Real Life

Disabled orphan adopted after six years without visitors

An orphan from an east Europe has had her wildest dreams realised, after being adopted by a loving family.
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Danica, who lived out the first six years of her life at an Ukranian orphanage, never received visitors. Born with a rare condition called Treacher Collins syndrome, finding a family for her was proving an increasingly difficult task as the years wore on.

The syndrome, which is found in 1 out of every 50,000 births, is characterised by facial deformities such as absent cheekbones, downward slanting eyes and hearing loss.

And as Danica got older, she faced the very real possibility of being turfed out on the streets, unless she found a family who cared about her.

Thankfully, one day Thom and Tami Wetmore arrived at the orphanage and knew they had found the child they’d been looking for.

“We knew as soon as [we] saw her” said Tami. “I just knew in my spirit – go get your daughter.”

Danica has found love with her new family

After bringing their new daughter back to Texas, America, Danica has flourished.

Living with her parents and their biological daughter – who also has Treacher Collins syndrome – Danica is said to have developed into a “quirky…inquisitive…artistic” individual.

And it was their biological daughter Julianna who inspired the Wetmores to adopt Danica, they say, thanks to her remarkable outlook on life.

“She loves everybody. She doesn’t judge anybody. She doesn’t see anybody as different. She just takes everybody as the same.”

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