We'd like you to meet the 4th family who Disruptive Hope has helped realize their dream to adopt. Brooke and Mathew welcomed their son Wyatt in December after experiencing 2 disrupted matches. We are so excited for them to share their story with you!
To Friends of Disruptive Hope -
We always thought one day we would grow our family through adoption. We both felt individually called to it, so it was more a matter of timing. After we got married, we decided to foster children with the hopes we could later adopt them. After multiple emotionally trying situations, we realized our hearts were set on adoption and fostering wasn't the right path for us at the time. We kicked off the adoption process with a great deal of excitement and anticipation for the baby we would have the opportunity to raise as our own.
Our adoption story did not go how we thought it would. It was truly a test of faith and perseverance, but incredibly rewarding in the end. When we started, we were hopeful that the process would be relatively short and that we would match with a mother within the first year. As we continued to say yes to cases, we continued to receive emails that the mother had chosen another family. During this time, we got some unexpected but incredible news that we were expecting our 3rd baby girl, Rory. She is a gift and brought some much needed joy in the midst of the discouraging adoption process.
After a year and a half we finally got the call that we had matched with a mother! We built a connection with that mom for 2 months, but she decided to no longer work with the agency and ultimately gave her child to be raised by a family member. We were sad and discouraged. It felt like we were going all the way back to the start and the financial reality really started to set in. It was at this time that we were made aware of Disruptive Hope. Katie called us and told us we were chosen as a grant recipient. There were tears flowing! This was perfect timing and was ultimately an important factor in our decision to continue.
Fast forward 14 months and many unrequited yeses later, we got another call that we had matched again! This match was about 7 weeks and we bonded quickly. She decided to stay with her mother during the pregnancy which meant the baby would be born just over an hour away from us. It felt like everything was falling into place. After a quick match of just over a month and one labor false alarm, the mother decided to parent just 2 days before being induced. After the first disrupted match, we were sad and discouraged, but after this one we were truly devastated. On top of that, some of the people closest to us began to question if we were doing the right thing and the financial concerns crept back in. We are truly grateful that Disruptive Hope agreed to increase our grant amount to help with the increased expenses.
Despite the emotional exhaustion, we started to put ourselves out there again. 2 months later, we received a case 2 days before Thanksgiving for a baby boy with Down Syndrome to be born in Savannah, GA. We started dating in Savannah, GA and try to travel back there once or twice a year, so it holds a special place in our hearts. We replied with our “yes” on Thanksgiving and matched 15 minutes later. Just 5 short days later, we made the familiar drive to Savannah and met our son, Wyatt the following day.
As we held him in that hospital room, all of the disappointments and sadness disappeared and were replaced with joy. We love him unconditionally and our girls are so excited to have a little brother. We're still working through the process to make it final, but are so excited for the day that Wyatt is officially our son. We are truly thankful for Disruptive Hope giving us the financial support that we needed to feel comfortable continuing with our journey. We were also emotionally supported by Katie & Dan consistently checking in, It made us feel seen and not alone in what we were going through. They also connected us with another family in the Disruptive Hope support network who experienced disrupted match and later successfully adopted.
This journey has been far more daunting than we would have ever imagined when we started. Having the financial backing and emotional support through the challenging times ultimately helped us persevere and meet our baby boy. Thank you to the friends of Disruptive Hope!
With Love - Brooke & Mathew
Comments