Priya Abraham
Salvaging the unsalvageables
International | INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION | Ten years ago it seemed that Romanian adoption was a feel-good tale about abandoned kids whose stories could now end, "And they lived happily ever after." The reality has been different: Some adoptions went smoothly and the children's lives are much better. Others suffered complications. And many were left behind
That Izidor Ruckel survived past infancy at all is a miracle. At 6 weeks he was one of 41 children infected with polio when given injections at a Romanian hospital. Only two survived, and he was one of them.
But that injection would seal the course of Izidor's life. When his parents noticed something wrong with his leg, they took him to a hospital in Sighetu Marmatiei, eight hours away. They never went back for him. When Izidor turned 3, the hospital transferred him to the town's Institute for Unsalvageables-for kids with supposedly irreparable mental or physical handicaps. His childhood was like the script for Oliver, complete with broomstick beatings, milk-soaked bread for breakfast, and drafty rooms. "Every day for nine years, we would wake up and walk into the bathroom for a bath-completely naked, even in the winter," said Mr. Ruckel.