“She was very, very small and very, very sick,” said Taylor Deras, 31, who with her husband is a NICU nurse at Methodist Women’s Hospital in Omaha. “Every time I worked, I took care of her.”
Ella, born in May 2021, required intensive medical care, including several blood transfusions. Whenever Taylor Deras had free time during her shift, she would cuddle Ella and read to her.
Her husband, who also had a soft spot for the little girl, did the same.
Ella’s biological mother was in her early 20s, the Deras said, and she struggled to maintain a job and a home. Ella’s father was not in the photo.
At first, Ella’s mother visited her regularly, Taylor Deras said, explaining that they developed a close relationship. Over time, as Ella’s health stabilized, she came less frequently. In December 2021, Ella was deemed a ward of the state, at which point her health deteriorated and she was transferred to Children’s Nebraska.
When she was finally strong enough to return home in April 2022, Ella faced another setback.
“Ella didn’t have a stable home to go to,” Taylor Deras said.
The Deras — who had been married since 2020 and had been trying for a baby for about a year — called Ella’s social worker and offered to be her adoptive parents. Because she was still medically fragile, they knew they would be well equipped to care for her, and they worried about her health if she entered the foster care system.
“Maybe this is our path to parenthood,” recalls Drew Deras. “This is our chance.”
The couple also discovered that Ella’s biological mother wanted her daughter to stay with the nurses who lovingly cared for her for almost a year.
“She told the CPS officer, ‘I want her to go to their house; they know her better,” Taylor Deras said.
After completing foster parent training, the Deras brought Ella home when she was 11 months old. One of his first words was “daddy.”
Although the Deras were happy to have Ella living with them, they knew there was a looming possibility that her mother would want her back.
“We tried not to get too attached to Ella, but we were also really happy to be able to take care of her,” Drew Deras said.
“We were so grateful that Ella was in our home and we were keeping her safe,” Taylor Deras said.
Ella’s biological mother continued to visit her daughter. During one visit, she told the Deras: “You are her parents. »
“It brought us a lot of peace,” Drew Deras said.
In July 2023, Ella’s biological mother relinquished her parental rights, paving the way for the Deras to adopt her. On November 18 – which was National Adoption Day – they made it official.
“There was so much enthusiasm at the courthouse,” Taylor Deras said, adding that several of their colleagues were present at the hearing. “It was simply everything we had prayed for, worked for and fought for.”
“We’ve wanted this for so long. It’s hard to put into words,” her husband said, explaining that they continue to have a good relationship with Ella’s biological mother and update her from time to time.
Ella, who is almost 3, has a tracheostomy – a surgically created hole in her windpipe that provides an air passage for breathing – as well as a gastrostomy button (G button) for feeding. The Deras said both would likely be removed within a year.
“Every week she gets better and better,” Taylor Deras said. “She walks and talks, and we didn’t know if she was going to be able to do those things.”
The Derases’ story has been covered in local and national news, and they hope it will inspire others who are struggling to expand their families to consider fostering or adopting them.
“You never know who needs you,” Drew Deras said.
The Deras said they were willing to take in more children.
“There are children who have special needs and need to be fostered and adopted,” Taylor Deras said.
“They deserve love,” Drew Deras said.
For now, they are relishing time with their daughter, who they described as “sassy, smart, kind and bubbly, and who loves to be challenged.” Ella will start preschool in the fall.
“We are so lucky that we are the ones who put her to bed every night and the first people she wakes up with,” Drew Deras said.
