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A 4-year-old faced heart surgery alone - until his doctor became his mom.
In January 2022, Amy Beethe, a pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist at Children's Nebraska, came into a pre-op room and saw a frightened child awaiting a heart catheterization.
"He was sitting there all alone," she told KETV in Omaha. "It took me back that this 4-year-old was going to go through heart surgery, and nobody was there."
(Story continues from "Read More")
This child, True, was born with a congenital heart defect so dire, the left side of his heart did not fully develop. In 2021, he had open-heart surgery, followed by months of complications.
Now, with True in foster care and his caseworker out with Covid-19, there was no-one.
After his surgery:
Amy called his caseworker and was told he has six siblings, five of whom had been placed with their grandmother, because of domestic violence.
The caseworker said, in that home, True was denied proper medical care and adequate nutrition. He went to a rehab center to recover, and then to his heart procedure where Amy met him.
Licensed foster parents since 2017, Amy and her husband, Ryan, have three biological children.
"I thought, I love this kid..." Amy told The Washington Post. "This kid needs a break...he needs a better family." Amy and Ryan brought True home in February 2022.
"True would always talk about his siblings," said Amy. Through playdates with True's siblings, the family learned more about the children's regrettable home life.
Amy and Ryan adopted True's sister Laney as well, and asked family and friends if they could adopt the other four siblings.
Amy's sister and her husband took a child, Ryan's brother and his wife took another, and Amy's hospital colleague took the remaining two.
Amy and Ryan hope their story inspires others to foster a child.
"They are like a little flower bud that just blossoms," Amy said. "If more people would do it, it would change the world."
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