“‘This child is SICK.’ I remember the pain as I said goodbye to her and walked out of her room, tears streaming down my face. I’ve found until you know the deepest pain, you can never really know the deepest joy.”
‘If you’re willing to adopt a child like THAT, you’ll move to the top of the list.’: Single woman adopts girl with Down Syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
‘She was found in an elevator at 4 months old. Her teeth had never been brushed. I was a pile of tears on the floor.’: Special needs family adopts daughter with Down syndrome
“This little girl couldn’t be more than 20 pounds. She was sickly skinny and nonverbal. How could she be 6 years old? What had she been through? She smiled, her tiny teeth caked with thick plaque. I marveled.”
‘The moment she was in my arms, I whispered, ‘I’m your mommy.’ We were CALLED to this. She’s the star of our story.’: Family adopts baby with Down syndrome, ‘Worth isn’t defined by chromosomes’
“She stared into my eyes as I stroked her hair, telling her she was beautiful. It was over 8 months until we saw our baby girl again. 8 excruciating months, separated by a pandemic, on opposite sides of the world. It was GUT-WRENCHING.”
‘Our family’s complete.’ Adding another child seemed impossible. Thanks to Jude, my heart changed.’: Mom both births and adopts sons with Down syndrome, ‘They were meant to be brothers’
“I remember telling Michael with 100% conviction, ‘Our family is complete, and I can no longer consider adopting.’ I did not know how I could cope with a child with DS, and the idea of adding another child seemed impossible. Then, I saw his picture.”
‘She chose US for her baby!’ He had to stay in NICU indefinitely. We were dumped at a stranger’s doorstep.’: Single mom taken in by strangers after adopting baby with Down syndrome
“I was single, had no mom to help me, and was staying with complete strangers. We had 6 kids between us at the house, one husband, and a baby at the NICU. I needed a PLAN.”
‘I felt sheer terror. ‘Are you scared off yet?’ I knew if I met him, I wouldn’t say no. This is what I signed up for.’: Single mom adopts medically complex baby with Down syndrome, ‘I knew he was mine’
“I thought he was going to die that day. I put my life on hold to be there for him every day and night. I knew he was mine.”
‘It’s a girl, but they saw something.’ I was told, ‘You only have a week to decide.’ I saw her and my heart dropped.’: Mom to daughter with Down syndrome adopts baby with special needs, ‘Our girls make our family better’
“I saw her and my heart stopped. I tried to scroll past, but I couldn’t. We took a HUGE leap of faith.”
‘We found our phones with several missed calls, texts. ‘Congratulations! You’ve been matched with a baby boy…’ We immediately melted into tears.’: Couple adopt baby with Down syndrome, ‘He was absolutely worth the wait’
“A fat stack of personal information – copies of driver’s licenses, tax returns, medical records – everything we are taught to keep confidential, was GONE. ‘Lost’ in the mail. 3 weeks later, I got a call from our social worker: ‘You’ll never guess what just happened!’ We knew raising a child with special needs would bring challenges, but we also knew it would be a huge blessing.”
‘The subject line read, ‘Down Syndrome Baby.’ My heart skipped a beat. That very morning a precious baby boy was born.’: Cancer survivor adopts ‘special gift’ son with Down syndrome after infertility from endometriosis
“When they had learned he was diagnosed with Down syndrome, they did not feel comfortable. I responded with, ‘Yes, yes, and yes!’ My lunch sat uneaten on the counter. I told my son, ‘You are going to be a big brother!’ With the biggest smile on his face, he shouted, ‘Yahoo this is the best day EVER!’”
‘No one else wanted her because of her disability. I’ll never forget my husband’s words when he saw her: ‘Let’s bring her home.’: Couple become first Indian family to voluntarily adopt baby with Down syndrome
“We were told we were taking too much of a risk. We were advised against it because she ‘wouldn’t be able to give back to us in any way or support us once we were old.’ I couldn’t understand why that mattered to them more than giving a child a home. All I could see was this amazingly strong and gorgeous little girl.”
