Saiya Kelligan

About

Saiya is a bright young girl with big brown eyes and a passion for coloring. As a baby, she was very curious and social, she would play with anyone who was around her and was obsessed with playing pretend. Saiya was a preemie baby, so she’s quite small for her age. She was born and grew in Russia, her mother originating there and her father being african american. Though, when she was nearly 2, there was a devastating bombing that killed her mother and left her father with severe medical complications. Due to this bombing, Saiya lost her hearing, though this wasn’t discovered until later on. Saiya’s father took her to America to stay while he grieved. By the next year, he was gone. His health complications overcame him and the loss of his wife made him lose motivation. Saiya didn't understand that both her parents weren’t coming back and would constantly wait for them to come get her when she was transferred into an orphanage.

During one of their many trips to America to visit some of Tyler’s extended family, Minu and Tyler (now married and expecting a child, Minu being around 4 months along) came across Saiya’s story in an Adopt Me! sort of campaign, and their hearts broke for her. Tyler contacted the campaign and in turn Saiya’s CPS worker and child advocate, and met with her, and the couple instantly fell in love with her. Minu, having a deaf brother, is fluent in ASL, so she was somewhat able to communicate with Saiya. Saiya wasn’t really taught much ASL in school, so she only knew simple signs for her basic needs. Minu taught her, and Tyler, a few new signs to get them to talk better. Tyler and Minu extended their stay in the States and decided to adopt the four year old, staying almost 6 months after their initial meeting, while staying with Tyler’s aunt and uncle.

Once the adoption had been finalized, Saiya was free to come back to Japan to meet the rest of her new family. Minu’s family decided to all get together for a “reunion” (which they have often) to meet the newest member of the family. However, Minu had given birth to their biological daughter while they were in the US as well, so the family had two new children to say hello to. It was recommended that Minu stay in America longer so she and the baby could rest, but they financially and emotionally couldn’t stay any longer, so they opted to travel anyway. Luckily, everything was fine and the whole family made it home safely. Saiya was excited to have a new mom and dad and sister, but when she met the entire rest of her new maternal side she was overwhelmed. She ended up curling up under Tyler’s chair to get away from all the visual noise.

As time in the night progresses it starts to snow, so when the family left to go home Saiya started wailing and whimpering, she was clearly terrified. Minu held her tightly in her arms and tried to console her, but to no avail. It was soon figured out that she was afraid of the snow due to her thinking it was ash, which sent her into a spiral of fear from her time in Russia. Years later, in her preteens when Saiya decides to get hearing aids, the first thing she hears is her parents' voices. She was an emotional wreck, the first thing either of them said to her was ‘I love you,” and hearing the cars go by and the sound of the rain. She even became less afraid of snow, now knowing it was silent instead of the loud thundering she had previously associated with it. Once she gets used to the aids however, she doesn’t like to use them that much, as she likes to embrace her deaf culture, even with having the option to hear when it’s important. She wears them at school or when she’s with friends, but other than that she doesn’t wear them.