SAN ANTONIO — It was a race against time for Kelci and Theron Jagge as they embarked on a harrowing journey to bring their newly adopted son, Ruslan, from an orphanage in eastern Ukraine to Texas.
“Our child is there, it doesn’t matter if it’s an impending warzone," Kelci said about their mission. "We have to get him out."
The Jagge family’s desire to adopt a child began in 2020.
Kelci recalls reading stories of children waiting to be adopted through the nonprofit organization Reece’s Rainbow, which specifically seeks to help youth in Ukraine. Four-year-old Ruslan, a boy with cerebral palsy, captured their attention.
“Our son’s picture is probably one of the first ones that I saw, and I spent a lot of time crying over that picture," Kelci said. "We started to donate to his grant."
The Jagges began the adoption process the following year, traveling to the orphanage in late December, in an area controlled by pro-Russia separatists.
It didn’t take long for Ruslan to steal the hearts of his future parents over the course of their visits.
“We immediately bonded. He definitely felt like he was our child right away, which was such a blessing,” Theron said.
The Jagges learned of Ruslan’s history of health challenges with pneumonia, seizures and malnourishment. But despite the weary words of the orphanage administration, Kelci and Theron still wished to adopt Ruslan.
“He’s lived a whole life in an orphanage where no one tried to help him progress, no one really tried to treat his issues. He was just given a multitude of drugs to keep him calm and sedated,” Theron said.
A judge waived the 30-day waiting period, providing the green light for the Jagges to pickup Ruslan from the orphanage on Feb. 8.
After securing Ruslan’s visa at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, however, the Jagges encountered a major roadblock during their first attempt at flying out of the country.
Theron said Ukrainian border guards claimed the adoption papers were invalid, despite the judge’s waiver. What followed was five hours of frustration, sadness and uncertainty.
“I kept telling them, 'Look at our child. If you don’t let us take him home, he will die. He’s not going to last 30 days,'” Kelci said.
“We were on the phone with our embassy, we were on the phone with our facilitators," Theron added. "People were on speaker phone trying to explain to them, 'You are breaking the law, you are breaking Ukrainian law, international law.'"
The Jagges' adoption facilitation team, led by Serge Zevlever, acted quickly by connecting with a lawyer to convince Ukrainian border officials at the airport to validate the legal adoption documents.
At the same time, Russia’s military forces amassed the border of Ukraine, preparing for invasion.
“All the while, we’re starting to hear rumblings that Kyiv will probably start seeing power shutdowns, people need to stock up on weeks worth of supplies, water, food,” Theron said.
The second attempt at leaving Ukraine as Ruslan’s condition deteriorated was a success.
With the assistance of nonprofit Exitus, the Jagges boarded a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, and finally back home to the U.S.
“There were a lot of people boarding who were trying to get out also, so I feel like it was a miracle that we even found a spot on the plane,” Kelci said.
Zevlever, a dual-citizen of Ukraine and the U.S., was instrumental during not only the Jagges' adoption journey, but in the journeys of hundreds of other families looking to make a positive difference in the lives of children with special needs.
“He had a passport. He could have gotten out," Kelci said. "But he didn’t, and he stayed to fight for his country, and we got word yesterday that he was killed while fighting."
The news came as a shock to the Jagges. Kelci noted Zevlever's death is devastating for the adoption community.
“He’s the one who hired our lawyer. He went with the lawyer to fight with the border guards and then he took us through the airport to make sure that we got on the Istanbul flight,” Kelci said.
Back in San Antonio, a smiling Ruslan is being cared for by staff at University Hospital while surrounded by the love of his parents, a family who somehow escaped potential doom in a country at war.
“God really was the source of our strength when we were over there. Never gave up, we never lost faith that somehow we’d make it through,” Theron said.
Theron noted doctors told him Ruslan has the ability to progress and become healthier. The Jagges long for the day when he’s released from the hospital and can begin to live life in his new home and grow up in a new community. Ruslan has two siblings excited to see him.
“We’re extremely excited to see how he may flourish in a home where’s he’s loved and cared for,” Theron said.