Kelly and Larry Peterson met for the first time at a Spina Bifida camp when they were 10 years old. They found out they were born on the same day.
They broke up for 10 years after dating in high school, but they found each other again on social media and fell in love again. The couple from Indiana got married this year and chose to adopt so they could start a family.
Kelly can’t have biological children, and she was told that her disability might also make it impossible for her to adopt, but she and Larry never gave up. They learned about Hadley’s story through a service that helps people adopt children with special needs. They knew they could give her the love, support, and understanding she needed.
As Larry and Kelly celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in July, they also added a baby girl to their family. Like them, the girl has Spina Bifida.
They were able to get their daughter with the help of Special Angels Adoption and the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network. They thought that two people who understood the problems the child is having and would have in the future were the best people to raise her.
Being a parent has been both fun and hard so far. They have been thrilled to see her personality grow and to see her reach important goals. After 18 years as a special education teacher, Kelly has a lot of experience working with kids who have special needs. But being a parent is a whole new ball game.
They are getting used to being parents while in wheelchairs. Kelly can’t use her legs, but Larry can walk while hanging on to things. With some help from their families who live nearby, they figure out how to care for their daughter without pushing themselves too far.
These days, the couple wants to help other people with Spina Bifida who want to adopt. They want to help get rid of bad stereotypes and stigmas about disability and parenting. They also want to be there for parents whose child has just been diagnosed with SB.
They just started a Facebook page called Journey Down a Country Road: Spina Bifida + Adoption = Our Family. On this page, people can ask questions or get help about adoption and parenting, for example.
“We want people to know that SpB people can live a normal life, just like their friends who don’t have SpB.” Nothing amazing or shocking about it. She said, “We’re living our lives like everyone else.”
People with Spina Bifida who want to have children should not let their condition, their fears, or other people’s opinions stop them from going after their goal, say Larry and Kelly. They tell people who want to adopt a disabled person not to take “no” for an answer and to keep in mind that each service has different rules.
They told her, “Adoption is a process of learning, and you need to keep going.”
Hadley also gets great care at Shriners Children’s Chicago, where she has had one surgery and gets help with physical and occupational treatments. That was the end of Kelly’s trip because she had also been a patient at Shriners Children’s.
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