Every child in the foster system dreams of being part of a family and having loving parents. When this boy found out he was going to be adopted, he was overwhelmed with joy. But it was his reaction in the courtroom that has captured the hearts of thousands.
Tyler and Mandi Palmer are not the ordinary couple. They each suffer from health issues, but their love is stronger than their pain. Together these two have learned to overcome any obstacle.
The two first met just before Tyler was deployed to Afghanistan for a second time. He was a part of the 101st airborne division of the United States Army. As Mandi explained to Love What Matters, “His unit [set] records and [received] many awards including the Presidential Unit Citation from the president.”
Tyler was a dedicated soldier during his time abroad, but when he returned home he needed treatment. He suffered from severe PTSD. According to Mandi, he became “involved with the VA and weekly therapy but still [struggled] daily with his war life.”
Mandi was not untouched by illness, either. She had been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of 15, and she has struggled with it ever since. She kept strong, but she was fighting a constant battle.
When Tyler finished his service in the army, the couple moved to Ohio. It was time to start a family. They tried for years to get pregnant, but it simply wasn’t meant to be.
“We were heartbroken and quickly found ourselves seeking other ways to grow our family and become parents,” Mandi shared. “Because of the health battles we’ve been given, we weren’t the type of people to just ‘throw in the towel’ and let our dreams of becoming parents get shattered.”
After noticing some ads on TV, Tyler and Mandi decided to become foster parents. They completed the courses and became certified. That’s when they met Hunter. “He was 8 days old and absolutely perfect,” Mandi wrote. “We fell in love with him instantly.”
These new parents didn’t need to spend long with Hunter before they realized they needed to make him their own. “Hunter was more than just our first baby. He was our ‘medicine’ and both of our reasons to fight the health battles that we have been given. He truly became our ‘why’ in life.”
Finally, just before Christmas of 2017, Tyler and Mandi’s prayers were answered. They were going to adopt Hunter as their own. They headed to the courthouse to finalize the process. There, Hunter did something they would never forget.
“After the judge read the adoption decree and presented his new legal last name, he looked at my husband and said, ‘Dad!,’ and then clapped.”
This was truly a heartwarming moment for the Palmers.
Mandi closed her letter with a heartfelt message: “Our hearts are forever changed because we now know a true and genuine love. We know that he will forever be safe with us and most importantly will always know what love is.”
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
