I have been a lurker on this site since April. Let me introduce myself. I am happily married to Jeremy and we have 4 children through birth, 1 amazing boy through international adoption and now we are in the process of adopting a little 16 month old through a domestic adoption. We had contacted our adoption agency back in January, 2011 about adopting again. The short version of the story is they called us the beginning of April with an unusual situation. A birth mom was willing relinquishing her 1 year old son for adoption because she couldn’t care for his numerous special needs. Leo has wolf hirschhorn. Our initial research of wolf hirschhorn led us to this site and also a phone call with Kevin. Kevin was very helpful and also a great reality check for what we would be in store for if we adopted Leo. Leo has been a part of our family for 3 months now and we are in the process of adopting him. The road has been LONG and HARD as you all know. For the first year of his life Leo received minimal medical care and no therapies. He is now receiving speech/feeding, pt and a teacher all come to our house. He just had his palate repaired 3 weeks ago. We are still not sure of his hearing ability, he has weak eye muscles and the GI doctor just ordered more tests today. The list goes on and on. I have learned so much from this site and look forward to getting to know all of you.
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Welcome!!! I’m so glad you posted your story – and Leo is so blessed to have you. Choosing this life makes it all the more meaningful. xo Alexander’s mom Kristen
First of all, welcome to the WHS family. What a brave and heroic thing to do, taking on the responsibility to take care of Leo. You are one of the very very few people who is willing to do this, i know i couldn’t do it if i had the choice.
I think Leo will enrich your daily life, u will appreciate all the good times u have with your family even more. I hope u will find the support u need in the posts and blogs on this website. We are all willing to answer any question u may have.
All the best to u and your special family.
Merle’s father Patrick, the Netherlands
I’ve been thinking about you since we talked and wasn’t sure of the outcome. You are a special family and Leo is fortunate to be a part of your lives. Please keep us updated on your journey!
Welcome!! I’m sure your son will amaze you with his development now that he is being nurtured in your family and receiving appropriate healthcare and therapy. How wonderful that you found this website… it’s a wonderful group of people. Send an update soon!
I would also like to welcome you to the group. Please keep us updated on Leo’s progress. In the few short months that I have been a part of this group I have made a bunch of new friends and have learned alot about myself. Many of us are also on Facebook if you are on there. Again welcome to the group and I look forward to reading more about Leo.
Brianna mom to Arin 5 1/2months
Welcome to the family! There is an amazing support community out there for you and your son~ we are here for you always. I know when I first learned of Kaylee’s diagnosis, I was so afraid of being alone. It seemed like there was no one near me ( I live in NJ) who would understand. Thanks to Facebook and this site, I learned quickly that there were lots of families who had been traveling this road and would be there for support and love. It makes the scary days a little less…well…scary. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any one of us. We are here for you! XO