Family receives special gift for Christmas

Marisa Petrich/Northwest Guardian

For many, the holiday season is more about giving than receiving. This year, the Spangler family has plans to do both: They’re giving a child with special needs a home and receiving a brand new Family member.

Warrant Officer 1 Jeferey Spangler, 4th Squadron, 6th Attack Reconnaissance Squadron, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, and his wife Amanda have plans to adopt a Chinese 3-year-old named Jia.

“We took a leap of faith,” Amanda said.

Jia (who the Spanglers plan to rename Aspen) is neither the couple’s first foreign adoption nor their most complicated.

Once the adoption process is complete, she’ll join the couple’s 6-year-old son, Hunter, and their 5-year-old daughter, Meadow, who was adopted from Vietnam.

Both girls were born with sacrococcygeal teratomas, large tumors that form at the end of the tailbone. It’s a condition that affects 1 in every 35,000 babies, according to Children’s Hospital Boston, and is usually benign. Both the Spangler girls’ tumors were cancerous, though, further complicating an already rare condition.

The first time, the depth of the condition was a surprise.

“We didn’t really know what we were getting, but I’m glad we didn’t,” Amanda said.

Jef and Amanda, high school sweethearts, always knew they wanted to adopt. They feel it’s part of their calling as Christians to care for orphans, and never felt they would love a child that wasn’t biologically theirs any less.

They decided it was time a few years ago, while they were stationed in Japan. After months of research into countries to adopt from and agencies to use, they decided to adopt a little girl from Vietnam’s special needs list. Originally they thought her tumor had been removed and there were no residual effects, but knew almost right away things were more complex.

Then 18-moths-old, Meadow was in pain from the moment they came to get her. Part of the tumor had been removed — but part remained. Further, the surgery had left her with a compromised bladder and bowel.

Now, years later, Meadow still has some health complications, but for the most part she’s a normal 5-year-old. In fact, she’s taught the Spanglers a lot — mainly that not everything is under their control, and having a special needs child is not as difficult as they thought.

“People I think in general realize they can handle more,” Amanda said of her experience so far.

They were thrilled to have their daughter, but even so they Spanglers had planned to stop at two kids. They did join an online support group for parents of kids with sacrococcygeal teratomas, and occasionally donated to help foreign orphans with the condition. One of them was a little girl named Jia.

When the topic of whether or not to adopt again came up at the dinner table, the older Spanglers were leaning toward a domestic adoption... until Meadow said, “Why don’t we just adopt little Jia?”

“Our child made it seem so simple,” Amanda said.

They began the process to adopt Jia in January, and if things go as planned she’s expected to officially join them next spring.

“She became part of our family overnight,” Jef said.

There are still challenges. Jia underwent chemotherapy in China to get rid of the tumor, but there are no guarantees it’s all the way gone. Furthermore, foreign adoptions are expensive — and though the Spanglers are applying for grants, that’s another situation where there are no guarantees.

They have faith that they can handle what’s coming, though, and so do the people around them.

“They know they can deal with these issues, that they’re not insurmountable,” Army Community Services Exceptional Family Member Program respite care provider Kathleen Hoban said.

Hoban has worked with the family for the past two years, and says they couldn’t be better parents. She also wishes others would take note of their willingness to adopt children than many would overlook.

“I wish that more people would be willing to rise to the challenges,” she said.

For the Spanglers, it isn’t really so hard.

“It’s addicting,” Jef said.

Though they’re not planning to adopt more any time soon, their son is already telling people the next one will be a boy. And though parts have been difficult, after seeing the outcome they can’t rule it out.

“When you can see firsthand the difference you’ve made in that child’s life, it’s hard not to do it again,” Amanda said.

A Ride for Jia

The Spanglers are raising money for Jia’s medical costs and the Family’s adoption expenses. They are hosting a poker run Saturday morning at the Nisqually Valley Moose Lodge, 1117 Yelm Ave. W., Yelm, WA 98597. For information on how to help out, contact them at (360) 960-8516.