Not long ago, in eastern Tennessee, I had the chance to record a conversation with Isabel Workman.
Isabel is an elementary school teacher who, along with her husband, adopted two children born to different mothers, but both dependent on opiates.
She and I had a poignant chat about one of the most lacerating byproducts of the opiate-addiction epidemic in America: the rise in infants born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, essentially in withdrawals from drugs, these days mostly from narcotics.
That in turn has overwhelmed the foster-children agencies. Many are being raised by their grandparents, while others are being adopted by couples like Isabel and her husband. Without these folks, the country would be in even more serious trouble.
All across America this is increasing, but Eastern Tennessee is one place where it’s felt with special intensity.
Our conversation lasts slightly less than 25 minutes (piano by my daughter).
Please share this if you can.
I understand this all too well. I have an adopted son that had NAS who is now 12 and I had a foster baby for two years that had severe addiction at birth that I had to give methedone. I am always trying to learn more about later life issues from this. My son has had problems physically, academically, emotionally and I am sure some of it is related to NAS. There’s very little information. Thanks for speaking out and thank you for doing the interview. This can help with awareness and understanding.