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With all the negative news reports that dominate headlines, these stories are sure to add some happiness to your holiday season. We bring you two heartwarming stories: One a Christmas blessing for one family that is sure to restore your faith in humanity; The second is a Christmas miracle that has left doctors baffled.
Terry and Michael Hawthorn of Arkansas finalized an adoption this month allowing them to reunite seven siblings out of the foster care system and bring them into the same permanent home. The Hawthorns now have welcomed two boys and five girls into their family.
The seven children had spent three years separated in foster care, living in different homes and attending separate schools. They did not always have a bed to sleep in or access to food.
The Hawthorns first started out as foster parents themselves, having had some 80 foster kids pass through their home over the years. But they finally reached a point where they felt they were ready to adopt.
This eventual union all began back in April when the Hawthorns adopted two of the siblings, Korgen and Haizlee. The Hawthorns also had a daughter of their own by birth, Micah.
Then Terry and Michael decided they wanted to reunite the two children they had adopted with their other siblings. A judge approved their request to adopt the other five siblings on December 3.
When the newly adopted five siblings came to live with the Hawthorns, they were overwhelmed with what their new life had to offer.
“When I got here I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we get our own beds,’” said Layna, one of the five siblings.
The siblings said it was “the best Christmas” for knowing they have a home.
“This has been the best Christmas I could ever have, actually knowing I have a mom and dad,” Kyndal said.
“They are a blessing,” Terry Hawthorn said referring to her newly adopted family. “Every day these kids wake up, and they are giggling, and they are happy, and you see the smiles on their faces – that’s what makes this worth it.”
A girl in Texas has just received what seems to be a Christmas miracle: The inoperable brain tumor she had has suddenly disappeared, and the doctors don’t have any idea why.
Eleven-year-old Roxli Doss was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, last June. The condition is very rare and unfortunately was inoperable. Doss went through weeks of radiation to try to shrink the tumor.
One of the Doss’ doctors, Dr. Virginia Harrod of Dell Children’s Medical Center, spoke about her condition, saying, “It is very rare, but when we see it, it is a devastating disease. You have decreased ability to swallow, sometimes vision loss, decreased ability to talk, eventually difficulty with breathing.”
Then suddenly, Doss’ tumor just vanished. The doctors couldn’t explain the sudden disappearance and it left her medical team dumbfounded and in a state of disbelief.
“When I first saw Roxli’s MRI scan, it was actually unbelievable,” Dr. Harrod added. “The tumor is undetectable on the MRI scan, which is really unusual.”
Nonetheless, to remain on the safe side, Doss will continue to undergo certain treatments, such as immunotherapy.
Meanwhile, the Texas girl has now been able to resume some of her favorite activities in life, such as horseback riding.
