This is a story of love, hope, and how one moment can change everything. I first met David when he was 13. He was in a special education class at Thompson Sixth Grade Center, where I worked as a teacher’s assistant. I didn’t work directly with his class, but I often spent my free time playing with his group during recess.
One Friday, a gym coach told me that David was going to be put on a website to find a family to adopt him. Without thinking, I said, “We’ll adopt him.”
The words just came out, but I meant them. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I didn’t want to risk him ending up with the wrong family. Why not ours? On my drive home, I called the State to find out where to begin.
That same day, I got an email with the first steps and got connected with David’s social worker. That night, I mentioned to my husband that I had something important for him to read when he got home. “I’m thinking about bringing home a boy from school,” she said.
He looked at her and replied, “Is that really what you want?” I said yes. He replied, “Then what do we need to do to get the house ready?” We had three kids: Brittany in college, Brennan in high school, and Owen in 7th grade (who knew David from school).
That weekend, we asked the kids. They all agreed without hesitation. Adoption is not easy. There was a lot of paperwork, background checks, doctor visits, and foster classes. It took months of waiting and wondering what was going on behind the scenes.
We didn’t give up, we just handled one task at a time and kept moving ahead. David started visiting us in January 2016. At first, just Fridays after school, then weekends. Finally, during spring break, he moved in for good. I was nervous—but he fit in right away.
He loved our animals, followed routines easily, and made himself at home. We taught him basic things like brushing his teeth, washing his hair, and doing chores. He learned quickly and began setting his own alarm and making breakfast.
He loved routines and wanted to help. Later, we learned David had a rare chromosome disorder 16p11.2 deletion syndrome but that didn’t change how we saw him.
He kept growing, surprising us all the time. He started joining regular classes, playing sports, and making friends. He now talks constantly, tells jokes, and lights up every room.
We can’t imagine life without David. He’s brought love, laughter, and strength to our family. If you’ve ever thought about adoption, I hope you take the leap. Kids like David just need someone to say “yes.”
