GREENSBORO, NC (WGHP) — A Greensboro mother is one of hundreds in trouble after China halted international adoptions.
The announcement left parents who had planned an adoption uncertain.
“The children…belong to China, and we just hope they have mercy and allow the rest of us to continue the process,” Angel Jarvis said.
Jarvis and her husband had previously adopted a girl from China, but when she came home they discovered she had a twin sister. Their journey to bring her home was long and complicated.
The girls are now almost teenagers. Mackenzie lives in Greensboro with her parents. Her twin sister, Meilyn, is still in China. Her parents have been waiting for more than five years to come and get her, but they are not sure if that will ever happen.
“We need to reunite these little girls because twins belong together,” Jarvis said.
The couple weren’t separated intentionally. They were dropped off two months apart and no one knew they were related until Jarvis saw their photos side by side.
“I just felt that urge, so we did a DNA test in 2019 and it came back as a positive match of identical twins,” Jarvis said.
At that moment she knew what she had to do next.
“Then we sent out a letter of intent to adopt, and then we had to do a home study. We had completed the entire home study, and then … we got hit over the head with COVID,” Jarvis said.
There is little time for a happy ending every day.
“She has a very unique genetic mutation called SCN8A… Children like Mackenzie have a very short life expectancy… For us, that drive to move forward is quite urgent,” Jarvis said.
Both girls have the same diagnosis and the same mother who fights for their chance to be together.
“Maybe we should change our minds and allow ourselves to go on a trip and bring Meilyn home so the girls can be together all the time,” Jarvis said.
Mackenzie is non-verbal, but she expresses her emotions loud and clear.
“When we told her that Meilyn would be in China for a while longer, she broke down,” Jarvis said.
Their house is filled with toys, clothes and blankets in sets of two.
“We want them to have that time together… Twins belong together,” Jarvis said.
At home they sit together waiting and hoping that their family will one day be complete.
“I always cling to hope. There’s always a chance of hope that things will change,” Jarvis said.
Angel says she hopes the U.S. government will step up to help these parents with pending adoptions.
Even if international adoptions through China were to be halted for good, she hopes these families can go to China and pick up their children.
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