A Florida teenager was adopted hours before his big 18th birthday, finally having a family to call his own.
Roman Nehemiah officially became part of the Balassaitis family on October 17 in the Clay County Historic Courthouse, about 40 miles southwest of the city of Jacksonville.
In a video shared by First Coast News, parents Brad and Renee triumphed at the ability to make him a member of their family, joining the other seven children they have adopted as well as their two biological children.
"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 said. "We tried to make sure that he wouldn’t age out and become a statistic."
Roman entered the Florida foster care system at age 11 and spent time in 19 different homes. At 12 years old, he stayed with the Balassaitis family for about nine months but wasn’t ready to be adopted at the time.
However, the teen stayed in touch with his parents and reunited with them in August 2022. "He came in, kind of an unofficial situation at first, but then it was set up for him to be back in our foster care and he has been with us 14 months or so at this point," Brad said, as cited by USA Today.
After reconnecting with everyone, Roman knew he'd found his forever home. He ended up receiving the ultimate present on Christmas morning last year when Brad and Renee told him they were adopting him.
Adopting children from foster care is a prolonged process that involves parents undergoing training through a state or private agency. Families are matched with children and can adopt them after finalizing paperwork, home studies, and background checks.
Brad and Renee began Roman's process in January 2023 and made the adoption official last week over Zoom. Speaking about the heartwarming moment, the teen said: "I was sweating bad. My heart was beating. I was very happy," adding, "It means I have someone to go to. It means if I need someone to talk to, I have people to talk to now.”
Renee agreed with his statement and shared some motherly words about her son who enjoys fishing and loves to go mudding with his friends. "He’s going to do so well, he really is," she told First Coast News. "He needed to know people believed in him and that he was wanted, and chosen, that’s a big deal."
The doting mom also told Today News that "ever since adoption day, Roman has been walking lighter," explaining "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."
Congratulations to Roman!
