When Luca Trapanese, an Italian unmarried man, held Alba, a baby girl born with Down syndrome, he knew in his heart that he was going to adopt the abandoned child. Since her birth, Alba had lived in unfavorable circumstances starting from getting abandoned by her mother because she had special needs to getting rejected by no less than 20 families when she was put up for adoption. The life of the blonde-haired child life changed when Luca came along and adopted her after she was passed on by families who weren’t ready to raise a baby with her condition.

Luca had a history of volunteering in various social service programs by a few organizations ever since he was young, including “A Ruota Libera” Foundation that provides assistance to children with Down syndrome.

He said, “Since I was 14 years old, I have volunteered and worked with the disabled so I felt I had the right knowledge and experience to do it”.

This adoption was extremely difficult to finalize as agencies usually prefer “traditional” families over those that do not conform to the precise characteristics that a conventional family personifies. This was made even more challenging for Luca, a homosexual man who recently became single after an 11-year-long relationship. He was intent on adopting a child with a disability even when it meant doing it singlehandedly.

He said, “For me, a disabled child is not a second choice solution, but a conscious choice with respect to my vocation and my abilities”.

Ultimately, Luca succeeded in his goal and became a happy father to Alba, who has brought much joy in his life ever since she came.

https://youtu.be/MoWmfleGn4Y

Fortunately, people with Down syndrome live better lives now than before medical knowledge about the condition was available. Now, they are able to live healthy lives, work, build families of their own, and most of all, make everyone around them happy.

According to a study published by the American Journal of Medical Genetics, families who live with people with Down syndrome have very high happiness rates. Luca can surely attest to this now that he has this little angel for the best times of their lives together.