Parents make the difficult decision to give up their baby who has a facial tumor, only to reunite years later. This is a story about love, hope, and ultimate self-sacrifice. As a mother, I cannot bear the thought of giving up one of my children. But if they required a life-saving surgery that I couldn’t provide, I would gladly perform it. Sam Ettore was everything his Vietnam-born parents desired when he was born.
He was a bouncing baby boy with bright eyes and a sweet smile. He was born with a tumor on his face, however. Sam’s parents took their baby with a facial tumor to doctors and were told there was no way they could help him because of the cost. They realized adoption was their only option in order to save his life. But God had already devised a strategy.
A family adopts a child with a facial tumor. Hope Ettore and her husband John were preparing to adopt a child in America at the same time. That’s when they got a picture of Sam. “So, we got that picture, and we were taken back,” Hope explained. “At the same time, my husband and I looked at each other and said, ‘How do we not help this child?'” They knew without a doubt that this child was meant to be theirs.
Sam was a baby when he joined the Ettore family, and he had more than eleven surgeries for his facial tumor. But he grew up to be a resilient adolescent who understood that love knew no bounds. Hope, his adoptive mother, was diagnosed with cancer and given only a few months to live. Her dying wish, however, was to find Sam’s birth parents.
They did it after a tremendous amount of searching! The Ettores were able to connect with Sam’s parents via Facetime, which was an incredible moment. Sam showed him his face, and his parents burst into tears as they saw their baby with a facial tumor transform into a healthy, well-loved, and thriving child. “I just want to thank you guys for doing your hardest to take care of me,” Sam said to his parents.
I’m sorry you had to make the difficult decision to place me for adoption, but you and my adopted family are the ones who saved my life, and I am grateful to you.” This is a story about love that endures everything, hopes for everything, and makes sacrifices. Hope will have the opportunity to meet Jesus now that her son has reconnected with his birth parents. And the world learns from their story what it truly means to give your life for others.