A Starlight Family Story

My husband and I raised six biological children, three of whom had seizures when they were young.

When my oldest child was grown, my husband and I decided to adopt a child with special needs. We felt that every child should have a chance at a happy life with a loving family and we felt we could provide that life. 
 
Initially, we anticipated adopting one child. Maria was our first adoption. She came into our lives at five days old. She had some disabilities including club feet, mild cerebral palsy, and learning disabilities. We immediately fell in love with this precious little girl and our other children embraced her and welcomed her into our home. We saw her thrive with our love and care and this made us realize we could do something to help other children as well.
 
Just twenty months after bringing Maria into our lives, we learned of another little girl who needed a home, Jessica. She had a condition we were not familiar with at the time, Down’s syndrome. Her adoption agency was having a hard time finding a family for her.  My husband and I felt that we could be her family.  We adopted Jessica when she was five weeks old. On the day we were supposed to bring her home, we learned that she had been transferred to Seattle Children’s Hospital with congestive heart failure and that she might not make it through the day.  We did not let this stop us from bringing her into our lives. We moved forward with the adoption, feeling this little girl needed us.
 
Jessica made it through the day and stabilized. At three months old, after two consecutive open heart surgeries, we were fortunate to bring her home.
 
We could see a never-ending ray of sunshine in this little girl. Despite her having many developmental challenges, she always had a smile. Her sweetness and humor were contagious.
 
When Jessica was four years old we were approached by another adoption agency about another little girl with Down’s syndrome that needed a home, Christina. In addition to having Down’s syndrome, she had been born with pneumonia and a heart defect which required heart surgery when she was six months old.
 
Since bringing Christina into our lives she has had another heart surgery, has been diagnosed with Abdominal Malrotation that has required surgery to correct, has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and now has more heart trouble.  Her Aortic Valve is leaking and her heart is enlarging again, which will soon require surgery to correct.  However, even with this list of health challenges, Christina is a very special girl who loves life and embraces it. Now, in her senior year at Gig Harbor High School, Christina was crowned homecoming princess. She loves many activities, but at the top of her list is dancing.
 
Christina loves going to Starlight dances and some of the biggest highlights of her life have been the Starlight Proms she has attended. In addition to the evening itself, she enjoys all of the fun Starlight makes possible leading up to it. Thanks to Starlight and she gets to pick out her prom dress and accessories and enjoy all of the excitement and glamour that any high school girl dreams about for her prom.
 
After we brought Maria, Jessica, and Christina into our lives, we thought our family to be complete. These girls reminded us of what was most important in life, having a loving and connected family. However, nine years ago, much to our surprise we were contacted by another adoption agency asking us if we would be willing to adopt identical twin boys.  The agency had planned to separate the boys because they had been born premature and had numerous medical conditions. One had more severe health challenges and the agency felt this would prevent him from being adopted. We knew we could provide them both with a loving home and jumped at the opportunity.
 
After having just the weekend to get our lives ready, we brought home two-month old Jacob, the healthier twin. One month later, Joshua joined us.
 
The twins are now nine years old, though developmentally they are closer to an average four-to-six-year-old.  They both have severe ADHD, significant developmental delays and other health challenges. Yet, even with these challenges our entire family feels very blessed to have them with us. 
 
Today our youngest biological child is in her 30’s with children of her own. If we hadn’t adopted any children we would probably be care-free. But that wasn’t what we were looking for.  It feels like we were meant to take good care of these kids. Starlight Children’s Foundation has helped us not only care for these children, but also offer them so many wonderful opportunities that have helped them thrive. 
 
We first learned about Starlight in 1995 when Jessica was nine years old and going in for heart surgery.  At that time we appreciated the Fun Centers that Starlight had thoughtfully provided our local hospital.  These helped distract Jessica from her pain and from being upset and bored by her hospital stay.
 
Because of everything we have been through with our kids, the whole family has, in a way, grown up in Starlight.  In addition to the special needs of my adopted children, my oldest adopted daughter and my youngest biological daughter both have children with severe disabilities who are now Starlight kids.
 
Starlight has been amazing for the entire family.  We all love being able to go to museums, the zoo, movies, and plays and this would not be possible without Starlight.  When you are spending a lot of time and money travelling to doctor appointments, being in and out of the hospital, and covering all of the medical treatments, medication, and equipment necessary to care for kids with a serious illness, there aren’t many funds left over to do the fun activities we love as a family.  Because of Starlight we have a way to do the things that our family loves and that bring us together, but that we couldn’t have afforded on our own.
 
We also love Starlight because everyone involved is so friendly. No one stares at your child or acts uncomfortable around them when they are at a Starlight function. We can just be.  It’s hard to go into the general public with our family. At a Starlight function, we are with a group that is in a similar situation and that provides us with strength and support. 
 
Starlight has been the back bone of support for our family in so many ways.  When we get discouraged, as sometimes we do with five children with special needs, or have questions, or a need, Starlight always seems to be there for us and knows just how to help. Thank you Starlight!  - Marilyn Gale