When they saw Ella for the first time in the care unit, they weren't even sure she would survive another day
The world might not have changed when Taylor and Drew signed the adoption papers on National Adoption Day 2023. However, this simple act did change the world of little Ella, the girl adopted by the couple. Taylor and Drew both, are registered nurses at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Methodist Women’s Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Ella was amongst the thousands of babies they cared for. Interestingly, the three became a family only through their encounter at the NICU premises.
The couple had met each other while working in overnight shifts at the NICU, in 2017. They tied the knot in 2020 and soon encountered a newborn they became attached to. When Ella was admitted into the NICU in May 2021, she was 23 weeks old and weighed 1 pound, 2 ounces. "I knew I kind of wanted that challenge as a nurse to be able to take care of her and see where things would go and what she would do," Taylor Deras told Good Morning America. It would be a long journey for Ella, because as Drew Deras added, "She was at the very edge of being able to survive, essentially."
Taylor also added that the baby was immediately intubated and needed multiple blood transfusions. “There were good days, and then there were days I would leave work and get in the car with Drew and say, ‘I’m not going to see her again. She’s going to pass away tonight,’” Taylor recalls. By the summer of 2021, Ella began to recover and gain strength.
As per People, Ella’s biological mother had stopped seeing her in the care unit. Taylor and Drew worried about where Ella would go after she was discharged. Both of them had become emotionally attached to her.
In December 2021, the courts deemed Ella a “ward of the state.” According to the Legal Information Institute, the term “ward of the state” means a child who, as determined by the State where the child resides, is a foster child, is a ward of the State, or is in the custody of a public child welfare agency. So, Taylor and Drew were concerned about what would happen to the medically sensitive infant in the foster care agency. Ella had a tracheostomy, a surgically created hole in her windpipe that provided an alternative airway for breathing. She also ate through a feeding tube. Thinking of all this, the couple decided to become Ella’s foster parents.
They were approved for her fostering in April 2022. Finally, on November 18, 2023, they signed Ella’s adoption papers in the courtroom. Today, the Derases say Ella is a vibrant 2-year-old. The little girl is thriving, and her health continues to improve as she works through weekly speech therapies and other treatments.
The Derases feel overjoyed and fulfilled after adopting Ella. They also offer their views for other couples willing to adopt a child, "Don't give up during the process because the adoption process is very challenging," Taylor says. "If it's something that's on your heart, I would say go for it and don't steer away, because there are many kids that need adoption."
Share on Facebook
