Adoption Success Story: Gabrielle
Gabrielle, three months old, was born to a 21-year-old mother who did not know she was pregnant until she was six months along. Because Gabrielle’s biological father was out of the picture, her mother was unsure she would be able to take care of Gabrielle alone. She placed Gabrielle up for adoption at birth.
Danielle and Nicholas, of Davenport, Iowa, had been hoping to adopt since the beginning of their marriage. “I knew from when I was a teenager that I wasn’t going to be able to have children of my own. More than that, we wanted to give a child a loving forever home,” Danielle said. “We were foster parents at first, and we were blessed to love and take care of a couple of children before we realized this wasn’t for us. Then we started pursuing private adoption.”
With help from a $3,5000 grant from the Gift of Adoption, Danielle and Nicholas are working to finalize Danielle’s adoption. Adoption has changed the direction of Gabrielle’s life, Danielle said. “She has both a mother, and a father to take care of her, and love her. She not only has two parents to love her, she also has a large support system around her,” she said.