Henderson Family's Story

The Hendersons were told right away they would never have children, so they decided to do foster care for severe special needs children. Their first foster care placement came in 2005 — Christian, who was 7 years old and been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and autism, among others. They adopted him in May 2006, and the same weekend, they found out they were pregnant with Lane.

At four months old, Lane was diagnosed with severe hemophilia, and at age one they nearly lost him to a horrific epidural bleed. Shortly after this, they connected with the National Hemophilia Foundation, Nebraska Chapter. “The Nebraska Chapter has meant so much to our family and has been a priceless part of our support group. They have provided us with educational weekends, a support system and even scholarships so that we could attend national conferences.”

Even though doctors told the Henderson’s not to expect to get pregnant again, their daughter Paisley was born when Lane was only two years old.  

With three kids, they knew they wanted more kids and decided to adopt. In January 2015, they adopted James from Bulgaria, who also has severe hemophilia. “If the Nebraska Chapter had not given us such a good start and helped us to attain the level of understanding and support we have now, we probably would not have had the knowledge, confidence or ability to bring another hemophiliac into our family!”