After years of trying for a baby and tragically losing twins through IVF, Fiona Myles accepted the fact she would probably never become a mother. The now 56-year-old felt she had exhausted all options and was keen to avoid adoption. An adoptee herself, Fiona struggled through the process and did not want to put another child through similar difficulties.
That was until she heard a baby within her biological family was being placed for adoption. A relative’s daughter, named Georgie, suffered a brain haemorrhage just a few hours after she was born. The incident led to developmental issues and her parents could not care for her. For Fiona, becoming a mum in her 50s suddenly “felt right”.
Following an intense application process, Georgie was placed into Fiona’s care along with her husband Brian. They now live happily together in their home in Swinton – with Fiona’s desperate longing for a child finally coming to an end.
“The yearning I had for over 30 years had come to pass,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “And she is part of my own bloodline because she’s from the family I was adopted out of.
“She was placed in our care six weeks before I was 51. We believe this is the child we were meant to have.
“I never wanted to adopt because I struggled with the process (of being an adoptee). I had a wonderful family but my emotional senses couldn't manage it. I didn't want a child to feel like they didn't fit in or were unwanted.”
Fiona and Bryan had to move home and leave their jobs in order to care for Georgie, who attends The Leaf, a special resourced class at Lewis Street Primary School in Salford.
“We had to learn how to be parents because none of us had been parents before,” Fiona continued. “It was a huge learning curve but as each night went on, we were finally so overjoyed to finally be parents.
“It far outweighs any of the difficulties we have faced because she does have complex needs and is in special education. She has her special little ways and she’s such a joy; she’s not easy and we don’t have an easy time because she's a ball of energy.
“I call her my tornado because she just fills a room – even if she goes into a packed room. My husband was diagnosed with cancer just as we were going through the process.
“We thought everything is coming to stop us getting our little Georgie, but when she was placed in our house at the end of January it was like our whole world tipped over into a whole new realm because we were older and we had a 13-month-old baby. Life is now completely amazing.”
