Each year thousands of children enter the foster care system and many of them have a hard time finding a stable home. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau there were over 690,000 children in the foster care in 2017, and less than 60,000 of them were adopted.
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Gisele who was born at 29 weeks to drug-addicted parents has been adopted by the nurse who cared for her
Two years ago, Gisele, who was born prematurely and was diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome as a consequence of being exposed to opiates in the womb, could have ended up in the foster care system too, with no guarantee of finding a loving family to take care of her. However, the little girl was lucky enough to meet the nurse Liz Smith who decided to become her mother.
Liz always dreamed of becoming a mother. She knew that having 13 nephews and nieces is not enough for her, and she wanted to have a child of her own. However, her fertility treatments were unsuccessful and she had to give up on trying to get pregnant.
While many people encouraged her to consider adoption, Liz was reluctant to the idea. But her mind was changed almost immediately when she met a beautiful blue-eyed baby at the Franciscan Children’s hospital she worked at.
Liz felt an instant connection with Gisele and after finding out that no one visited her for the past 5 months she spent in the hospital, Liz stepped in to take care of her. Each day, after a long day at work, Liz would visit Gisele and help her to recover.
While the hospital provided the best care possible, the kindhearted nurse knew that for this baby to recover, she needs a stable home and a loving parent. Luckily, Liz was willing to provide it to her.
After more than a year of being in foster care, Gisele was adopted by Liz in October 2018. Liz, who now is 45 years old and a 2-year-old Gisele is one happy family.
Despite not having a child in a traditional way Lizz hoped for, she now advocates for adoption and encourages other people to consider this path to get the family they dream of.
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