'United Nasons' adopt unwanted children near and far

By ROBERT E. SHOTWELL

TheOregonian

SISTERS. Ore. (AP) - "I like you just the way you are."

That is a motto that has crept into the

lives of Dennis and Diane Nason.

When you have 19 children, some with

severe handicaps, living at home you

learn to accept what comes along. What

has come along for the Nasons is six

children of their own and 18 children

they have adopted.

It's the "United Nasons" of Sisters.

The adopted children arrived from Vietnam,

El Salvador and India with several

from throughout the United States —

Florida, Oregon, Indiana, Washington

and New York.

Medical histories for some of the

children read like textbook cases of

what can go wrong with a child. But that

doesn't bother the Nasons.

Nason, who is postmaster in Sisters,

said, "Most of these kids are kids that no

one else wanted, but we love them.

There are a lot of kids in the world who

could make it if they had understanding

and love. They may not all grow up to

set the world on fire, but at least they

can function as members of society."

Mrs. Nason said, "What we have now

are kids from every race. It didn't start

out that way, but I think God would

really like, this family. There's a lot of

harmony — the way a family should be,

and that's the way it has turned out."

Seven-month-old Kevin is an example

of the type of child that finds a way into

the Nason's hearts. When Kevin was

born to a family in Florida his parents

were devastated to learn he had Down's

syndrome — a form or retardation. His

tests showed him to be at the top of the

scale — able to read and write — but his

natural parents couldn't accept the

handicap.

"Their loss is our gain," Nason said.

Another example is 4-year-old Mandy,

whose birth-parents in Calcutta, India,

used drugs to try to abort the mother's

pregnancy. The parents, both doctors,

were appalled when their daughter was

born without arms. Mother Teresa in

Calcutta took Handy until the Nasons

adopted her.

Then there is Melissa, 5, who was born

with cerebral palsy, deafness and

clubfeet. Surgery has corrected many of

her frailties.

David, 5, of black-white-Indian

heritage, was born in New York City to

parents who didn't want him. David has

a mild case of cerebral palsy and a few

other disabilities caused by his mother's

use of drugs.

There is Kari, 12, who as a tiny child in

Vietnam was burned in a napalm attack

on her native village. Skin grafts and

other care in Vietnamese hospitals finally

made it possible for her to become

part of the Nason family.

Ten years after the Nasons had been

told by their doctor that they would

never have any more children of their

own, Donny arrived. Then came Diana.

And then Kenny. Donny is now 5, Diana

is 3 and Kenny is 1.

"Now we have these three of our own

(at home) and they are role models for

the socalled 'handicapped' kids, and it

works beautifully," Mrs. Nason said.

"They see these three doing things they

want to do — so they do them — with no

concern for their handicaps."

The Nasons say they have become experts

in psychology, medicine, deafness

and a host of medical problems. There

are money problems from time to time

but they have learned to cope with that

phase of their lives, too.

"We don't get any outside assistance

except for Kevin and Melissa — from

the Easter Seal Society. I feel that if we

adopt them we should take care of them.

I could go to the Welfare Department in

Bend and probably get $600 a month in

food stamps — free. But I can't do it. I

adopted these kids, and I'll take care of

them,"Nason said

THE NEWS. Frederick, Md.

Monday. January 4.1982 C-5