A teenager finds his forever home just in time!
Brad and Renee Balassaitis adopted Roman Balassaitis just one day before his 18th birthday, First Coast News in Jacksonville, USA Today reported.
“We started to get things moving, and it’s been a while,” said Brad Balassaitis, who adopted seven children with his wife.
The couple, who have nine children between them, have been working hard since the beginning of this year to adopt Roman, the publication reported.
“It was a bit of a race against time in the end, but we really wanted to make sure it happened before his 18th birthday.
Because we wanted to make sure it didn’t go out of the system and no longer have the same support,” Brad told the newspaper.
The boy had already lived with the family, for about nine months when he was 13, but was not ready to be adopted at that time, according to the couple.
Roman believed he had found his home after reuniting with the Balassaitis family last year.
According to Today, Roman received his biggest gift on Christmas morning last year when Brad and Renee told him they were adopting him.
“We were all in tears,” Renee, 47, told the magazine. “All Roman has ever wanted is to find his forever family.”
The adoption was finalized last week via Zoom and at the Historic Clay County Courthouse, about 40 miles outside of Jacksonville.
“I was sweating profusely. My heart was pounding. I was so happy,” Roman said.
“It means I have somewhere to go. It means that if I need to talk to someone, now I have someone to talk to.”
Renee agreed, then offered some motherly advice about the nature-loving teen who loves fishing and hitting the mud with her friends.
“It will suit him very well, really,” he told the station. “He needed to know that people believed in him and that he was wanted and chosen; it’s an important thing”.
“Roman walks lighter since he was adopted,” she explained. “It’s as if a great weight has been lifted from his shoulders, as demonstrated by the way he moves. He is very relieved.”
