Beijing, China (CNN) Brian and Jeri Wilson don't sleep much on the 17-hour flight from Kansas City to Beijing. JiaJia, the Chinese orphan waiting for them, can't sleep either.

As the Wilsons travel from their home in the American Midwest to northern China, JiaJia (pronounced "Jah Jah") lays wide awake in the small room he shares with eight other orphans. He is the oldest child at Alenah's Home, a small medical foster home in the Chinese capital where he has lived for most of his nine years.

JiaJia seen at the children's home in a photo taken on April 14, 2011.

JiaJia has never met in person the two Americans who already call him their son. He's never met his three older sisters or grandparents. They've only seen each other in Facebook photos and a few Skype video chats with a translator. Neither adults nor child know if they'll be able to communicate, given they don't speak the same language.

"He's leaving everybody, everything that he's known and been comfortable with for nine years," Jeri Wilson says. "And put into a family that doesn't look like him and doesn't talk like him. Doesn't do anything like him."

The first meeting

Everyone is nervous. A foster home worker greets the Wilsons at the airport terminal, along with two other adoptive parents, and escorts them to a waiting bus.

"He's a rock star," Brian Wilson beams as he talks about his son on the 20-minute ride to the foster home. The volunteer says she remembers when JiaJia was a tiny baby. He was just three-months old in 2006, when the orphanage says his birth parents left him outside a fertility clinic in Xinyang, in central China's Henan Province.

The clinic sits in the heart of what's considered a "small" Chinese city, of about six million people. Cars and bikes whiz by as nearby street vendors sell kabobs, cell phones, and clothing. Outside the clinic's front entrance, a small wall is lined with photos. Smiling parents hold newborns the clinic has helped bring into the world. JiaJia was found on the front steps.

Jeri believes JiaJia's mother did not abandon him, but saved him.

"Who goes to a fertility clinic except people who want children? So she left him there in hopes of somebody taking him home," Jeri says fighting back tears. "To me that showed that she loved him. She put him somewhere that he would be found and cared for. I pray for her. And I thank God for her. And I want him to know that she loved him."

China's abandoned children

It's heartbreaking to imagine what JiaJia's birth parents must have gone through. The newborn had spina bifida, a spinal birth defect. His surgery would've cost the average Chinese worker up to two years salary. The world's second largest economy, with a population of 1.3 billion, still lacks an adequate social safety net despite its massive wealth. Many parents whose children are born with a disability simply can't afford medical care.

The number of abandoned children in China has dropped steadily in the last decade, but the numbers remain disturbingly high. Today, almost all of China's unwanted children have disabilities. Dozens of new cases of abandoned children are reported each day.

For JiaJia, time was running out. Chinese law says kids can no longer be adopted once they turn 14. Many who "age out" become permanent wards of the state, spending much of their lives at institutions. Much of China is not accessible for people with disabilities, as the Wilsons discover while trying to push JiaJia's wheelchair while sightseeing.

According to Chinese authorities, there were more than 525,000 orphans in China in 2014, though child welfare groups believe the number could be much higher if you account for children in non-government orphanages and foster hones like Alenah's Home.

Convincing families to adopt special needs children like JiaJia is a tremendously difficult task, says volunteer and former orphan Olivia Raney.

"Kids with the most severe special needs are an enigma," Raney says. "They have the highest need for round-the-clock care, yet the lowest chance of finding forever families."

