Children With Severe Disabilities Make Huge Strides In Adoptive Home and Give Family’s Life Meaning.
The
love and devotion of an adoptive family made it possible for two children with
severe physical disabilities to accomplish surprising success and change the
lives of their family forever. Adoptive parents Marilyn and Charles
Matthews have devoted their lives to helping their children with special needs
accomplish more than doctors ever imagined possible.
The
Matthews, from Union, West Virginia, adopted Bo at 18 months in 1985, Sarah as
an infant in 1988 and Brandon through the CAP photolisting at age 4 in 1995.
Both Bo and Brandon had severe physical needs that required around-the-clock
care. Their doctors told the Matthews that the boys would never be able to
communicate or hold meaningful relationships. The couple took the time to
unlock the children’s true potential when many others had given up on them.
Marilyn
and Charles were in their 40’s when they first adopted. They say they felt like
complete “misfits” as Yankees from the north who moved to the remote mountains
of West Virginia and adopted multi-racial children with special needs. They say
some of their family and friends
thought they were crazy to take in children unrelated to them with such
significant health challenges. Not many understood them, in particular many of the children’s teachers
and doctors, but the Matthews found their life’s meaning in adoption.
“It
gave us a different focus, a hope that things could happen that we never
expected to happen,” says Marilyn. “I could see them growing. It was wonderful
to see what they were able to do with what we were able to give them. I never
had an experience before like that in my life, it gave us purpose, hope and the
love was like no love you would get anywhere else.”
Earlier
this year, on May 2, 2013, their
son Brandon passed away unexpectedly at age 22.The loss was devastating to the
Matthews family. Although they say they may never fully recover, they feel so
grateful to have been part of Brandon’s life. “Adopting our son was one of the
best decisions we ever made. He was a total delight in every way, in spite of
his many challenges, he far exceeded all expectations in every important way.
We were so blessed to have found him,” says Marilyn. Despite times of pain and
hardship, they explain that adoption is the best thing they have ever done and
want to encourage others to do the same.
-Story written by Melanie Schmidt, Adoption Supervisor at Children Awaiting Parents
