Thoughts about the holiday season usually revolve around the family, and the person is looking to raise his family to what can be an incredible gift for Christmas next year.
A fundraising barbecue this Christmas recently concluded benefiting a local teacher and her husband, who have suffered through years of infertility and have decided to adopt.
Sixth-grade science and reading teacher Kaytee Hill and her husband, Calvin, who works for the Hills’ Refrigeration Service in Albemarle, have been struggling with infertility for two years.
She called the process of obtaining fertility treatments “extremely painful to spend month after month with so much hope that this month will be the month that we will become pregnant.”
Through the long process of doctors and specialists, the couple would have to spend at least two to three more years on the medical schedule. So, they decided to take the same money they would spend on fertility and adopt.
The Hills finally decided to work with Indian Trail Christian Adoption Services to find a child to adopt in North or South Carolina.
“This was the best choice to start our family,” said Hill. “We always wanted to adopt; it has always been part of our plan. We never expected it to be our only option. “
If the couple cannot find a child nearby, Kaytee said they would try an international adoption.
However, the adoption process is “astronomically expensive,” said Kaytee. The adoption process will cost the couple about $ 40,000 to $ 50,000, which she said most people do not have that kind of money available for, which is why the fundraiser is so.
The Hills also benefited from a pancake breakfast on Hwy. 55 in Albemarle going for adoption along with the next fundraising event for the holidays.
Born in South Korea, Kaytee was adopted when she was four and a half months old by Cecil and Cheryl Burleson.
As an adoptee, Kaylee said that she and her husband wanted to pay it forward, saying that her adoption was “a great blessing, a great thing for my life. I really have nothing but incredible things to say about the process. “
Her adoptive parents also suffered from infertility and also tried to adopt for many years and continued to face obstacles. However, she added that her mother told her, “the struggles were very difficult, but everything pointed to you … God had already chosen you for us”.
Kaytee lived in the North Stanly area for the rest of her childhood, attending school in New London, North Stanly High School and Pfeiffer University, where she did her masters.
Married 11 years ago, Kaytee said the couple decided to try to have children until later in life.
“Maybe we should have started earlier, but it’s God’s whole plan, the grand scheme of everything … it’s his time and not ours.”
Throughout the process, Kaytee said that she and her husband learned a lot about patience.
She added that Stanly County “is an incredible community to be in”, adding that the community’s support has been “impressive”.
Children are important to Kaytee, including her students at North Stanly Middle. Reghan Suhr, one of her students this year, said that Mrs. Hill is incredible, adding “she is the best teacher ever. She is really cool and loves what she does. “
About Charles Curcio
Charles Curcio was the sports editor for Stanly News & Press from 1999 to 2001 and currently holds the same role since 2008. He was awarded NCHSAA Tim Stevens Media Representative of the Year and named CNHI Sports Editor of the Year in 2014. He was also honored twice by the North Carolina Press Association.
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