When adoption agency CatholicCare was having trouble finding a home for a 15-month-old baby boy with Down syndrome who had spent his entire life in foster care, they turned to a Facebook group for parents who had kids wth Down syndrome as a last resort.
As soon as Emma saw Daniel’s picture on the page, which she joined as she and her husband Peter raised her 12-year-old son Ethan who was born with Down syndrome, she felt a connection to the little boy and started thinking about adding to her already crowded family of seven.
Despite having their plates full with raising Ethan and their four other children, Emma and Peter knew they wanted to expand their family, and had always talked about adopting. “There are so many kids that need a home and we’ve got lots of love to give, I know we have,” Peter said.
13 years ago, Emma was pregnant with the couple’s fifth child, and doctors found out Ethan had Down syndrome right before the delivery. Yet Emma was just relieved that her baby was otherwise healthy.
“A friend of mine growing up had a sister with Down syndrome, and it’s never been an issue in my life, they were just people and everybody’s different. It’s not something that we expected to be a part of our lives, but it is a big part of our lives and I guess for all of us, we wouldn’t be who we are today without Ethan in our lives.
When Emma spotted Daniel on Facebook, she questioned if they could handle having him. Together, they decided to go ahead with the adoption since they always intended on expanding the family. “When Giesel called us and gave us the news, the elation from me was like being told I was pregnant again. It was overwhelming, that love, it was just amazing,” Emma said.
Daniel has only been with the family for a short time, but he has bonded so well with the family that it feels as though he’s been there since day one. “We’ll just do what we’ve done for all the other kids – we’ll follow his lead, and whatever he needs we try and pre-empt it and make sure that he’s got the best start that we can give him.”
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*Names have been changed to protect privacy
[Featured image credit: Margaret Burin]