One month shy of his 3rd birthday, Zeke weighs 31 pounds. He will get bigger and heavier. Eventually, carrying him up and down the stairs will not be possible. Dressing him, changing him and forcing his spastic muscles to move and extend will take increasing physical effort.

Raising a special needs child can be lonely, Sarah admitted, but she recalls what a foster parent trainer once told her: His worst day with you will be better than his best day in a group home.

Sarah recounted a painful visit last year to the pediatric unit of HighPointe, a nursing home in Buffalo. Without the Sardinas in Zeke's life, it's where he might have gone. She chatted with staff and learned that one 6-year-old girl there would soon move to a group home because no family would take her. A 2-year-old boy faced a similar fate.

"They feel the same lack of love as anyone who has all their abilities," Sarah said. "The lack of stability and love is what’s really crippling."

Erie County has more than 800 children in foster care, a fifth of whom require therapeutic care, according to Social Services data. Many have learning or behavioral disabilities that pale in comparison to Zeke's challenges.