Desiree White has always had a soft spot for children with Down syndrome. As a pediatric trauma nurse, she has had wonderful encounters with them.
"I had been a pediatric trauma nurse for a long time early in my career and always had great experience with families with Down syndrome," White told USA Today.
The Tacoma, WA, nurse decided she wanted to adopt a child with Down syndrome, but that journey wouldn't prove easy. She reached out to Bethany Christian Service adoption agency with her special request.
"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,'" she recalled.
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," White said.
However, the agency matched her with a little boy in China with Down syndrome. She traveled to the country to meet him — and it all began with a slap in the face.
"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 home."
Isaac was one of the first children with Down syndrome to be legally adopted from China. In fact, White's adoption opened the door for other children like him to be adopted by American families.
Today, White helps run the Bamboo Project, where she's helped 20 children with the condition be legally adopted from China.
"Children with Down syndrome have a lot of potential," the proud mother said. "With just a few resources and lots and lots of love, they can have a long, healthy, thriving life."
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