My Brother's Keeper
Wednesday, November 29 2006
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My Brother's Keeper
Veronica, Harold and their family
Millions of people in the U.S. are assisted daily by home health care aides. Some people use professional care givers. But many folks rely on parents or siblings to provide needed help.
In 2004, Vincent had spent his entire life in the care of his mother. When she passed away, there was only one place for him to go: his sister's house.
Vincent was 38, developmentally disabled, and he weighed over 300 pounds. His sister Veronica and her husband Harold were scared of the financial and emotional stress Vincent's presence would place on them, as they had two young daughters already.
Veronica Pollack, it turns out, is an advanced practice nurse. Her husband, Harold, is a professor in health policy. But even with their backgrounds, nothing could quite prepare them for the challenges ahead, and the changes they would have to make in their lives. Veronica had to put her professional life on hold in order to be Vincent's full-time nurse. Harold was just happy he had a job to help pay for everything. And that's not to mention the headaches that came with dealing with the bureaucracy of social services.
In the end, Harold and Veronica were able to overcome the obstacles that came with taking Vincent in. Better yet, they got to know him in a way they never did before, and make him part of their family.
- Read an article by Harold and Veronica
ADOPTION AS I.D. THEFT?
In September we aired a story about identity theft. It's on the rise in this country and Ann Bougarara could be the poster child for the phenomenon. Ann's identity was stolen when she was 9 years old.
Roberta MacDonald
After Ann's story ran, Roberta MacDonald contacted Dick. Roberta feels she has had her identity stolen as well, but in a different kind of way.
Mr. Gordon,
I listened to your story today about identity theft and what Ann has
been going through all these years. I would like to tell you about another type of legal identity theft that has been going on for quite some time. It is the identity theft of an adult adoptee.Â
First of all, I want you to know that I whole-heartedly believe in adoption. After all, I was adopted However, adult adoptees and the people in the witness protection program are the only people who are not allowed to have copies of their original birth certificates.
Roberta had lots of reasons to want her original birth certificate. For example, she's interested in astrology. But she also discovered that she couldn't get a passport with her adoptee birth certificate.
As she started to explore the subject, she became more enlightened and angrier. Seems that keeping the birth parent's identity a secret is simply a social courtesy, not the law.
- Listen to the ID theft program featuring Ann Bougarara.
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