Aside from being called “doctor,” this pediatrician from Noble, Oklahoma, just earned a new title: mom. Dr. Arveitta Edge is now the proud parent of a 10-year-old boy and his sister after the three officially became a family last month.
Edge met her son D.J. when he visited her office for a checkup with his foster parents. She later met Brianna, his 7-year-old biological sister. During their first encounter, the doctor already felt a certain connection with the boy and his younger sibling.
“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s such a sweet-natured child,” she said. “There was an instant bond, an instant click. Brianna, she’s incredibly smart and has a wicked sense of humor.”
Edge said that their foster parents were “dear, sweet people.” However, they were elderly and couldn’t take them in even if they wanted to. In an interview with Good Morning America, Edge mentioned that she’s always wanted to foster and adopt a child. She didn’t keep this wish a secret; in fact, she even told D.J.’s foster parents about it during his visit.
Fast forward to a couple of years, the pediatrician’s dreams of becoming a mother began to materialize.
“Two years later they contacted me,” Edge recalled. “I remember thinking, ‘They want me to take those children.’ We met and that was that.”
“When things like that happen, you have to say, ‘That’s a God thing’ and ‘Yes, I’m going to do it.'”
The doctor fostered D.J. and Brianna before their official adoption on May 11, 2020, which happened via a Zoom conference. All the brother and sister’s former foster family, friends, and loved ones joined in to witness the momentous event.
In celebration of the occasion, Edge installed a colorful display of balloons, hearts, and stars on her front yard, with the words “Family 4ever!” in its center. She also hung a poster by her doorway that said, “Honk for our adoption.”
There are nearly 437,000 children in foster care in the United States, according to 2018 data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. A lot of uncertainty is involved when a child is in foster care. Some get separated from their siblings, while others bounce from one placement to another.
They never know when their lives will be uprooted again and to whom they’ll be put next. Instead of being reunified with their families and finding adoptive homes, many kids and teenagers will stay under the system for years.
As with every new family, Edge and her children took their time to adjust to their new environment and dynamic. But because it was loved that bound them, it wasn’t long before they ultimately merged to become a harmonious unit.
“It took us a moment to transition, but we’re a family. I’m a mom and they’re my babies,” Edge said. “We have movie Fridays, game night Saturdays, we even volunteer as a family.”
The adoption team that placed D.J. and Brianna with Edge said it was the kids’ foster parents who advocated for the pediatrician to be their mom. A representative of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services told GMA:
“She got attached to the children and asked if she could adopt them. They were placed in October of last year and now everything is finalized.”
Edge hopes that this adoption isn’t her last; she wants to take in more children. On the other hand, D.J. and Brianna are excited to have siblings, and their mom says that “they’re ready now.”
Because of Dr. Edge’s big heart, D.J. and Brianna got out of the foster care system and are now enjoying life with a mom who loves them unconditionally!