Imagine loving your children unconditionally but living in a world that can’t do the same.
On bad days, this is the reality for Becky Ketarkus. Becky is the mother of 10 adopted children. Some of them were born in the United States, some in other countries, some have special needs, while some do not.
Many people bullied an 8-year-old boy for growing his hair long for charity, but his mom never once judged him and he his much better off for it.
For Becky and her husband, Poppy’s eye makes no difference; they love her just the same. Becky is a pediatric nurse and adoption advocate, but when she took 2-year-old Poppy to watch her brother’s soccer game, she was dismayed to hear that another mom had a horribly rude reaction to Poppy.
Poppy was born in China with a benign tumor in her eye. The tumor is believed to be the reason she was abandoned. After 22 months of living with the tumor, when she was finally adopted by Ketarkus, she had it removed and implanted with a donor tissue.
“Over the donor tissue inserted into her eye socket Poppy wears a ‘shield’ that looks like a thick contact lens in shape but is the color of an eye,” Becky says. However, though they’ve tried 12 times, finding an eye shield that fits has been a struggle. Poppy finds it uncomfortable, so she doesn’t wear it. When she doesn’t wear it, her eye socket appears empty. This isn’t a problem for her family, although, it was a problem for another mother at the soccer game.
See how Poppy was bullied by an adult below and SHARE if you’re glad Becky is sticking up for her children!
Becky Ketarkus and her husband are parents of 10 beautiful adopted children.
Just look at this big, beautiful family! There’s nothing like seeing happy, smiling children who are loved.
Unfortunately, not everyone is as accepting as they should be. While watching some of her boys play soccer, one mom made a very rude comment about her daughter, Poppy.
“Poppy was born with a descemetocele of her left eye. This is a benign tumor that was present at birth. It is likely the reason she was abandoned,” Becky writes in The Mighty. Poppy’s eye was later removed after the adoption. Sometime she has an empty eye socket, and sometimes she wears an eye shield.
“She lives large and loves fiercely. She is our girl, whether she has her ‘eye in’ or her ‘eye out.’ But, because of the stares, I usually make sure she is ‘eye in’ when we’re out,” she said.
“Yesterday, we went to watch her brothers play soccer and she had her shield out when I put her into the car. As I slipped her shield in, the lady behind us turned to look and let out a loud, ‘Oh my God,’ and then, because she had been so loud, many others turned.”
“Instead of apologizing for her outburst, she decided to defend it by saying, ‘Good lord, it caught me off guard. I wasn’t ready for that. Phew. Well, look! Now it’s in and you can’t even tell she doesn’t have an eye! Thank goodness. That was so awkward.’ “
” ‘I’m so sorry I caught you off guard,’ I thought. ‘I’m so glad you won’t have to be faced with my daughter’s difference again. I live to make sure you don’t have to feel awkward.’ Sigh. Poppy didn’t understand any of what was said. She was more interested in getting down and playing in the grass. My older kids, who would have noticed, were already on the field, engrossed in the soccer game. My littlest kids could care less. They adore our Poppy and are never shocked by her appearance, even when she had her eye tumor.”
“I’m proud of my reaction. I was the mom who cared too much about what other people thought but now I realize It’s not about me. And It’s not about the soccer moms. It’s about one very brave little girl who just wants to be comfortable and play. So, for her, we are proud to have stopped caring what other people think,” Becky wrote.
SHARE if you’re glad Becky is being strong for her daughter!
