Don and Wendy
Dealing with Mr. Godwin was an absolute pleasure. He wanted to help us when another attorney we talked to wanted to charge us $700 just to answer our questions!
The first birth mother chose another family. But then Marion found Jane*. At first, we wanted just one child, and we wanted a boy. But Marion’s husband, Blake, did our home study for two children. When Marion called and told us about a little girl, I immediately said, “We’ll take her.” And when Marion told me that Jane was pregnant and wanted her children to stay together, I said, “We’ll take THEM.” I called my wife, and she agreed that we’d take them.
DSS already had custody of our daughter, so we had to fight DSS from March to November. The attorney for the GAL was on DSS’ side and said they didn’t believe we should get the child. Their attorney said, “If every birth mother DSS took a child from lost her rights, what would DSS do?”
Two days later, we drove back to Greenville to pick up our daughter, who was now 15 months old. And two months later, her brother came to live with us as well.
When our son turned three, I started praying for another baby. Jane was pregnant again, but she had pain in her liver and found out it was Hepatitis C. She was 20 weeks pregnant, so she decided to wait on treatment until she had the baby. She had grown up in the system herself and wanted to make the right decision for her baby.
After much prayer and discussion, we decided, “No man left behind.” Thankfully, she made the decision to place with us again.
One of the challenges we faced with adoption is that both of our sons were born addicted to methadone. I am always happy to speak with Ray’s clients who are considering whether they can adopt a baby who has been exposed to drugs. What I want to say is that it’s nothing that affects them for the rest of their lives. When the wean-down process is done, it’s done. My boys are fine now. In fact, we are definitely a soccer family, and I’m a 55-year-old stay-at-home dad with a six-year-old!
disclaimer to the bottom of each story – Disclaimer pursuant to Rule 7.1 South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct: This is a testimonial by a former client of Godwin & Horst, Attorneys at Law The result achieved on behalf of one client does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.