What were you like at nine years old? What were your hobbies, your interests? Can you remember what the most important thing in the world was to you at that time?
For many of us, nine years old was a simple time when our greatest challenges were learning how to ride a bike and not being picked last for dodgeball. For Sandra, nine years old would be the age when she would have to make the most difficult decision of her life.
As children, Sandra and her two little sisters were placed in foster care in La Plata, a small town in Huila, Colombia. And although this was a life-changing move, they were at least together and placed with a caring foster family. They settled into this new life, going to school, playing with their foster siblings, but still hoping they might one day be adopted into a forever family.
Then, one day, a social worker came. She took Sandra aside, and she said something no child should ever have to hear. “There is a family interested in adopting your sisters, but they don’t want to adopt you because you are too old. Are you ok with us letting them adopt your sisters?”
At nine years old, Sandra was given the choice: keep her sisters in foster care with her or let them be adopted without her. For most children, the choice would seem impossible, but Sandra barely hesitated.
“I wanted a better future and a better life for them,” she said, recalling that day. “So, I said that’s ok, I’ll stay back and figure something out for myself.”
With that, the process began, and soon, Sandra’s sisters left Colombia with their adoptive family. Sandra stayed behind, adjusting to life without them, still hoping one day she might find a forever family.
In 2011, Sandra received another social worker visit. This time, the social worker told her about an opportunity: Kidsave’s Summer/Winter Miracles program.
“They said there's this program where you get to go and spend some time with a family in the United States,” Sandra explained. “You’ll stay with a family and then maybe they can find a family there that can adopt you. And it sounded so good to me because of course I wanted a family, I wanted to be adopted, so, I said sure!”
Now a part of the Summer/Winter Miracles program, Sandra was taken to Bogota, Colombia where she attended camp with the other kids.
“It was older kids from different parts of Colombia,” said Sandra. “I got to talk to them, and we found out everybody was going to different places in the United States. And while we were there, they taught us English lessons, how to speak, how to eat—because I didn’t know how to use cutlery or anything like that. They showed us photos of the families we were going to be staying with and told us about where they were located.”
After two weeks of camp, it was time for the group to travel. That winter, Sandra stayed with hosts in San Francisco and experienced what life could be like with an American family. She traveled with the family to Miami to visit their relatives and celebrate the holidays together. She recalls the experience fondly, noting that the host family spoke Spanish, so it was easy to communicate with them.
But this visit didn’t lead to adoption. Sandra returned to Colombia, cherishing the memories she made in the U.S.
It would have been easy to lose hope, but Sandra remained positive, and in 2013, she participated in the program once more. This time, she was matched with a family in Iowa for the summer. Her host family, the Colemans, had two daughters around her age, and dedicated the summer to creating a positive experience for her.
“At the time, I was just focused on having fun and meeting new people and getting to see what the United States was all about,” said Sandra. “And especially living with the two girls was so much fun. It was like everything you see in movies about the United States.”
During that summer with the Colemans, Sandra was introduced to their friends, the Driscolls.
“They wanted to come and meet me,” Sandra recalled. “They have a daughter too who’s a year younger than me. I remember them coming over, and [their daughter] gave me a beautiful card that she’d made for me.”
At the end of the summer, Sandra returned to Colombia with even more wonderful memories of her time spent in the United States. Soon, her social worker came to visit with exciting news: the Driscolls wanted to adopt her.
“I remembered they were really, really sweet and nice people,” she said. “They said this family really wants to adopt you. Would you want that?”
Another fork in the road, another choice for young Sandra to make. Would she stay in foster care in Colombia, or accept being adopted and move to the United States?
“I said yes.”
At 13 years old, Sandra made the life-changing decision to be adopted. Months of paperwork began, and then, John, Kelly, and Riley Driscoll traveled to Colombia to be reunited with Sandra and finalize the adoption. Kelly and Riley soon had to return to Chicago so Riley wouldn’t miss school, but John and Sandra stayed to finish the process and pack Sandra’s things. Since meeting Sandra, John had worked hard to learn Spanish, so he wouldn’t have to rely on Google Translate to communicate with her. Once the two had tied up all the loose ends, they headed home to Chicago together.
“I had never experienced snow before,” said Sandra. “It was Halloween when my dad and I flew back, and we were landing in Chicago, and I started seeing snowflakes begin to fall. We got home, and my sister had plans to go trick-or-treating with her friends, and she said, ‘Come on, you’ve got to pick out a Halloween costume.’ My mom has all of these Halloween costumes, so I picked one out, I put that costume on, and we went trick-or-treating, and that was my first night home.”
Seeing snow and trick-or-treating with her sister were just two of the many firsts Sandra was about to experience. But thanks to the love and dedication of her adoptive family, she was able to handle it all. From hiring private tutors to learning to cook Colombian dishes, John and Kelly did everything they could to make the adjustment as smooth as possible for Sandra. Even still, at 26 years old, Sandra knows she can count on her parents to be there for her.
Today, Sandra is finishing her Bachelor's degree at the University of Minnesota. She is close with her parents and very proud of her younger sister, Riley, who is now a nurse. As she looks to the future, Sandra hopes one day she can be reunited with her biological sisters who she thinks of often. In the meantime, she is excited to put her business degree to work and find volunteering opportunities to give back to older kids in foster care.
Reflecting on the many challenges and decisions that have led her here today, Sandra said, “I was just a little kid, but I think I made the best decisions I could make. It’s been a great, great life for me so far.”
Summer Miracles
Each year the Summer Miracles program helps older orphans (ages 9-15) find loving adoptive families here in the United States. For many of these kids, this program is their last opportunity to find a forever family. Become a host family and change a life – including your own! Learn more.
