interview
with Deborra Lee Furness
Her
now infamous words at that interview:
Andrew Denton: Oscar’s adopted and you were there at his birth, what’s your relationship with his birth mum?
Deborra-Lee Furness: Well,
we broke all the rules. There, there’s a way of going about it and we did it in Los Angeles and the birth mother comes
from, she was from Iowa, and she comes to Los Angeles about two weeks before the baby’s expected and you put them up
in a hotel and you, you have you know obviously see them, but you keep it at a distance. Well she was a young girl from Iowa and she was scared of being in Los Angeles, so
she stayed with us, with her 14 month old. So we were like this crazy family, we’d be going, my mother was there and
we were all there, so. We, we had her with us. And I sort of, you know there are rules but every situation is unique, and
here is this woman going to give me the greatest gift of my life and I want to look after her. And so you know we were told
not to do certain things but for us it worked. Hugh and I were there in the room when he was being born, the doctor said you
know here he comes and I’m like with the camera taking photos, and there was like tears and photos and Hugh cut the
cord and he was put straight into my arms, and I, I had kept in touch with the birth mother, which again is not necessarily
the way it is, but I think people don’t stay in touch because of fear. And I had nothing to be scared of. What, there’s
no fear, he’s my son, and so I, I you know I don’t call her every week, I mean but once a year I’ll sort
of be in touch and see how she’s doing and this is a young girl who at 22 this was her fourth baby.
Furness's
claim that adoptive motherhood is no different to real motherhood:
Andrew Denton: The first time you bring a baby home is an amazing moment. What was that like for you guys?
Deborra-Lee Furness: It
was extraordinary and it was like I don’t drink that much and I started drinking wine at night. At dinner time Hugh
said would you like some wine, yes please. So it, it’s you have to be a grown up. It’s like okay, you’re
the grown up. You’re responsible for this little being. And, and you know it was like it was hilarious. Cause Hugh and
I all of a sudden you know, two sort of wild kids, and all of a sudden he turned into his father and I turned into my mother
and we both said no you do it this way, not it’s like this. And we said, trying to be prefects and responsible and it
was, it was frightening but amazing how it just comes. It’s just naturally and you know you just understand it. It was
like, it’s no, and adopting I’d have to say for anyone out there who is interested in doing this, it is so great,
it’s no different. I haven’t had my own child but I can’t imagine it’s any different, these little
beings come in and you’re there to be a caretaker of this little person.
The Article that tells of Oscar's mothers suicide
