Saying “Yes” To Fostering and Adopting Children with Disabilities

Written by Julia Morrison

My husband and I and our four children always knew adoption would be a part of our story.
However, the pursuit of adopting a child with disabilities was not our own doing, but it became
very clear it was the Lord’s plan for our family. We were providing respite care for two children
with disabilities when we felt our eyes and hearts open to a path we had not yet considered. I
then became aware of the amount of time it took for children with disabilities to get adopted
compared to those without disabilities. It is a staggering statistic that “normal” kids are typically
adopted within twenty months versus the four years for kids with disabilities.
I was working full time which prevented us from receiving placements for children with
disabilities. Which led us to wonder if we were missing opportunities. A couple of weeks after
this thought, I decided to quit my job and homeschool my boys. Then, a dear friend informed me
of a child with disabilities that was in need of an adoptive family. I reached out to the director of
the agency and subsequently was able to communicate with the foster mother. The diagnoses
and needs were many. She has been diagnosed with MIDAS, Cerebral Palsy, plus
Hydrocephalus and is partially deaf and almost fully blind. Which means we were given a
diagnosis that she would never walk, talk nor hold her head up. She would most likely need a
feeding tube, be wheelchair bound, and she was not expected to live very long. We fervently
sought the Lord in prayer, and as soon as we saw her photo, we knew she was ours – our
Nahshan.

We began the process when Nay was seven months old. Her foster family was a gift from the
Lord and kept us in the loop with medical updates and photos. I met her when she was eight
months old, and then our entire family was able to spend a week with her for respite care when
she was 10 months old. This was so good for our family. Nay’s location at this time was also
such favor from the Lord because my sister lived close enough that we could stay with her as
needed. We brought Nahshan home at fourteen months and our family of six became a family of
seven.

Of course, there were fears, more on my end than my husband’s. There was much fear of the
unknown. The diagnoses Nay came to us with were vast, although we felt with great medical
care we could meet her needs. The most fearful aspect was the likelihood of her life being taken
from us sooner rather than later. My husband and I have always said we have to trust the Lord
with our kids, but this time it was different. Did I really trust Him? My husband’s faith was
unwavering. He felt confident that if God called us to this then He would provide our every need,
which He has time and time again.

Our journey with Nahshan has been the biggest faith journey of our lives. Every day, sometimes
multiple times a day, I say to myself, “I don’t know how to do this, Lord help me.” He is always
faithful to answer my cries for help. There are still numerous doctors appointments that involve
out of town travel and hotel expenses to adequately meet her needs. Nay struggles greatly with
reasoning skills and understanding emotions. There are smooth periods of time where things
seem to be flowing well; then something happens and the unknowns abound again.

But, now, today, our Nay is six years old. She is walking, talking, and attending kindergarten in a
Special Education classroom. She just began going into the regular education classroom for
thirty minutes per day, which she absolutely loves and we never dreamt would happen. Nay has
made friends that she gets so excited to see and has a phenomenal teacher that advocates for
her needs. We have an open adoption and a relationship with Nay’s birth mother. She asked us
to keep her name, Nahshan, which we were honored to do. Her name was chosen as her birth
mother read through the lineage of Christ as in Matthew 1:4.

 

Nay is our miracle; she is a walking
and talking miracle indeed. She is the gift we could have never imagined, and our lives are
richer because of her!

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