological mother at the age of two, and then again by his adoptive mom and dad, who had raised him for almost 10 years.
In the latter case, it was called a “failed adoption.” But in reality, it was just stone cold cruelty!
“They signed an agreement relinquishing their parental rights and never looked back. I was completely shocked! I could not believe what I was hearing. I began to cry out of anger for what these people had done to this 11-year-old child.”
Peter knew that he couldn’t be yet another person in a long list of people to abandon this poor boy.
It looks like Anthony knew exactly what he was doing when he called Peter ‘Dad!’
“I refused to allow him to be cast aside again. Besides, he was already calling me ‘Dad.’ I asked the social worker to provide me with a placement letter so I could enroll him in school the following day. She asked me about 100 times if I was serious and we both cried tears of joy.”
Peter reassured the social worker that Anthony would no longer have to worry about where his food, shelter, and love was going to come from.
Not only was he going to spoil this kid by letting him call him Dad, but a few months later Peter made it 100% official!
“It may come as a surprise when I say I needed my son more than he needed me.”
On November 12th, Peter adopted Anthony and gave him a permanent last name.
“This is the blessing I am most thankful for in my life. It has been an amazing journey. I’m amazed at how resilient and positive he is, despite all that he has had to endure.”
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