Lindsay Drummond and her new adopted baby girl, Emerson Grace, arrive from Kazakhstan at Winnipeg's airport in February. (CBC)

All this week, we've brought you the story of a Winnipeg teacher traveling to Kazakhstan, hoping to return with an adopted baby girl.

Lindsay Drummond, 28, flew to the former Soviet republic in October 2008, armed with lots of cash, a small video camera from the CBC and high hopes.

After many frustrating delays and moments of despair, she was finally united with a baby girl, but before she could bring her home, something happened that threatened to put the whole adoption in jeopardy.

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"It was good. It was good to feel like I was going home," Drummond said into her camera in December 2008 while recording a video diary for CBC.

Shortly after celebrating the adoption news with her mother in Winnipeg over an internet connection, Drummond was told the baby, whom she had decided to name Emerson Grace, wasn't going with her to Canada.

'I'm hurt, I'm upset. It's hard talking to people right now because I have a baby — she's just not in my care.'— Lindsay Drummond

She was told more paperwork was needed and the adoption first had to be approved in a Kazakh court. It was suggested by the adoption agency in Kazakhstan that she return to Winnipeg and come back to Kazakhstan in the new year.

The plan was she'd get the baby in January 2009. But as with everything else during her experience, things didn't quite work out as expected.

"I'm hurt. I'm upset. It's hard talking to people right now because I have a baby — she's just not in my care," Drummond said in a recorded diary entry in early January.

While in Winnipeg, Drummond received an email that left her stunned. The Kazakh judge reviewing the case had forgotten to sign the adoption paperwork, resulting in several more weeks of waiting.

"There's no control," Drummond said in disgust. "There's no control. There's no trust. We have a rule amongst parents who adopt from Kazakhstan, and that is, 'You do not breathe until that child is on your soil.' Until the day that Emerson is standing on Canadian soil, I don't breathe."

Costs keep climbing … and climbing

Drummond began the process of finding Emerson in July 2007 by paying $9,000 to a Winnipeg agency that specializes in overseas adoptions. The next payment was $22,000, made to a Kazakh adoption agency shortly after she finally flew to the central Asian country in October 2008.

She thought that would be it for fees, but demands for more money kept coming.

'You've already invested so much, and you want that child, so you pay it — $100 more here, $200 more there. If it means the end of this, and getting out of there, then you pay it.'— Lindsay Drummond

Kazakhstan, ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, lived up to its billing. While in Winnipeg, Drummond was advised that the director of the orphanage where Emerson lived was requesting a "gift" in the range of $500. The email noted the director preferred "gold things," Drummond said.

"But with the corruption, you pay it," she said. "You've already invested so much, and you want that child, so you pay it — $100 more here, $200 more there. If it means the end of this, and getting out of there, then you pay it."

In January, standing inside the Winnipeg bedroom that would eventually be Emerson's, Drummond had to dig deep to find the strength to go on as her total expenses crept close to $42,000.

"There's two things I've really tried to focus on: one is that this, too, shall pass, and the other is, life isn't fair," she said.

In February, Lindsay returned to Kazakhstan to retrieve Emerson, and once again, the orphanage demanded more money. This time, Drummond refused. Her hardline stance worked, and finally, Emerson was in her arms.

Medical records reveal surprise

The orphanage didn't hand over the baby's medical records immediately. It was only weeks later that Drummond found out that Emerson has serious developmental problems.

Drummond says all the bills, complications, bribes and headaches no longer matter now that her daughter is home.

"It's a lot of fun to call her my daughter. And to have that, and just the love that I have for her...," said Drummond, her voice trailing off.

"I did win the lottery with her," she said, adding that she realizes many hopeful parents go home empty-handed. "People need to know that if they are going to do this, that there is no guarantee [they will get] somebody like Emerson Grace to fill their lives."

Drummond says she hopes the Manitoba government will regulate adoption agencies more closely and the federal government will do something to clean up international adoption.

But even so, after everything she has been through, Drummond said she still has room in her heart to adopt again.