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Woman Stops Visiting Her Baby Daughter in the Hospital - So the Married Nurses Taking Care of Her Take Her In
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Woman Stops Visiting Her Baby Daughter in the Hospital - So the Married Nurses Taking Care of Her Take Her In

Taylor and Drew Deras have a special place in their hearts for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Methodist Women’s Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Not only is it where they both work as registered nurses, but it's also where they met and fell in love. And now? It's where they found their family too, adopting a little girl, Ella, who was once one of their patients. On the Brink of SurvivalElla was only 1 pound, 2 ounces when she was born in May 2021. A micro-preemie, she was roughly the size of a mango.Born months before her due date, at 23 weeks and one day, she faced a long stay in the NICU, and even then, her odds of survival were low. Knowing her complex health challenges, Taylor immediately signed up to be her consistent caregiver. Unable to breathe on her own, Ella spent months on a ventilator. "She was intubated for multiple months at a time," Taylor told ABC News. "She was just very sick. There [were] times where the doctors would tell us, 'Watch her. I don't know if she'll make it through the night tonight.'" Miraculously Ella survived. By the summer of 2021, Ella required less oxygen and was drinking from a bottle. Her biological mother, who was in her early twenties, started working more and visiting less. Unable to cope with Ella's complex medical needs, eventually she just stopped visiting altogether.In December 2021, Ella became a ward of the state. Becoming Foster Parents to a Medically Fragile ChildBy this time, Ella had spent eight months in the NICU and both Taylor and Drew had fallen in love with the tiny fighter. They both spent hours with her, holding her and reading to her. Terrified about what would happen to the medically fragile girl in the foster system, the couple made a bold choice. They reached out to Ella's social worker and asked to be her foster parents. “When Ella’s biological mom heard we were interested in fostering, she said, ‘I want Ella to go to you,’” Taylor said. “She trusted us with her."But Ella wasn't out of the woods yet. Just as the couple were preparing to bring her home, Ella's health took a nose dive. The left side of her heart was failing. Instead of going home, Ella was rushed to the Children's Nebraska.She needed a tracheostomy — a surgically created hole in her windpipe that provides an alternative airway for breathing. As a result, she could no longer eat on her own but had to be fed through a tube in her stomach.It also meant she would require round-the-clock care. Already committed, the couple refused to back out. "As a foster parent, it was just like, the guard that you had prior to protect yourself of not falling in love with someone else's child, it just fizzled away, and you're just like, 'OK, this child needs me and I need them,'" Drew said.Ella Comes HomeOn April 7, 2022, Ella finally came home. Because of her special medical needs, the couple had to hire a nurse to be with her when they couldn't. That summer, Ella's biological parents relinquished all parental rights. And on November 18, 2023, National Adoption Day, Ella, now two years old, came home...for good.In front of a crowd of 40 family and friends, Ella became Ella Deras. And Taylor and Drew officially became “mama” and “dad.”After the judge announced Ella’s new name, the courtroom was quiet. “All you could hear was Ella go, ‘Yay.’ It’s the one thing that brings me to tears every time.”Drew DerasToday, Ella is thriving. With the help of a number of therapists and specialists, she's meeting all her milestones. "Now, she's walking and talking and meeting developmental milestones that a 2-year-old would do. And she'll start preschool in the fall," Taylor shared.It Was Meant to BeTaylor believes it was all part of God's master plan. "There's no other way," she said. There isn't just one road to parenthood. Families come in all shapes and sizes and through all different means. For Taylor and Drew, their family came together when they least expected it and in a way they never saw coming. But now? They can't imagine life without their little Ella. "We just feel lucky that it gets to be for the rest of her life," Drew said. "We just love her so much."More from Goalcast:Man Finds Out His Ex-girlfriend Wants to Put Their Daughter Up for Adoption – Flies Across the World to Stop ItNurse Notices No One Shows Up to Take Care of 14-Year-Old and Her Triplets – So She Adopts Them AllSingle Man Adopts Sick Baby With No Parents – He Grows Up to Make History

6 Siblings Were Separated in Foster Care For Over 3 Years - Then 2 Dads Adopted Them All
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6 Siblings Were Separated in Foster Care For Over 3 Years - Then 2 Dads Adopted Them All

