When we first started the adoption process we were clueless as to what to do and where to start....it's this enormous task and on our own we had NO idea where to start. Luckily I was doing a google search for international adoptions and Jacksonville (our local city) and found Donna Wheeler as a local consultant who specialized in helping families with the ins and outs of adoption. I won't lie - my husband was not sure he wanted to pay for a consultant - but I convinced him to go to that first consultation (it was free) and figured I'd talk him into it after that! We sat down with Donna and immediately I knew she was the woman for us (so did my husband, although it took an hour or two for him to admit I was right (men!)) - she came with documentation, pictures, first hand knowlege, a great personality, and was very open and honest.
We were able to tell Donna what we knew we wanted and didn't want (luckily we knew we wanted to adopt from China - but she was even ready to help us pick a country if necessary) and within a few days she had narrowed down our agency choice from what seemed like thousands to three! All three agencies were exactly what we were looking for - non-profit, Christian, dealt with special needs, etc. Not only did Donna help us to narrow down our list of agencies but she gave us LOCAL contacts whom had adopted from each agency with names and phone numbers so we could call them and get first hand knowledge of what those agencies were like - we were quite impressed. As we looked through the binder that Donna provided I found that she also gave us detailed information about the adoption process, the country we chose, the obstacles we might face, etc. all of which was very helpful and comforting. Even after the "consultation" process was over, which was all I really thought we paid Donna for, she was also always available to email with questions about parenting classes, local organizations, readoption processes - you name it she either knew the answer or found it for us! I even emailed her with questions about sleeping and bronchitis while IN CHINA and she was just as helpful as she had been from day one!!!
Without reservation my husband and I fully back Donna as a wonderful, confident, competent and kind adoption consultant and will continue to use her for our future adoptions. Thank you Donna for all that you have done and will do for all those children needing forever families and thank you for helping us find our wonderful son Tyler Yi Hao!!!!
