A family in a suburb of New York City opens their heart and home to ten special-needs children from the U.S. and abroad.
Hello! My name is Hiram Goertge, and I am the adoptive parent of ten special children. My wife, Melia (Amelia), and myself took it upon ourselves to adopt children nobody else wanted as our own; and they have been an invaluable blessing to us ever since.
We live in Queens, New York, near New York City, and I am a cop there. My wife stays home to take care of the kids, and she does a terrific job raising them. I wish I were home more, but because of the high demands of my job, I am often on duty, and it is hard for me to try to get away at times, especially when crime is happening. It isn't easy to get away when a robbery or something worse is in progress!
Our children are all good kids with (usually) sweet personalities; and they have a variety of needs. Our oldest, Juano, is 19, and he has spina bifida. He came to us from Mexico when he was five; we have had him the longest by far (14 years). Juano is now on his own, has his own apartment, and is engaged to be married to a fine Italian-American woman named Angie. He is doing quite well for himself. He also has a job; he works for a banking firm. He has been there for only about a year, and he has already moved up from the entry level position. He is really coming along; and we couldn't be more prouder of him than we are right now. (He used to be on crutches when he was little, but his legs are weak, so now he primarily uses his wheelchair all of the time now.)
Number two in line after Juano is our oldest daughter, Yacinthe, who, like Juano, is from Mexico. We have had her 12 years, since she was five. She is now seventeen and goes to a special school for mentally challenged kids. She has Down's syndrome and mental illness and is borderline autistic. She has been in and out of the local mental hospital because her behavior can get erratic and unpredictable at times. One minute, she can be as sweet as honey, and the next, she goes skitzo on us, and she turns violent and downright mean. As long as she is on her medications, she does well, but sometimes she goes off, and this is when we have to call for the paddy wagon on her. It is never easy when this happens, but sometimes this is the only way to protect our family from danger.
After Yacinthe is Charley, our last teen child. Charley is 13, and he is just entering the moody stage. He can get pretty mouthy at times, but other than that, he is a good kid with a good head upon his shoulders. He came to us at the age of eight (five years we have had him) from the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona. He has fetal alcohol syndrome which has affected his physical and mental health and development, and he also has some behavioral issues (but not as severe or significant as Yacinthe's, thank goodness!).
Number Four is Tanzania Grace, who is ten years old. She came to us from the City (New York, that is) when she was six. She is deaf, but she is otherwise in perfect health. She is our ballerina; she wants to be a dancer when she grows up. She LOOKS like a dancer, too: tall, lithe, and very pretty. She is African-American, by the way.
Five and Six are copper-haired twin moppets Regan Noel (boy) and his twin sister, Reba Joy. They were, as you may have guessed from their middle names, born around Christmastime. They are both nine, and they were born little people. They may be nine, but they look so much younger; they look no older than four. They are very tiny, and they also suffer from vision and hearing deficits; but they are otherwise healthy. They are always together, it seems, and they are quite a handful, especially Regan. He can never stay out of mischief, no matter how hard he tries! (Reba and Regan came to us at about the same time as did Tanzie; they were five then. They came to us from Pennsylvania, near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.)
Child Number Seven is our African Prince, Jembo Toris, who is seven. He came to us from Tanzania three years ago when he was four. He has spina bifida, and he walks on leg braces and a walker. He may graduate to forearm crutches soon if he continues to do as well as he is doing at the present time.
Our eighth and ninth child are another duo, this time two brothers, from Russia. Their names are Itzhak (aged six) and Alexei (five), and they are both visually impaired. They are currently attending school in New Jersey to help them deal with their vision handicap; they are learning how to use a cane, do personal and daily tasks, and other things; and according to their instructor, they are doing quite well for themselves. They may be home by year's end. We sure hope so because we sure do miss them! (We have had the two boys for nearly three years, not quite as long as Jembo.)
Lastly, but certainly NEVER least, is our baby, our Angel, four-year-old Gabriella Nichole ("Gabri"). She has cri-du-chat syndrome, which caused her to have significant physical and mental disabilities. She can't talk yet, but she can let us know what she needs by simple sign language, and she is also receiving physical and occupational therapies to help her become more self-sufficient. Gabri came to us from Vietnam, and we have had her about a year-and-a-half now. She truly is an angel, and in the short time we have had her, she has managed to wrap her tiny little self around Daddy's big finger! She is a little ham and a half!
So there you have it. The entire Goertge family.
As you can probably well imagine, our lives are pretty full, especially for Melia. She is always home, and she can really use a break from the kids. I worry about her. I wish I could be there for her more than I am, but life as a cop is never dull, and you never know when police action is needed. I am always on call, and besides, if my wife needs help, our neighbors can always check in on her if things get crazy.
I don't know why we adopted the kids we did, but we did, and so far, our lives have been full of joy and hope (and even some heartbreak, especially since our oldest girl is concerned). We wouldn't trade our kids for anything in the world, and they are our greatest joy! If I can just provide for them and see them happy or productive, then my life as a father is truly successful, and I also feel good to know that if something should happen, I can always be there for them whenever possible.
A wicked Cajun Fairy named Robes Pierre entered the impenetrable Magical doll land of Sha Bebe. Queen Faustina, the ruler of the doll land, thought she had destroyed him, but he's back! Will the doll land survive his evil ways?
Hello! My name is Hiram Goertge, and I am the adoptive parent of ten special children. My wife, Melia (Amelia), and myself took it upon ourselves to adopt children nobody else wanted as our own; and they have been an invaluable blessing to us ever since.