Life just got a WHOLE lot busier for Daniel and Dustin Johnson.The Florida couple, married in 2020, always knew they wanted kids. Ruling out surrogacy, they immediately began attending pre-adoption classes. From the start, they made it clear to the adoption agency that they were open to older children and sibling groups, which are typically much more difficult to place. "Daniel and I kind of made the joke that we could fit six in the back of our Suburban," Dustin Johnson told GMA. "The next month, in December, our adoption specialist reached out and said, 'How serious are you about that six number?'"Turns out they were pretty serious. They went from a family of two to a family of eight, literally overnight, adopting six siblings who were living in five separate foster homes.As for that Suburban? They've traded it in for a 15-passenger van. The Rocky Road to AdoptionAsk any parent and they'll tell you that becoming a parent isn't easy. The road is often paved with challenges. But for Dustin and Daniel, their road was littered with land mines.All six brothers and sisters, ranging in age from 3 to 11, had never had the chance to live together. While foster care provides necessary care and support, it is difficult to keep large families together.For over three years, they were bounced around from foster home to foster home. By the time Dustin and Daniel appeared on the scene, the siblings were living in 5 separate homes. “One of the kids had over 25 different placements,” Dustin told Today. Obviously, they didn't come alone. They brought a lot of baggage with them, including night terrors and post-traumatic stress disorder from exposure to domestic violence and drug abuse. But Daniel and Dustin knew they could handle it. Giving up on these kids was never an option.At first, the couple struggled to bond with their eldest daughter Amiyah. She believed her biological mother would return for her and she may be betraying her mother by bonding with them.“When they first moved in, they were completely withdrawn and had major trust issues,” Dustin recalls. “It took months and months to build up that trust. Then the light started coming in."And while the kids adjusted to their new life together, the state still needed some convincing. "There were a lot of 'what ifs,'" said Jennifer Robinson, an attorney with Bay Area Legal Services. "What if it doesn't work, we're taking a child away from what's stable to put him with his siblings but what if it falls apart and we cause more trauma?" But family won out in the end. Adoption Day and Finding Their Forever FamilyFinally, all the stars aligned and in May, they started their forever. Together. The Johnsons officially adopted the six siblings: Reid, 11, Amiyah, 10, Izayah, 9, Kaelix, 7, Cade, 6, and Roslin, 3. And today? The kids are doing amazing. Thanks to weekly therapy appointments and two incredibly loving dads, they're all excelling in school and (mostly) loving being together."Maia had to realize that boys are really stinky and Isaiah really struggled the most with a 2-year-old sister that broke up his LEGO sets," Dustin said. "So they did have some quirks of learning that siblings are all over the place sometimes but they were all really happy to be together."Dustin and Daniel are really happy too, living their dream of parenthood.For other men considering becoming first-time dads through adoption, Dustin's advice is simple: "Do it.""There’s a huge need in every community for foster kids that need homes," Dustin said. "So if I can say anything, it's to advocate for people to do it."He's not wrong. According to the latest statistics, there are currently an estimated 391,000 children in foster care in the United States.By adopting these six kids, Daniel and Dustin have not only provided them with a safe and loving home but they have also demonstrated the profound impact that a committed and caring family can have on a child's life.An impact that will shape not only their present but their future as well.More from Goalcast:18-Year-Old Single Mom Gives Up Son for Adoption – 58 Years Later, an Unlikely Source Brings Them Together“Our Family Is Complete”: Connecticut Teacher Adopts Student With Complex Medical Needs

Boy Has to Take Care of Little Sister After Mom Abandons Them - Years Later, Kelly Clarkson Has a Big Surprise in Store
Uplifting News

Boy Has to Take Care of Little Sister After Mom Abandons Them - Years Later, Kelly Clarkson Has a Big Surprise in Store

