Hattie's Family
8/25/21
Jess knew from a very young age that she felt called to adopt. Pierson had never considered it before but was certainly not opposed to the idea. When we began dating and planning our future together, we talked about what our family might look like. Jess said that adoption was always part of her plan and from then on, it became part of our plan. As we’ve grown as individuals, a couple and a family, adoption has continued to be on our hearts. It is something that we feel passionate about and called to pursue. We believe it is a very real and tangible way to share the love that God showers on us.
As we researched different adoption avenues, we kept coming back to adopting a baby with special needs, specifically Down Syndrome. There is a need for it, and we asked ourselves, “Why not us?” Both of us are very passionate about advocating for people with special needs. We strongly believe that every life is precious and created in God’s image. Pierson has an older brother with autism, who taught him that every person has unique gifts and abilities. As a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Jess especially enjoys working with kids with complex medical needs and is very familiar with the resources in our community. We also have a wonderful community and support system and feel that we are well equipped to raise a child with special needs.
We joined the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network’s registry and waited. We first learned about Hattie after we had been on the registry for about 7 months. Initially, we almost said no. We were prepared to adopt a child with Down Syndrome and open to some other medical needs, but her list of medical diagnoses seemed overwhelming. She was born with a congenital heart defect that would require surgery to repair. She was also born with an imperforate anus, had a colostomy, and would require 2 additional surgeries. We decided to take a leap of faith and trusted that God knew what was best for her and for us. We matched with her when she was about 3 weeks old and after a whirlwind of packing and traveling, we finally were able to hold her. We immediately fell so in love with the tiny baby girl that had seemed so intimidating on paper. She was ours.
Hattie has had a tough start to her life. She developed heart failure at about 1 month old. She required oxygen 24/7, was on multiple medications, and needed a feeding tube in order to grow. She has already endured so many tests and procedures and has seen what seems like every specialist at our Children’s Hospital. She had open heart surgery the day before she turned 3 months old. During her surgery, she had an army of people praying for her. We were told to plan on her staying in the Cardiac ICU for 2-3 weeks after surgery due to her medical complexity. She was discharged after just 6 days. She still has a long road ahead, with more surgeries and many challenges, but she is so strong and determined. God has shown His faithfulness throughout her story and we are so honored that we have gotten to witness it and so lucky that we get to love her.
We are so grateful for organizations like GLADS that help to make our adoption possible!
March 29, 2022
Hattie has been doing well! She had surgery in January to reconstruct her anus/rectum since she was born without one. The surgery went well and she recovered quickly! She is scheduled to have surgery again on May 3rd to take down her ostomy.
She recently started army crawling and is still working at sitting independently. She’s so easy going and she thinks her big brother and sister are hilarious.
March 2024
Hattie is doing great! She’s a very active little girl and started walking last summer. She’s working hard on speech and starting to say/sign a lot more words! She just became a big sister last month and has been so sweet with her baby brother and loves to give him kisses and say “Hi baby!” She loves music, reading books, and coloring. It’s so fun to see her sweet personality developing as she gets older.
