Words: Mylee Zhao Lu-Ann Y.
Hi, I’m Mylee! I’m 13 and I live in Indiana. When I was 2, I was adopted from China. This is my adoption story.
My adoption story is like most kids from China. I was abandoned at about 1 day old and found in a shopping mall.
According to my file, I was found wrapped in a blanket and left with some formula, money and a Buddhist prayer card, which was given to my mom on my adoption day.
Growing up my mom always wanted to have a “cute little Chinese girl”. She says the moment she saw my picture for the first time she knew instantly that I was the little girl she had dreamed of for so many years. After visiting my orphanage, she knew that God had a bigger plan for her and our family and that she would return to China.
Since adopting me in 2008, my parents have adopted six other kids from China. My adoptive parents have helped me embrace my story by continuously talking about China and reasons why they think my birth parents abandoned me. I may never really know the real reason, but in my heart I know that they loved me. Abandoning me was probably their only option based on my medical condition.
Just knowing that I was left in a populated area wrapped in a blanket with formula and money tells me that I was loved. They (my birth parents) will always have a place in my heart.
This past summer I was able to go back to China with my mom to adopt my 5 year old sister. We were able to spend the first week in China visiting our orphanages and cities. My orphanage was recently torn down, so I had to visit the new one but all my caretakers were still working there.
On the day we visited, there were two nannies and a doctor, who were there on the day I was found. We also face-timed a nanny, who treated me like her own daughter, but had now retired. While we were there, they kept asking me to walk back and forth in the room, because they could net believe how well I was walking. I have arthrogryposis. When I was adopted, I could not bend my knees or ankles, so it was really hard for me to walk. They were all so excited to see me.
Going back to my orphanage to visit those people who had cared for me as their own for two years was a special moment. Even though I don’t remember them, it was really fun hanging out with them and listening to their stories about me. One of the stories they told me was how whenever I had a bottle I would always try to share it with the cat. It was also pretty cool to hear how impressed they were with my legs and how well I am doing.
When naming me, my adoptive parents wanted to keep my Chinese name as my middle name. They kept my Chinese name as a way to honor my culture. While we were at the orphanage, they let me look at my original adoption file. When we were going through my file, there was a scrap piece of paper with the name my birthparents gave me. I found out that my Chinese name was not given to me by the orphanage, but by my birthparents! It means so much to me that I was able to keep it because of my adoptive parents.
God has used my adoption to open my parents’ hearts and home to more kids from China. My mom says all the time, “What started as a dream for her became a reality and so much more when Mylee was placed in my arms.”
My adoption started my parents on a journey they never would have expected or imagined. They get asked all the time about adoption and have been able to share their story which has encouraged others to adopt.
Adoption has shaped my life in so many ways. If I stayed in China, I would not have the opportunities I have and will have because of my medical issues. I have been given a family that millions of kids may never have. I was literally chosen by my parents because they answered a call from God to adopt. I cannot imagine not having my family. If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t have such a great life with an even greater family who cares about me so much. I wouldn’t have all the things I have now and I wouldn’t have a family who will love me forever, no matter what.
This article was featured in Edition 25 Kids Nation magazine.