Not everyone is given the same opportunities in life, and some people have to go through a lot more than others early on. But it’s through these struggles that we can learn and grow as people, so long as we find love and strength. That’s something a young man named Malachi Coleman has learned over the years, and it's why he now wants to give back.A Rough Start in LifeOn The Kelly Clarkson Show, Clarkson often highlights people she says are “Rad Humans.” Well, after hearing Coleman’s story, she knew she had found another one. So she invited him and his adoptive parents, Miranda and Craig, onto the show to share their story.Growing up, Malachi didn’t have parents. His mom was an alcoholic and a drug addict who wasn’t in the picture much, and his father had died. That left the little boy to take care of his younger sister however he could.“Eventually, my mom, she picked us up, took us to a stranger’s house and said, ‘I’ll be back,’” he recalled on the show. “And that was the last time I ever saw her.”From there, Malachi and his sister went to foster home after foster home for four years. It was rough, and it had a detrimental effect on the young boy. He no longer trusted anyone, he was scared to form relationships with others, and he found that he had no purpose.A Couple With No Plans for Their Own FamilyAround the same time, Craig and Miranda were recently married and knew they didn’t want to have children of their own. However, they figured they could temporarily help another human, so they took classes on becoming foster parents. When the class finished, the instructor handed them two folders and informed them they wanted the couple to adopt two kids: Malachi and his sister.They began doing weekend visits. According to Craig, Malachi showed up with a garbage bag full of clothes, a football, and a dream of playing football. “He could throw the ball harder than I could,” he recalled.“As the visits would come along, he would kind of burn hot if we had to tell him some bad news. So we used that to our advantage,” he continued. “Right before football practice, we would go ahead and give him the bad news and tell him, ‘Go burn it off.’”A New Kind of FamilyAlthough Malachi had a new family and was safe with his sister, he still had a hard time finding his purpose or feeling safe. “I was always running hot with pretty much everything,” he admitted. “And my mom noticed that. So she sat me down at the table, and she had a conversation with me, and she wanted me to find a way to help one person. This super simple task, something you can do every day.”At first, Malachi fought it. He detailed how he and his mom had a 30 or 40-minute conversation in which he was “naïve” and just said “no” to everything. Finally, Miranda pleaded with him to just open the door for one person. He thought about it and agreed. The next day he held the door open for someone, and it changed his life.“The appreciation that person just showed me, just that little quick thank you, was something that I never had up to that point in my life,” he explained. “I never had the feeling of being wanted. I never had that. And it just made me want to do it more and more and made me want to open my heart up to everybody that I possibly could. That kinda made me who I am today.”“Just seeing it unfold, what his heart really was, right before our eyes was great,” Miranda added.Finding a Way to Give Back Today, Malachi is considered one of the best high school athletes in the country. He was recruited by more than 40 schools to play college football, but he chose to stay in his hometown of Nebraska. It’s safe to say he has a bright future in store, but more importantly, he’s found a purpose: helping other kids who are in the same position he was.Although he’s only about to enter college, Malachi is already working on his own not-for-profit and exploring ways to give back to foster kids. He teamed up with a local restaurant to take advantage of recent legislation, and his dream of helping youth is already in motion.“I’m making sure [the money] is given to foster kids that didn’t have the same opportunities that I did,” he said. “So they can do any activity they want: arts, music, dance, sports. I want them to have the opportunity to take care of themselves in the way that I couldn’t.”Clarkson was so impressed that she and the show also teamed with a company called Dude Wipes. “They want to help the not-for-profit get off the ground, so they’re donating $15,000,” Clarkson revealed as the entire family’s jaws dropped to the floor. “You’re giving a great opportunity for other kiddos.”The Power of Giving BackIf you ever needed proof that the gift of giving is the ultimate gift, this story is it. From Miranda and Craig taking in two children to the powerful lesson Miranda taught Malachi that day, to Malachi working to launch his own not-for-profit, to Kelly Clarkson gifting the money to get it going, this story is a big cycle that demonstrates just how powerful giving back can be.Not only does helping others make the world a better place, but it makes you feel better too. And in some cases, like with Malachi, it can also give you a much-needed purpose. If you’ve been feeling down, aimless, or wondering what comes next, maybe you, too, could hold the door open for someone tomorrow.Or maybe you want to take it to the next level, too. Volunteer your time at a charity or a local organization. Coach a sports team. Head to your local Goodwill and see if you can help sort through donations. Whatever you decide to do to give back, just remember that it could be the thing that changes your life or sets you and others up for something wonderful and new.More from Goalcast:5-Year-Old Girl Officially Adopted After Spending Nearly 2,000 Days in Foster CareReal-Life Superhero: The Heartwarming Story of the Widowed Single Dad Who Fosters Terminally Ill Children

