For Gerald and Tamara Simmons, the long wait is over.
They became the adoptive parents of 19-month-old baby Ector on Thursday inside a Broward County courtroom.
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WATCH HERE“I just want to say first of all, I am so incredibly grateful to our community in Broward County,” Tamara said outside the courtroom. “You have no idea how they rallied around us.”
For more than a year, the couple has been battling for custody of Ector - who was born in Broward County to Haitian parents. They became Ector's foster parents due to his birth mother having a severe mental illness.
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The state first decided that the baby would be sent to Haiti to live with his grandmother, but the couple and community members fought against it - saying Ector should stay in the U.S. due to conflict and instability in Haiti.
Ector also has a hole in his heart, and the couple argued that he wouldn’t receive proper care there.
In November, the couple submitted letters from Haitian doctors advising against the move to Haiti.
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The parents became overwhelmed with emotion outside court.
“I am incredibly grateful to the Haitian community,” Tamara said. “I see you. I knew nothing about Haiti before Baby Angel. You have our deepest respect. We have your little boy and we promise to teach him Creole. We promise to teach him his heritage.”
