‘It completes the family’: It was ‘Adoption Day’ in York County
Desmond James Lewis, 9, sat on the edge of his seat, tapping his foot. His mom held her arm around D.J.’s shoulder. His dad’s eyes were wet with tears.
Family Court Judge David Guyton sat in front of them.
“D.J., I know you realize the significance of this day,” Guyton, who is an adoptive father himself, said.
D.J. smiled. He did.
D.J. had just been adopted at the York County Family Court, on a day dedicated to uncontested final adoption hearings. Eight families completed adoptions Monday.
Guyton said the children adopted usually come from backgrounds where the Department of Social Services had to get involved because of abuse or neglect.
This year, York County wasn’t alone in holding “Adoption Day.” Five other counties, Anderson, Charleston, Greenville, Horry and Sumter counties, held adoption days. York County will hold more adoption days on Dec. 23 and 30.
At the hearing, D.J. wore a dark yellow dress shirt and on it, he had a bright blue pin with his newly-legalized name. His parents, Cathy and Mark Lewis, wore the same blue pin, which read “D.J.’s Mom” and “D.J.’s Dad” — and so did his grandparents, who also were at the hearing.
His parents each went up on the stand.
“Can you tell me why you want to adopt D.J.?” Audrey Butler, attorney for Dove Law Group, asked Cathy Lewis.
“I can, but this won’t be a short answer,” Cathy Lewis said. Her voice cracked. She started to cry.
She began to detail D.J.’s life. He had been removed from his home and placed with the Lewis family, of Rock Hill, about four years ago. He had been neglected. He had the articulation of a 3-year-old. He was failing kindergarten.
“He was not in an environment that allowed him to thrive,” she said.
Mark Lewis, who sat next to D.J., was crying.
Cathy Lewis continued.
“I can’t imagine him being anywhere else than with us forever,” she said. “So, you’re stuck with me.”
D.J. smiled.
The family celebrated ‘Adoption Day’ at Disney in August. Just like they wore pins Monday, they wore similar pins during the few days they spent in Disney.
“I had a button that said, ‘I’m celebrating being D.J.’s mom,’” Cathy Lewis said. “And he had a button that said ‘I’m celebrating being D.J.’”
Cathy and Mark Lewis, who is the former president of the York County Foster Parent Association, said they weren’t looking to foster another child when D.J. came into their lives, but they couldn’t be happier he did.
“We were at a very different place in our life,” she said. “And he was in a different place in his, and ideally he would have loved to have been able to have it worked out with his biological family, but sometimes not everybody can be a good parent and that’s not a bad thing. It’s just a fact. I couldn’t imagine a son that would be any different than him.”
‘Just another one of the kids’
James Bessman, 6, wore a Carolina Panthers jacket and swiveled around in a chair. His mom, Katie Bessman was speaking on the stand and as she spoke, she smiled and didn’t take her eyes off James.
He was placed with the Bessman family, of York, about four years ago. He has always been a part of the family, but it was important to make it official, Bessman said.
“We had permanent custody and we could have gone through life with just that,” she said. “It was plenty to do what we needed to do. But James needed to have our last name, so that he could really feel like part of our family.”
His six other siblings sat in the back of the room. Throughout the hearing, James spun around to smile at them. They all waved back at him.
“It just completes the family,” Bessman said. “He’s become just another one of the kids. When he goes to school — he’s in kindergarten — when he writes his name, it’s been really difficult with him having a different name than all his older siblings who have been at the school.”
At the end of the hearing, when Guyton spoke, James stopped spinning.
“It is my honor of putting the legal stamp on a family that has been in place since 2016,” Guyton said.
James smiled and pumped his fist. People in the court room laughed.
“The holidays are about family,” Butler said. “It can be a hard time for people that are alone. We want to provide hope for the families, as well as so many of the extended family in the community to know that there is this special time right before the holidays to acknowledge the love that’s developed between these families.”
‘Not all rainbows and butterflies’
Later in the morning, Tyler Wyrick, who will turn 15 next month, sat beside his parents, Lindsay and Todd Wyrick. His brother, Alex, 15, sat in the back of the room. Right before the hearing started, Tyler turned around in the chair. He looked at Alex and waved. Alex, who was adopted in 2016, smiled.
Tyler was placed with the Wyrick family, of Fort Mill, in April. His biological mom passed away. And although he hadn’t been with the family for long, Lindsay Wyrick said she was certain Tyler was meant to be in her family.
“This is our second adoption,” Lindsay Wyrick said. “We were looking forward to adding to our family again. We definitely have a heart for the older children who are out there that want a mom and a dad.”
She encouraged families who are interested in adoption to reach out and learn about the options.
“It’s definitely worth it,” she said. “It’s not all rainbows and butterflies, but that’s OK. It’s absolutely worth it.”
Near the end of the hearing, Guyton looked at Tyler. He pointed out that it’s hard for teenagers to get adopted. Tyler nodded his head.
“Do you want this adoption to happen?” he asked. “Yes sir,” Tyler said.
“Alex,” Guyton said. Alex sat up. “Do you want his adoption to happen?”
“Yes sir,” Alex said.
Guyton then proceeded to make the adoption official.
Tyler leaned back in his chair, smiled and put both his hands in the air.
“The most exciting thing is to see the children light up and how much they love it,” Butler said. “And some of the older kids, they act real cool and tough, but you can really tell how excited they are and they get to have this new family with new traditions.”
