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Hi, I'm Richard. Lucas came to live with my family near the beginning of the summer.
I cannot sufficiently express in words what a joy it has been to see this child blossom over the past seven weeks. Lucas came into my care after four years of physical and mental abuse at the hands of his [REDACTED ON ADVICE OF LAWYER] mother. The results of his abuse were profound. Most people I spoke with considered them permanent, but I knew this beautiful boy had a heart of gold and a mind that could overcome any obstacle to a normal and productive future.
I have spent nearly every waking minute over the past seven weeks convincing Lucas of the truth: that he can do anything a typical 9-year-old can do. He did not believe it at the beginning of the summer. Today, he not only knows it, but demonstrates it.
I personally witnessed Lucas' mother's opioid addition -- multiple bottles filled in different counties prescribed by different doctors within days of each other -- and mental instability. After she was hospitalized repeatedly for injuries sustained from passing out drunk, Lucas was rescued by his older brother, Jesse, Jesse's wife Katie, Lucas' Uncle Tim and Aunt Nikki, Jesse's father, and other relatives. If Lucas had not been rescued from his mother, I now have no doubt he would have become a permanent ward of the state, unable to stand on his own as a productive member of society. Yet, in a normal home, Lucas has more than enough passion and drive to continue to blossom.
The court in Lucas' case ordered he be taken from his mother for 60 days while she seeks help for mental issues and substance abuse. That order has been extended for up to 60 additional days. After that, unless something changes, Lucas will be placed back with his mother, who is unfit to care for him. Lucas says she treats him like a robot instead of a human. In her eyes, he is an object, something she controls to give her existence meaning. Lucas was taught by his mother that he is abnormal, unable to do things other 9-year-olds can do. Her teaching is a lie, but Lucas believed it. His belief made him dependent on her, which is by all indications exactly what she wants. Lucas desperately does not want to be taken from his new family. He held out hope, asking me what he could do to remain here, and did everything I suggested. If he were to be taken against his will now, I see overwhelming evidence it would break his spirit. He would no longer try. He would retreat back into his shell as he enters puberty, with permanent effect.
Lucas is my biological son. My wife and her daughters have graciously welcomed him into our family. He calls our house "home," me "dad," Jamie and Jessica "sis," and Melissa "mom." He rides his bike to his grandma and grandpa's where dozens of local cousins and relatives also often visit, plays and swims in their pool, walks the dog, and lets the cat curl up in his lap. We want him to stay because we care about him. With a baby due in September, it would be so much easier for us if Lucas' mother was a fit care giver, but everyone here has seen the evidence of what she did, and it is overwhelming. People treated Lucas as though he were mentally and physically deficient when he arrived because they honestly believed he was. Today, nobody treats him that way. The difference is, Lucas now believes in himself. He has confidence and strength because he has seen hundreds of substantial examples over the past 7 weeks of his will, choices and actions compounding on themselves to change his world for the better. He can do things he never before believed he could, and he likes it.
If you would like to help Lucas change his path and live where he wants, please consider contributing to his legal fund. Unfortunately, we live in a world where the difference between a bright future for him in a six-person family that both loves and challenges him, and being shut in alone most of the time with a [REDACTED ON ADVICE OF LAWYER] mother comes down only to money.
Thank you for reading this, and for your thoughts and help. My deepest appreciation to his relatives in Wisconsin who rescued and continue to help Lucas.
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