Life is one wild ride, isn’t it? The greatest surprises of life may be just around the corner.
My life was changed by one little red radio flyer wagon.
An impulse buy from a supercenter. A purchase for my baby that would never be born. A clearance sale bargain that I used to soothe my breaking heart and depression of another lost child.
Wagon Through the Window
Being that it was October, I was looking forward to Halloween; it would be the first time I lived in a neighborhood suitable for taking my niece and nephew trick-or-treating.
I thought I was excited. But, when the time came to load up the little red radio flyer wagon with one adorable dinosaur baby and a precious princess toddler, I gave the wagon to someone else and ran inside the house.
From the window, I watched the red radio flyer wagon and its treasured cargo roll down the street. Big smiles and innocent excitement ready for a fun night.
That night, I gave in. Sitting on the front porch, I ate the whole bowl of Halloween candy meant for the other children. I sobbed long and hard for it would be the last time I would allow myself to cry for the family I didn’t have.
I was done trying to have biological children. My body had been through enough. My family would be built by adoption. And that would be that.
Turning Point
Adoption is an individual journey. It’s a long process saturated in extremely personal questions and bureaucratic red tape. The “child criteria” interview with the social worker is one I’ll never forget.
One question after another… digging deeper into child preferences.
- Gender?
- Age?
- Race?
- Waiting children?
- Health status?
Feeling like I was car shopping more than adopting a child, I had to ask the social worker, “Why such a detailed list of child preference questions?”
It was then that I learned about an agency’s dedication to helping place a child with special circumstances; the goal of finding the perfect family who is willing to adopt, care, and love special children.
Making the decision to adopt any child requires education, research, and conviction in building a family. Children with special needs are first and foremost just children.
Heartstrings
It takes the heart of parents like Kadee Troop and her husband, who adopted an infant boy who suffered from epidermolysis bullosa, a rare skin disorder with blistering skin conditions – the skin is so fragile that even minor rubbing may cause blisters.
And then Kadee’s voice resonates her faith in destiny:
“I took one look at him and I knew he was mine. We watched his dressings get changed, and it was horrifying to see. But the voice in the back of my head kept saying, ‘It’s OK. You can do this.’”
The full story of the Troop family and the adoption on their six children is heartwarming. Four of their children live with this rare skin disorder, but as Kadee states, “Life is crazy, but there’s nothing better than a house full of kids that are happy and joyful.”
