January 2010 Face of a Foster Care Graduate – Edna Brady
January 12, 2010
Our January feature comes to us from Maryland. She is the mother of 3, a strong believer in attending church and a dedicated animal shelter volunteer. Please welcome Edna…….
Name: Edna Brady
State: Maryland
Occupation: Federal Servant
Favorite source of inspiration: Enjoys reading all kinds of inspirational stories and loves the movies Pay it Forward and Remember the Titans
Edna Brady
My name is Edna Brady. I was in foster care from 18 months old to almost 18 years old. I was in four different foster homes. The last one I was in for 11 years. I have five biological sisters (one deceased) and three biological brothers and one foster brother who I still consider a brother.
Even though my last foster father was a pedophile, he did make sure we went to church every Sunday. I believe going to that church consistently, gave me a foundation of lifetime friends and mentors. I still keep in touch with my Sunday School teachers. Until recently, I never told anyone that my foster father was a pedophile and that his wife just accepted it. I know part of me knew that I wouldn’t be believed and that I would be left in their care.
I felt a tremendous amount of shame and I was always embarrassed when a social worker came to school to pick me up for my monthly visits with my mom. I felt like I was being hauled off to jail or something. It made me stand out from the rest of the class.
When most teenagers found sanctuary in drugs and alcohol, I was reading books. I don’t really know why I consistently said no to drugs. It’s just something I didn’t want to do. I did well in high school, being on the honor roll most of the time. I graduated high school in 1979 at the age of 17. The summer that I graduated high school, I worked at the high school until I went to nursing school in September. While working at the high school, I made friends of some of the teachers. I still keep in touch with them and visit them occasionally. I didn’t do well in nursing school. I was so shy with everybody. I was in a very strange environment and I didn’t have the support of family like the rest of my classmates. If I had gone back to nursing school several years later, I believe that I would have done well. I stayed in nursing school for 3 months. After leaving nursing school my high school guidance counselor advised me to go in the military. We spoke to a marine recruiter and I joined the marines at 18 years of age. I currently have 23 years of federal service, including almost 2 years in the marines.
I have 3 children of whom I am very proud. None of them have ever done drugs and they rarely drink alcohol. My oldest daughter is a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force. My youngest daughter is disabled and is doing well in an adult day program. My son graduated from an automotive diesel college and is a diesel mechanic.
What I hope sharing my story will accomplish
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Edna, what a beautiful article. Even though I was fortunate enough to be raised by my biological mother (rest in peace, Mom – I miss you so bad it hurts!), I can relate to some of the struggles you experienced. I am so glad you made the right decisions and am PROUD to have an aunt like you (can’t say that to often – you know what I mean!) You have done a beautiful job raising your children (Kate says she wants to be just like your oldest!) I know I am biased because you are my aunt, but you are an awesome inspiration to many. To all of the kids out there in the fostercare system – NEVER GIVE UP ON YOURSELVES! One of the major problems I have witnessed with kids is they are not told what their potential is, so they don’t know – well let me be the one to tell you – YOU CAN DO ANYTHING if you put your mind to it – your potential is limitless! It’s never to late to try, no matter what you believe are your obsticles, know that you can get through them. God wants you to have a beautiful life, but you have to believe it before it will happen.