Photos: Searching for homes: JiaJia's orphan friends Hai Cong was born in Guangxi province in southern China in 2009. He started living in Alenah's Home, run by Children's Hope, in July, 2014. Hai Cong suffers from atresia aural -- the absence or closure of the external ear canal -- and uses hearing aids. His carers say he's "an energetic boy who is curious about everything around him." Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: Searching for homes: JiaJia's orphan friends Born in 2009, Ke Yuan has been in care since March, 2015. He also suffers from aural atresia and is unable to hear. Children's Hope says he's a thoughtful boy who helps take care of the younger children. "Although he is shy when meeting strangers, he will be willing to talk once he gets familiar with them. Now, taking the initiative to learn to speak more words, Yuan has made huge progress." Hide Caption 2 of 8 Photos: Searching for homes: JiaJia's orphan friends Born in 2011, Yuan Kai has been cared by Children's Hope since May, 2015. He is deaf and mute. His carers say he's "very handsome but a little bit naughty." Yuan Kai is currently registered at a local kindergarten. Hide Caption 3 of 8 Photos: Searching for homes: JiaJia's orphan friends Born in 2009, Hui Hui has cerebral palsy. Her carers at Children's Hope say she used to have difficulty eating but with "the help of nanny's eating guide and rehabilitation training, Hui Hui gradually started to eat porridge and fruit." Now, she can feed herself. "Hui Hui is really cute and everyone likes the girl when they see her," her carers say. Hide Caption 4 of 8 Photos: Searching for homes: JiaJia's orphan friends Meng Song was one of the little girls looking for a new home at the orphanage last time CNN visited in August, 2015. She's since been adopted. Hide Caption 5 of 8 Photos: Searching for homes: JiaJia's orphan friends Yi Tan was born in 2012 with congenital heart disease and Down's syndrome. Since CNN's last visit to the orphanage in August, she's found a new home. Hide Caption 6 of 8 Photos: Searching for homes: JiaJia's orphan friends Guang Quan is another resident of Alenah's Home. His new family is in the process of completing the paper work needed to adopt him. Hide Caption 7 of 8 Photos: Searching for homes: JiaJia's orphan friends Da Long was born in 2010 and is deaf and mute. He's found new parents since CNN last visited in August. Hide Caption 8 of 8

JiaJia's botched spina bifida surgery left him paralyzed from the waist down. Still, he's learned to swim, attends school when he can, and dutifully changes his own diapers. JiaJia dreams of someday becoming a police officer. He already has appointments scheduled with doctors in America. The Wilsons expect JiaJia will need multiple surgeries.

"We'll get him fixed up as best we can," Brian says.

A Chinese family promised to adopt JiaJia but backed out, overwhelmed by the seemingly endless paperwork and daunting burden of caring for a child who may be forever confined to a wheelchair.

It certainly wasn't a burden the Wilsons expected to take on. High school sweethearts who just turned 50, Brian and Jeri have three grown children. Both work full time. Brian is a contractor and Jeri a pharmacy tech at a local grocery store.

They epitomize the American middle class, with a simple home in a small suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. Devout Christians, they go to church every Sunday. They learned about JiaJia through fellow church members who adopted his best friend from the same foster home. The boys will soon be reunited. Their families live near each other in Missouri.

Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Jason opens a kitchen cupboard, December 9, 2016. His adoptive parents, Brian and Jeri Wilson, are building a new home that's wheelchair accessible. Hide Caption 1 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Jason has lunch with his classmates on December 9, 2016 at Sni-A-Bar Elementary, where he's a fourth grader. Hide Caption 2 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Jason's teacher says he was a little shy when he first started at the school but it didn't last long. Hide Caption 3 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Jason's English language teacher Adriana DeMonbrun says he chooses not to speak Chinese anymore, despite encouragement from teachers and his parents to embrace his heritage. Hide Caption 4 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Jason in the playground at his elementary school December 9, 2016. Hide Caption 5 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Jason and CNN's Will Ripley photographed on December 9, 2016. Ripley's report on Alenah's children's home in Beijing led to Jason's adoption. Hide Caption 6 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Jason's best buddy Jeremiah, right, was adopted by a neighboring family. He also happened to be Jason's best friend at the foster home. Hide Caption 7 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Jason's first photo with his adopted family. Hide Caption 8 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Jason's friends and nannies from Alenah's Home orphanage in Beijing throw a farewell party for him on January 9, 2016. In China, he was known as JiaJia. The signs read: "Farewell to JiaJia, going to his parents." This is the moment they've anticipated and dreaded; saying goodbye to a boy many at the home consider their older brother. Hide Caption 9 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US JiaJia cries as he says goodbye to the only family and home he's known for the past nine years. Hide Caption 10 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US For months, Brian and Jeri's only contact with Jason was through Skype chats. They longed to meet him in person, and got their chance in January 2016 after raising enough money to fly to Beijing and complete his adoption. Hide Caption 11 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US The Wilsons and JiaJia at the local Marriage Registration Office of Henan Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau. The couple waded through mountains of paperwork to adopt him into their family. Hide Caption 12 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Jeri and Brian comfort JiaJia after taking him out of the orphanage to see some of China. It was a big change for JiaJia, and something he'd been dreaming about for years. He told CNN in August 2015, "If I have parents, I can live. I can have a life." Hide Caption 13 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Brian Wilson carries JiaJia to a waiting van. The little boy suffers from spina bifida. Botched surgery left him paralyzed from the waist down. The Wilsons hope further surgeries can help correct some of his problems. Hide Caption 14 of 15 Photos: A new life for JiaJia in the US Sightseeing in China. Jiajia and the Wilsons visit Tiananmen Square in Beijing before the long trip back to Missouri. Hide Caption 15 of 15

