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Written y his mama, "I  am beyond proud to share the incredible story of my son, Dawson Bradley, who has

been chosen as the Born Chosen Prince of the Month for March, in honor of Trisomy Awareness Month. Josh and I spent over seven years trying to have children. After numerous rounds of infertility treatments and endless heartache, we had almost lost hope of ever becoming parents. We had recently moved from Greenville, SC to Memphis, TN, hoping to start a ministry. Little did we know that God had already set in motion a much greater plan for us than we could ever have imagined. He blessed us with our beautiful son, Dawson.

Dawson's story began in June of 2005. After several life-altering events, and through the kindness of strangers and amazing people, God opened our eyes to adoption. While serving in student ministry at our church in Memphis, I felt in my heart that God would bring a young woman into our lives who was pregnant and seeking an open adoption.

One Wednesday evening, Josh spoke to our students about our infertility struggles and the two failed adoptions we had gone through. He shared our hope that one day, God would bless us with children. After the service, one of our adult volunteers came to us and told us about a young woman she had met—four months pregnant and wanting an open adoption. She had just made the brave decision to place her baby with a family.

The very next Saturday, we met her. The following Sunday, on our way to camp, she called to tell us that she had chosen us to be the parents of her baby. I was overwhelmed with tears of joy—my dream of becoming a mother was finally coming true.  I took the birth mother to every doctor’s appointment, and each step of the way, I was byher side. The first time she heard Dawson's heartbeat, I heard it too. When we found outhe was a boy, she and I decided together that his name would be Dawson. She wanted to call him Dawson from that moment on. My heart was overflowing with love and gratitude.

The pregnancy progressed without any complications, and we eagerly awaited the day we would meet him. But when the time came for Dawson’s birth, things didn’t go as smoothly as we’d hoped. The doctors began to notice signs of distress, and a C-section was decided. The birth mother asked me to be in the room with her, and I was honored to be there by her side, holding her hand as we prepared to meet my son. At 2:25 pm on November 28, 2005, Dawson was born. As they whisked him away for evaluation, I texted Josh and told him our beautiful boy had arrived. But soon, we were told that Dawson was in respiratory distress and had been taken to the NICU. It was there, in that sterile and quiet room, that our world changed. The doctors believed Dawson had Trisomy 18—Edwards Syndrome—based on several physical markers. He also had serious heart defects, including an ASD, PDA, and a large VSD. The doctors told us that no cardiologist would perform surgery on a child with Trisomy 18, and that Dawson likely wouldn’t survive long. They urged us to reconsider our decision to continue his care, telling us it would be better to invest our time and money into a child with a better prognosis. But none of it mattered to us. Dawson was our son, and no matter how much time we had with him—whether minutes, hours, days, or years—those moments would be the best of our lives. 

After 2 ½ weeks in the NICU, Dawson came home. He was so fragile, but we cherished every breath he took. We watched him closely, ensuring he was safe. We were blessed to be connected with hospice care in Memphis, who helped us with the medical equipment we needed and supported us as we navigated the challenges. At just one month old,Dawson went into congestive heart failure. A surgeon who had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina was working at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis. In a turn of fate, he agreed to perform surgery on Dawson to repair the VSD. In that moment, I knew it was God's hand at work. Dawson not only survived the surgery, but he thrived.  When Dawson was strong enough, we moved back to South Carolina to be with family.

The challenges continued, but Dawson never stopped fighting. At 18 months old, he underwent heart surgery in Charleston, SC. Doctors there, too, saw Dawson as a typical child who simply needed help. The surgery was a success, and once again, we saw God's presence guiding us through each step. Dawson came through major surgery with resilience and strength.  Through all of his challenges—his trach, his G-tube, his struggles with epilepsy and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome—Dawson kept surprising us with his courage and spirit. He

thrived under the care of a wonderful team at Prisma Health Children's Hospital and had a network of home health nurses who loved him as their own. For all of this, we are forever grateful.

In 2024, Dawson was having the best year yet. We traveled together to the SOFT Conference in Minnesota and to Indiana. But in August, everything changed. One night, the alarms on his monitor went off. I rushed to his side, but by the time I reached him, his heart had stopped beating. Despite our best efforts to revive him, Dawson passed away five days later, surrounded by the love of his family.

As heartbreaking as it is to say goodbye, we would not trade a single moment we had with our precious boy. Dawson was the heart of our family, and the love I have for him is indescribable. I miss him every day. Samuel Dawson Bradley was truly a miracle, and he lived a life full of purpose and love—just as God had planned. And while our hearts ache with his loss, we hold on to the hope that one day, we will see him again and hold him once more.

Writen by his mama, " Reid joined our family via embryo donation. We had two biological children, and were looking into options to complete our family. When a friend mentioned donor embryos, I knew immediately that would be our path! We specifically sought donors who desired an open embryo adoption so our child could always know his genetic family.

Throughout my pregnancy, doctors assured us our baby was healthy. At birth though, Reid surprised everyone with a diagnosis of Esophageal Atresia and a Tracheoesophageal Fistula. EA/TEF is a rare and random life threatening birth defect that requires prompt surgery to survive. Many EA/TEF babies have surgery soon after they're born and go home within several weeks. 

Reid's case, however, was fraught with many unexpected hurdles. His genetic family met him while he was still in the NICU, with a very unknown future. It ultimately took three surgeries to connect his esophagus to his stomach. After 128 days in the NICU, our 4-month-old came home exclusively tube fed because despite a “successful” repair, his esophagus was still not functional. 

Two weeks later, complications from a routine procedure left Reid with more damage to his esophagus and a hole in his previously healthy lungs. Every little cold that winter turned into a hospital stay for pneumonia. It was a terrifying 7 months waiting for his team to develop a surgical plan. The day finally arrived when Reid was 11 months old.

We were warned it would be a grueling 9+ hour surgery with no guarantees that he would be able to breathe independently, eat by mouth, or even swallow his own saliva. But somehow the stars aligned that day, and Reid was out of the OR in half the anticipated time! He was discharged after 10 days with an intact esophagus and no supplemental oxygen.

Today, Reid remains medically complex, but he is stable. He's eating small amounts of food by mouth, with his g-tube his primary source of nutrition. While respiratory illnesses continue to be scary, we can provide most medical interventions from home. His genetic family got to see his tube-free face for the first time when they visited again last summer. He's an avid crawler now, loves walking in his gait trainer, and might just try some birthday cake when he turns 2 in April."

 Written by his mama, "We began our adoption journey over three years before Ashton was placed with us. We had two biological children, but adoption was always on our hearts as something we felt called to do. Adoption has many stories. For us, adoption was a waiting game. We trusted our child, whoever they were, would be presented to us and we committed to having our “yes” ready. 

We met Ashton when he was three months old. He was so precious and tiny, weighing only about 3lbs. Ashton was born at 24 weeks and was very sick. He was diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis. By three months, he had had multiple surgeries and complications from his too early arrival to the world. Ashton was determined to do more than survive but to thrive. On our first meeting, we were in awe of his tiny body. My husband and I put our hands in his incubator to gently touch his delicate skin. Ashton grabbed onto Stephen’s finger and would not let go. In that moment, we felt as if he grabbed our hearts. This little one was our son and we would walk with him through his very long, very emotional NICU journey. 

After 303 days in the hospital, multiple eye surgeries, a repair of his colon, gTube and tracheostomy, we were able to bring our son home. His two big brothers were so excited to have him home. They love sharing his story with their friends and teachers. At under three years old, Ashton has overcome more than I could ever imagine. He is a strong, empathetic, warrior. We are continually blessed to have him in our family."