By Kayla Mackey, America World Adoptive Mom

Hearts That Were Changed

Eight years ago, we brought home our son, Judah, from India. During that adoption, we said “yes” to only mild, correctable, easily treatable conditions on our medical needs checklist.

Judah became one of our greatest blessings, but becoming part of the India adoption community had another profound impact on our lives. We watched children with a variety of medical needs become sons and daughters, and slowly, our hearts began to change, too.

Things we once feared became less frightening because we watched other families live them out. We saw children thrive and exceed all expectations, and we celebrated with their families from afar. Those families may not know that just by sharing their stories, they quietly shaped ours.

So, when we began our second India adoption, our medical needs checklist was far more open. Things we said “no” to the first time around became easy yeses.

A Heart That Needed Healing

That’s why we received the call about Amos. He had been born with a series of four congenital heart defects known as Tetralogy of Fallot. He had had a free life-saving heart surgery in India at the age of three, but we knew additional surgeries would likely be needed.

When we re-entered the India adoption process, we said we were open to a child with a heart condition. But seeing a real medical file is different than checking a box.

Fear rushed in… The heart is vital, and his wasn’t functioning properly. If he’d been in the U.S., his heart would have been repaired as an infant. How will this delay affect his future? How soon would he need another surgery, and how many more?

But alongside those fears, other thoughts spoke louder… Every child, regardless of medical complexities, belongs in a family. We are blessed with insurance and proximity to top pediatric cardiologists. His file came to us for a reason.

Next began a marathon of phone calls to cardiologists, not to decide if we would adopt this child, but to understand what the journey ahead might entail.

Hearts That Trusted

Through our conversations, we saw how far research and innovations in heart health have come in recent years. It is incredible what surgeons can do to mend little hearts, giving children a chance to live full, healthy lives.

There were still many unknowns ahead, but these new understandings began to quiet our fears. Our hearts grew exponentially for this little boy as we learned more about how to care for his heart.

A mere 8 months after opening his file, we sat at Amos’s first cardiology appointment in Colorado, hoping for good news, but we left with new concerns. The surgery in India had saved his life, yet parts of his heart still needed urgent repair. It wasn’t what we expected, but we knew God wasn’t surprised. Perhaps He had moved the adoption process so quickly for such a time as this.

That didn’t mean it was easy. The road ahead felt big and scary as I found myself researching medical terms I couldn’t even pronounce.

Philippians 4:4-7 became our anchor: rejoice, pray, present your requests, and allow God’s peace to guard your heart. We leaned into Him in the midst of our worries, believing that He had always held Amos’s heart and would continue to do so.

A Heart Made Whole

When we first told our 5-year-old about his upcoming surgery, he asked, “But after they fix my heart, then I can trampoline and bicycle and run on the hike?”

“Yes,” I said, “Once you get better, you can do all of that.”

He grinned and said, “Okay! How many days until they fix my heart?”

He was ready for a life full of adventure, even if he didn’t fully understand what was ahead.

But a second open heart surgery was always part of God’s good plan. He brought Amos here to the top-ranked surgeons at one of the few hospitals in the nation offering a new expandable heart valve. This could prevent the need for another open-heart surgery in his future. For such a time as this, Amos became case #41 in the U.S. and #4 in Colorado, implanted with this new valve. (He thinks he’s like Iron Man because they both have high-tech hearts!)

By God’s grace, open-heart surgery was a success. He recovered quickly and was back home in just six days. Surprisingly, the hardest part wasn’t the procedure; it was enforcing the eight-week activity restrictions on a little boy who loves adventure.

A Heart Set Free

When restrictions finally lifted, we called it “Freedom Day.” Amos was free to run. Free to hike. Free to bike. Free to simply be a normal little boy with a fully functioning heart.

Last year, we set a family goal: 52 hikes in 52 weeks. Our Heart Warrior completed every single one, logging over 120 miles through the mountains of Colorado.

The little boy whose file once frightened us now runs ahead on mountain trails. Adventure is his new normal. He is active, thriving, and unstoppable.

We will return yearly for checkups, but his cardiologist assured us, “He can live a full, healthy life. Kids with his type of congenital heart defect have even become Olympians.”

We don’t know exactly what Amos will do next, but he has the chance to do anything.

Amos means “carried by God,” and we are thankful that God has carried him so far. From his first heart surgery in India, to all the people that played a part in bringing him into our family, to the surgeons who mended his heart — we stand in awe of God’s faithfulness.

If the Mackeys’ story stirred your heart to consider welcoming a child who needs a family, we’d love to help you take your first step! Visit our Learn About Adoption page to pre-apply for free and schedule a meeting with our staff.

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