After months of prayer, the Wilsons felt God had called upon them to adopt JiaJia, all the while knowing what a drastic life change it would be to care for a child confined to a wheelchair.

"He was my son. I could feel in my heart that he was my son," Jeri recalls.

Once they decided to move forward with the adoption, the family faced a major obstacle. They didn't have the $36,000 in adoption fees required to bring JiaJia home. Church fundraisers helped them to raise a fraction of the money they needed. But it wasn't nearly enough.

In August, I met JiaJia while shooting a story in Beijing about China's abandoned children. I was moved by his upbeat attitude and how he cared for the younger children in the foster home. They played, sang, and ate together. They were a family of children without parents. And JiaJia was their big brother.

Despite his outer strength, JiaJia's pain was evident in his voice as he explained to me why he so desperately wanted a family.

"If I have parents, I can live," he told me. "I can have a life."

Tears began streaming down his face. In seconds, I was crying too. And so was every member of our crew. We sat together, crying in silence. For a brief moment, we understood JiaJia's pain.

Adoption dreams granted

After his story aired on CNN, donations began pouring in from around the world. The Wilsons quickly set up a Go Fund Me page. In a matter of hours, they had exceeded their goal of $36,000 dollars. Most donations were between $25 and $50. The largest was $2,000. The smallest was $1.

Local news outlets in Kansas City picked up the story and more donations came flooding in. In total, 780 people from the U.S., Spain, Australia, Italy, Brazil, Canada, and China donated nearly $50,000.

"God had his hand in this whole thing," Brian Wilson says, calling the experience "overwhelming."

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The Wilsons continue to maintain their blog Facebook and Go Fund Me pages and have pledged to donate excess funds to help other families who are trying to adopt Chinese orphans.

"There are so many of them there who need families," Brian says.

The Wilsons bond with their son almost immediately.

Jeri rubs JiaJia's head. Brian whispers to him. They are his protectors. They will be his parents and love him forever, they tell him. Despite the language barrier, JiaJia seems to understand.

"As hard of a life as he's had these last nine years. I think he's getting a sense of how different it's going to be," Jeri says. "A lot of spoiling. I've got nine years to make up for."

JiaJia begins to smile and laugh. He cracks jokes. He rests his head on his mother and father. He holds their hands. In just a few days, he's already speaking more English. He has given his parents nicknames, "Big Monkey Dad" and "Big Cat Mom."

"It feels like we've been with him forever," Brian Wilson says. "We didn't know if we'd be able to communicate, but the communication has been great."

Bitter sweet farewell

Before he leaves Beijing, the orphanage throws a small party for JiaJia, who is leaving behind the only 'family' he's ever known for a new life, with a new family, in a place vastly different from the world he knows.

"I don't want him to leave," says nanny Huang Renqun. "But at the same time, I'm happy for him because he finally found a family. A perfect ending."

The younger children at Alenah's Home look up to JiaJia like a big brother. They shout his name as a sobbing and emotionally overwhelmed JiaJia is wheeled outside.

"Bye bye JiaJia," several of the younger children shout, waving as his bus slowly pulls away.

Everyone is crying happy tears. But it doesn't make saying goodbye any easier.

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Soon, JiaJia and his parents will make the 6,600-mile journey to Kansas City. Dozens of people will be waiting for him at the airport. JiaJia's new family, neighbors, and church members plan to gather and welcome him home.

"So many people are ready to embrace him, love him, and accept him for who he is," Jeri says.

"Everybody feels like they know him already," Brian adds.

In addition to his new life, he has also chosen a new, American name: Jason JiaJia Wilson.

UPDATE: JiaJia arrived at his new home in Kansas City over the weekend and is settling into life with the Wilsons. Here's the first family photo of the "Wilson 6," posted to Facebook.