Undone family ties coming together

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This article was published 22/05/2009 (6171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The tale of Lisa Stewart’s heroic efforts to bring her three orphaned sisters home from Portugal has taken another dramatic turn.

On Wednesday afternoon, she was reunited with an older brother she hadn’t seen in 15 years.

"I can’t believe this," she said, her voice quavering. "I never thought I’d see Bradley again."

Her physically and mentally challenged older brother was one of three children seized by authorities when Lisa was nine.

Her mother and father were deemed to be unfit parents.

She and her younger sister were adopted by one couple. Lisa Stewart ran away from her adoptive family when she was 15. Her sister Samantha remains in their care.

Bradley was sent elsewhere to live. Until last week, she had no idea where he was.

Free Press reader Kim McIntyre-Leighton saw the original column about Stewart and her sisters. She noticed Lisa bore a strong resemblance to Bradley Stewart, a client of the community organization where she works.

Bradley, now 23, has been under the care of the Public Trustee’s office since he reached adulthood. He lives with a foster family.

The rest of his history remains veiled under privacy legislation.

After reading the article about Lisa, McIntyre-Leighton picked up the phone, called me and confirmed the pair were siblings. A family gathering was quickly planned.

Wednesday, Lisa and her grandparents were reunited with Bradley.

"I don’t have words to describe what this means," said grandfather Bruce Stewart, a tear rolling down his cheek.

 

"We have never forgotten him. He is our grandson. Words cannot express…"

Grandmother Marilyn Stewart started madly snapping pictures of Bradley.

"It’s just, I…" She began to cry. "I just never thought I’d see him again. I have waited so long. You have no idea."

Bradley, who speaks only a handful of recognizable words, crowed loudly and slapped his hand against his grandfather’s.

Lisa smiled broadly, sitting close to her brother.

"Do you think he can come to our house for Christmas?" she asked.

The happy reunion was a welcome break for the Stewart family, whose history is rent with pain.

After they lost custody of their first three children, Lisa and Bradley’s parents moved to Portugal. They went on to have three more children there.

Those girls, who have lived their entire lives in Portugal, are now in their early teens.

Last June, Lisa’s father died in a nighttime fire at his home, sparked when the ill man lit a cigarette with unsteady hands. In October, her mentally unstable mother committed suicide. Two of Lisa’s young sisters found her body.

Their paternal grandmother moved into the family home to look after the girls. She’s ill and unable to continue caring for them.

Lisa initially contacted me because she wanted help raising the funds to bring the girls home. She and her husband plan to raise Carrie, 14, Jessica, 13, and Cassandra, 12, alongside their children, Samantha, 5, and Julius, 2.

"I know it will be tough, but we’re family," Lisa said during our first meeting.

Lisa will get help from her grandparents and from Marilyn’s two brothers and a niece who takes in foster children. The family will make sure there’s plenty of respite time for Lisa and her husband.

Stewart arranged a fundraising social for May 30 at the Copa in the Kildonan Motor Hotel. She wanted support from people who wanted to donate prizes, offer financial assistance or lend a hand in any other way. If the money didn’t come in, her sisters wouldn’t be reunited with their family.

Free Press readers responded, showering her with everything from financial donations to raffle prizes.

That was enough for the Stewart family, who were stunned by the generosity of strangers.

But Wednesday’s meeting, where a series of coincidences led to a family finding a missing loved one, meant more than any financial donation could.

Lisa said she now more determined than ever to get to Portugal and return with her sisters.

"Family," she said. "We’ll be a family again."

 

lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca