This mother-son love story started with a cute slap
TACOMA, Wash. -- A woman in Tacoma has given birth to a movement to help orphan children with Down Syndrome find forever homes.
"I had been a pediatric trauma nurse for a longtime early in my career and always had great experience with families with Down Syndrome and really just had a soft spot for them," said Desiree White.
Her adoption journey started about three years ago when she asked an adoption agency, Bethany Christian Service, if she could adopt a child with Down Syndrome.
"It was quiet on the other side of the phone for just a moment and then the worker at Bethany said, 'Well let me work with you on this.'"
Many children with special needs are considered "unadoptable."
"It can be a little intimidating for a family to take on maybe the developmental or medical needs that a child would have."
But White wasn't intimidated. Bethany Christian Service eventually found a little boy named Isaac with Down Syndrome from southwest China - and that's where their love story began.
"We went to China on a very hot August day picking up a tiny little boy who had never seen anybody white before, so it was quite the experience," recalled White. "He toddled right up to me and smacked me in the face. It was our first little love tap and he settled right into his new forever."
Issac is a one of the first children with Down Syndrome that has been legally adopted from China. This has opened door for others.
The authorities in China had contacted Bethany that they had other children with Down Syndrome who they would be willing to release for adoption if they can find families, and that was the birth of the Bamboo Project.
Though the Bamboo Project, about 20 children with Down Syndrome have been adopted from China and are with families across the United States. There are more waiting to be adopted.
"Children with Down Syndrome have a lot of potential," said White. "With a just a few resources and lot and lots of love, they can have a long health thriving life."