Steve and Sarah Yates had been married for just a few months when a baby girl came into their lives and changed everything.
Sarah is a neonatal intensive care nurse at Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Columbia, Missouri. Growing up as the oldest of seven, Sarah has always had a love for children and jokes that she is constantly wanting to bring her little patients home from the hospital.
That same passion to help kicked in when little Zariah came into the NICU in February 2020. Zariah was born at Women’s and Children’s in October. She had been to St. Louis Children’s Hospital for a stay and was then transferred back to Women’s and Children’s.
“I just fell in love with her immediately,” Sarah said. “It soon became clear that she was going to be going into foster care.”
Foster care was something Sarah had always wanted to do. Steve said he was more hesitant. Growing up as an only child, it wasn’t something he had thought much about.
When Sarah told him about Zariah, he said he was cautious. Zariah has significant medical needs and faces a variety of health challenges.
“I’m not great with medical stuff,” Steve said. “I was just really nervous about taking in someone with Zariah’s needs.”
Knowing she and Steve would both need to be fully on board, Sarah said she tried not to push her husband on the matter.
“I just prayed that if this was something that we were supposed to do, God would change Steve’s heart,” Sarah said. “A week and a half went by and he said, ‘Yeah. I think we should do this.’”
The Yates were able to complete STARS through Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries and become licensed foster parents.
In April, the Yates received paperwork stating Zariah would be placed in their care upon her discharge from the hospital. With the paperwork in hand, Steve was finally able to meet the little girl Sarah had spent so much time caring for.
“When I met her, I started tearing up because she was just so adorable,” Steve said. “I thought I would be nervous with her being plugged in and attached to all of these machines, but I wasn’t even bothered by it. I just looked into her eyes and knew.”
Over the course of the past year, Steve and Sarah learned much about the medical challenges that they are facing. Zariah has a brain condition known as Schizencephaly, a rare brain malformation in which abnormal slits or clefts form in the brain. Symptoms of Schizencephaly can include developmental delay, seizures, and problems with brain-spinal cord communication. Sarah explained that Zariah’s condition is not as severe as some cases, because cognitively she acts fairly age appropriate, but she is very limited physically.
The Yates also know from genetic testing that Zariah’s other conditions are most likely caused by a rare gene mutation. One condition is Moebius Syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by weakness or paralysis of one or more cranial nerves. This is the cause of Zariah’s facial asymmetry and lack of ability to move her eyes from side to side.
She also has Arthrogryposis, which is contracture and deformity of the limbs. Recently, Zariah was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, as doctors do not believe her brain condition is the main cause of her mobility issues. For instance, she has no function of her arms, other than a little bit of shoulder movement. The Cerebral Palsy diagnosis will help the Yates family get the services they need for Zariah, especially after she turns five-years-old.
Little Zariah also has a trach tube. Even though her lungs are fine, she has a severe case of Laryngomalacia, which happens when part of an infant’s larynx falls in and temporarily blocks the airway. However, since she doesn’t have a lung problem, she is able to breathe fine on her own with the trach. Doctors are hopeful that eventually, after a couple of surgeries, they will be able to remove Zariah’s trach. Her airway problems also necessitate a feeding tube. A swallow study showed that she aspirates almost everything she tries to eat. Although she shows interest in food, it just isn’t safe for her to eat it.
After many months in the hospital as all of these issues were being dealt with, Zariah was finally discharged in October 2020. The Yates were able to take her home as they awaited the day her adoption could become official.
That day came in April 2021. Sarah and Steve’s parents, family members, and several people who had worked on Zariah’s case met at the Cole County Courthouse on April 6, 2021.
Zariah’s adoption hearing was a swift, 15-minute ceremony. Steve and Sarah said it felt like a formality to make official what they already knew, Zariah was their daughter.
“It just felt like she was always supposed to be a part of our family,” Sarah said.
Steve and Sarah are continuing to foster. They are currently fostering a one-year-old boy who also has medical needs. They said now they both feel well-equipped to take in children with medical needs and feel called to serve in this way.
August 2021 postscript: We shared the Yates’ beautiful story in May of 2021, following Zariah’s adoption. We are deeply saddened to share what happened a couple of months later, as told by Sarah. Please remember to pray for this precious family. READ: Forever didn’t last as long as we thought it would.
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