Bus Driver Always Gives Extra Attention to 4-Year-Old - Then One Day, She Sees the Little Girl Waving From a Broken Window
Uplifting News

Bus Driver Always Gives Extra Attention to 4-Year-Old - Then One Day, She Sees the Little Girl Waving From a Broken Window

We never really know what other people are going through, which is why it’s always a good idea to be kind to everyone. Sometimes people just need others to be gracious to them, and it can make a big difference in their lives.Well, a bus driver named Kathy Neves may not have realized how much her kindness meant to one little girl, but 30 years later and this woman's actions are something Amanda Joseph will forever remember.The Rough Childhood One Little Girl Had Gone ThroughFacebook/amanda leeAs a school bus driver in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Neves came across many children. But she knew there was more going on at home than four-year-old Joseph was letting on. So she would pick the little girl up early and give her some extra attention before grabbing the other kids.“I’ve remembered Kathy my whole life since I was like four or five,” Joseph told WHDH News. “She would come and bring me breakfast, she would brush and braid my hair in the morning, and she would often have clothes for me to wear.”RELATED: Former Teacher Adopts Student Rejected by 6 Foster Homes – Receives Support From Jamie Lee CurtisBehind the scenes, Joseph had no father, and her single mother was dealing with substance abuse problems. She and her younger siblings were often alone, but Neves had no way of knowing that. Until one day, she saw Joseph standing in a broken window, waving down at her. She knew it was time to call for some help.“She recognized that it was an unsafe situation and gave us a second chance with a new family and a new hope,” Joseph added.Child protective services got involved and placed Joseph and her two sisters into foster care. They stayed there for a few years until their mother finally agreed to adoption, but only if all three siblings were allowed to stay together. They were, and they went on to have a beautiful life with their adoptive family.How a Facebook Post Gave One Woman a Chance to Say ThanksFor the next 30 years, Joseph often thought about the kind bus driver who made such a big difference in her life. Finally, with the support of her friends and family, she posted the story on Facebook to see if she could track Neves down.“I felt like I wanted to say thank you, and I wondered often if I would ever get the chance,” Joseph explained. She added that she, too, now works with children and tries to give them the same attention Neves once gave her.“I work at a school, and oftentimes, I have students who come from troubled situations, and I try to understand them,” she continued. “And I think of Kathy and how she did that for me.”RELATED: Son Reunites With Birth Mother After 20 Years — Realizes They Worked at Same HospitalShortly after the Facebook post went up, people in the area shared their own stories about Neves and her kindness. By the next morning, Joseph had tracked her down. They agreed to meet up for breakfast, and Joseph brought her one-year-old son.“I told her thank you for helping and inspiring me to be kind to others. Even though she doesn’t think that what she did was extraordinary, it meant a lot to me,” Joseph added to Fun107, revealing the pair plans to now keep in touch.“Throughout the years, for whatever reason, some kids just stand out. You see someone who needs something, you go get it for them,” Neves added.How One Bus Driver Proved the Importance of Leading With KindnessNeves and her quick thinking certainly set up Joseph and her sisters for a better life, but what’s touching about this story is that so many others were quick to respond with their own stories of Neves’ kindness. It’s a reminder that, even though a small act may seem minuscule to you, it can have huge consequences for someone else.That’s why acts of kindness are always the best types of acts. Remember that you don’t know what someone else is going through or why they are acting in a certain way. Help where you can and extend kindness and grace, and try not to take someone else’s bad mood or the way they're acting out personally. Odds are they’re going through something, and their external actions are their way of processing what’s happening.And if you do see a situation where something seems off (such as a little girl standing at a broken window), don’t be afraid to call for help. Sometimes those who can’t advocate for themselves need someone to look out for them and help them get on a better path.Plus, if this story is any indication, it could be the thing they remember you for all these years later.