In 2012 we started our adoption journey. We have four biological children and wanted to add a special needs baby to the mix! It was very difficult for us to go through the medical list of possible special needs, but we left it in God’s hands. When we received our daughter’s file from our agency we immediately fell in love with her.

To us it didn’t even matter what her special needs were, we knew God had handpicked her for us. We were blessed with a daughter with congenital spina bifida. Her file gave us very little information about her medical history. We knew her diagnosis was sacral meningocele and tethered spinal cord. She had surgery at the age of eight weeks old.

We researched spina bifida and we knew there were varying degrees. Sacral meningocele is characterized by a meningocele (failure of the backbone to close before birth) in the tailbone area. Tethered spinal cord is when the spinal cord attaches to the spinal column. We wouldn’t know what our daughter’s severity was until “Gotcha Day.”

As we progressed through our adoption we consulted with many doctors. Through updates we saw her grow, sit, and eventually stand on her own. When our “Gotcha Day” finally arrived she was walking! Since we have been home we have been blessed with a wonderful local group of parents of spina bifida children. They have welcomed us with open arms, a wealth of information, and friendships. Our daughter has been evaluated and is healthy and mobile. We are also fortunate enough to have a spina bifida clinic at our local children’s hospital. Our daughter is thriving, strong, brave, so very loved, and a huge blessing!

~ guest post by Tasha