Olympian Scott Hamilton, wife adopt kids from Haiti

Like many others, Tracie Hamilton couldn’t take her eyes off the TV when she started covering the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The death toll is estimated at between 110,000 and 300,000, and more than a quarter of a million homes have been destroyed or severely damaged. watched other natural disasters unfold on television. This was different,” she said. “I was so eager to get there.” Her husband, Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton, returns from a TV commentator performance at a figure skating competition. A month later, a friend at church told Tracie about a Nashville couple, Dr David and Laurie Vanderpool, who were about to move permanently to Haiti to help the impoverished country. The next time the Vanderpools gathered friends of Tennessee to talk about what they were up to, Tracie was there, very approving. visited Vanderpools headquarters in Nashville for their aid organization, Live Beyond, which has a Christmas tree in the lobby. Aidan went straight to the ornament that featured a smiling boy named Jean Paul. Laurie Vanderpool told Aidan that Jean Paul was a good athlete and a smart kid. Aidan, then eight years old, was sold: “That’s who we’re going to spend Christmas with.” Tracie boarded a plane to Haiti a few months later, her first of 19 trips there. She must meet Jean Paul and her teenage brother Rivaldo and sister, Evelyne. The shy girl from the Children of Hope orphanage, in the vast Thomazeau, about 90 minutes north of the capital Port-au-Prince. Mother in Haiti. A few months later, Scott joined Tracie on her first trip to Haiti, and he was stunned by the contrast. “The more time you invest in going to different parts of Haiti, the more you see the promise of what it should be,” he said. “And hopefully,” his wife added quickly. The boy sent back a video message to Aidan, who then asked his mother, simply, “Can we adopt Jean Paul?” “I said, ‘Wow, this is great. I love his heart so much, but it’s more complicated than that,” she told her son. A few weeks later, Aidan had an answer. Read more: Who went home to the survivor “Can we adopt all three of them?” Scott looked at his wife, smiled, and said, “We have room!” Tracie, smile. turned around, said, “Don’t say that to me unless you mean it!” The playful exchange turned into a serious discussion and a lot of prayer. Obstacle: The Hamiltons felt ill-equipped at that point in their lives to parent as a teenager. However, they worry that adopting three children will be overwhelming. “An obstruction has been moved.”A month later, on a summer’s day, Tracie turned to her husband and said, “I think it’s time…” and Scott finished, “…bring those kids home.” questionnaire, background check, fees, medical history, fingerprints, credit check, extra fees, interview, home check, family background, many forms and many more fees. Hamiltons cheerful assistant Michelle Thornbury helped pass. But even Thornbury’s sunny climate didn’t stop the Hamiltons from feeling really frustrated all the way. “I get it, I want to be tested, tested me and tested again. I totally get that, when you think about what’s going on with the kids and think about how they’re trafficked,” Scott said. “And that’s enough. There is a tipping point. Don’t let me get to that point. Just don’t torment me with all these regulations, making me pass it five times. “About 22 months, $25,000, and 12 trips to Haiti after that, the whole Hamilton family came down to pick up Jean Paul and Evelyne. They spent several days in a beautiful hotel in Port-au-Prince, swimming together, eating together, playing together and generally getting to know each other before arriving in Nashville. , so homeschooling is not effective. They would get hurt at night because the sweltering heat would break out at sunset in Haiti, and that’s when the kids would go out and play. Jean Paul announced after some flames stick to the roof.Yes, Jean Paul and Evelyne now know that their father won an Olympic gold medal in 1984. Their main reaction to it: “They thought I looked silly with my hair,” says Scott. That’s right, Scott took them ice skating. Jean Paul wanted nothing to do with it. Evelyne seems to love it Read more: Who does hori end up going with like Hamilton – like their American-born brethren. “God arranged everything in a wonderful way,” said the gold medalist. “Looking back you have to smile that all we had to do was obey and obey.” Tracie added, “We didn’t say no if we wanted to. It is beyond our control. This is how I know it’s God. “Contact Brad Schmitt at 615-259-8384 or on Twitter @bradschmitt.Hamiltons helpScott and Tracie Hamilton serve on the board and are volunteers for many charities, some based in Nashville. Skating in Harlem Multiple Myeloma Research FoundationTracie: LiveBeyond for Better Health in HaitiNashville Zoo at GrassmereHope Through Healing Hands for Better Health Around the WorldRead more: who is the father of English literature | Top Q&A