A Florida teenager experienced a fairytale moment when he was adopted just hours before turning 18. Roman Balassaitis was adopted by Brad and Renee Balassaitis, who welcomed the boy into their home along with their six other adopted children and two biological children. He’s now part of a happy, loving family!
The Balassaitis family is overjoyed that Roman is officially their son
Speaking to First Coast News, Brad and Renee said they couldn’t wait to be able to actually adopt Roman as it’s been a long time coming.
“Now we have nine kids officially, it is incredible, we were hours away from him turning 18 and we started this process months and months ago,” Brad told the station.
“We tried to make sure that he wouldn’t age out and become a statistic.”
In Florida, many kids in care age out of the system
Statistics show that 60% of kids in foster care in the state end up aging out of the system without ever being adopted, per the University of Florida. When that happens, they’re turned out of shelters and may end up homeless.
Thankfully, that’s not something Roman Balassaitis will have to think about now.
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A judge conducted the adoption ceremony via Zoom
The family came together at the Clay County Historic Courthouse earlier this month to make things official, and it’s a moment Roman himself will never forget.
“I was sweating bad. My heart was beating. I was very happy,” he said of the experience. “It means I have someone to go to. It means If I need someone to talk to, I have people to talk to now,”
His mom Renee knew how important it was for Roman to be officially part of the family and to have it on paper.
“He needed to know people believed in him and that he was wanted, and chosen, that’s a big deal,” she told TODAY.
“Ever since adoption day, Roman has been walking lighter. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders and you can see it in the way he moves. He’s incredibly relieved.”
