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  Epilogue Chris' brother hugged the judge for a long time after the hearing last week that made him the adopted son of the couple who had taken him from the group home Oct. 30. Then he and his new father cried with joy. His adoptive mother, who asked that the family names not be published, said he has come a long way since October, "I could describe him as a wilted flower when he came here. But with a lot of fertilizer and water and sunshine, he is growing by leaps and bounds." He earned all As and Bs on his first report card at public school, and his new parents got him a guinea pig as a reward. He named his little white pet Snowflake. His adoptive mother believes he may not be mildly mentally retarded, as the group home told her he was. She thinks he was just beaten down by years in and out of foster care and a long stagnant period in the group home. He joined the bowling club at school and loves fishing with his adoptive father. The boy, now 12, asked to change both his first and last names at the adoption hearing. His adoptive parents have assured him that if he wants to find his birth parents when he turns 18, they will do everything they can to help him. But in the meantime, they do not want him to have any contact with them. "He would be out of control and crying after a call from them," the adoptive mother explained. "It is easier for him knowing there will be no phone calls or visits until he is 18." She said she tells the boy he should respect his birth parents, Frank Congdon and Christine DiPerna. "They gave him life, and they deserve respect for that."
In the months after Chris' adoption, his birth parents had numerous medical difficulties. His father, Frank Congdon, had a heart attack within a week and his mother, Christine DiPerna, suffered appendicitis within a month. A few months later, Frank Congdon was hospitalized for two weeks with congestive heart failure. After that he began taking his prescription medications and lost 50 pounds. Shortly afterward, he looked, sounded and felt better than he had in years. They kept their apartment in McKeesport and got their phone service back. Congdon and DiPerna were overjoyed when Chris called them on Easter. Since then, they've talked about going to Kennywood with him this summer.
Christopher Hill took a family leave from his job at Bayer Corp. in January to be with his new sons, Chris Congdon and Brian Luebbert-Hill, who'd been born the previous May. Hill discovered the joys of spending entire days with his baby and greeting Chris when he arrived home from school. Sue Luebbert, who works for H&R Block, survived a tough spring. Brian was sick with ear infections for about six weeks before Easter and was hospitalized for two days with a rotavirus. Chris stayed home sick on the Monday after he called Congdon and DiPerna on Easter. Then, the next day, he got more demerits at school than he had on any day the entire year. In other ways, he's had a good spring. He and Hill got a lot of compliments for their performance together in a play at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the North Hills. And Chris has performed well in Little League. Just last week he shared his team's most valuable player award after a game in which he got some great hits and catches in the outfield.
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