Special Needs

• 

  Hospital Overcoming Obstacles Special Needs

  NEVER GIVING UP

  In September 2017, my daughter, Jennifer, had just dropped off her three boys at school and was driving to work. Her car veered off the road and went straight into a pole. Her heart stopped. Paramedics tried to revive her three times. Usually after that many attempts, they quit. But they tried once more, and were successful in reviving her. She was rushed to a hospital where doctors tried to keep her alive. In addition to all her severe injuries, the doctors determined she had suffered some brain damage from a lack of oxygen, so they put her into an induced… Read More

  September 11, 2024
• 

  Adoption/Foster Care Special Needs

  SAYING YES TO GOD’S CALLING

  One day, I had a conversation with my husband’s sister where she described a recent dream. She saw my husband holding a dark-skinned little girl and calling him Daddy. This really moved me. A couple of days later, I was scrolling on YouTube, and saw a video of two little boys from the Philippines singing a beautiful worship song together. Once again, I became emotional, and God gave me a vision. He put it on my heart that there was a little girl with chunky cheeks and big brown eyes who needed us. He told me we needed to bring her… Read More

  September 4, 2024
• 

  Children Labor Special Needs

  GIVING MORE THAN A HAIRCUT

  What an incredible blessing it is for me to open up my barber shop once a month and spend my day off giving children with special needs a free haircut. This has become the day I always look forward to! And I can certainly see God's hand in how this all started. I’ve been cutting hair for 20 years and am now fortunate enough to have my own shop. I've always tried to provide a supportive environment for my clients, where they feel comfortable sharing stories of struggle and triumph, stories about good days and bad. We’ve been blessed to have… Read More

  May 24, 2023
• 

  Adoption/Foster Care Children Special Needs

  THE DOUGHERTY DOZEN

  Be careful what you pray for. We went through nine years of infertility and had at least 11 miscarriages. But I kept praying to become a mother. And God certainly answered my prayers—and then some—because now we have 12 children! When you have a dozen children, life is a little hectic. We do five loads of laundry every day. We spend over $1,000 each week on groceries and have four full-size freezers in our garage to store food. We recently purchased 12 lockers so the kids have their own space for their coats, backpacks and all their shoes. We need a 15-seat… Read More

  January 18, 2023
• 

  Labor Special Needs

  UNLESS U

  My brother, Jordan, inspired us to start Unless U, a faith-based continuing education program in a college-like environment for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Jordan was my best friend throughout my childhood. We had so much fun together. But other children did not understand his needs, so I learned at an early age to be his advocate. I also noticed that Jordan's disability doesn't limit his desire to have the same opportunities as others. He always wanted to be like everyone else. He did not understand it when my brother and I got to drive a car, and he couldn't; or… Read More

  November 9, 2022
• 

  Adoption/Foster Care Special Needs

  ADOPTING CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

  I was a single mother of two when I answered God’s clear call to adopt and foster children with Down syndrome and other life-threatening medical conditions. It has been quite a wild and demanding ride but it has brought me so much closer to the Lord, and, in looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. How I got to this point requires some explanation: I got divorced when I was pregnant with my second child. It was right around the holidays, and I was devastated. I cried out to God that this was not how I ever imagined my life when… Read More

  June 22, 2022
1 2 … 7 8