Girl Has Been Living In The Hospital For A Year, Gets Adopted By This Guy Who Always Wanted To Be A Dad
Interview
Families come in all forms, shapes and sizes, and the true beauty behind it is that people thrive to bring in as much growth, support and well, pretty much all of the nicest things in the world. The laws and cultural taboos vary throughout continents and countries: for this young man, Pablo Fracchia, in Argentina, the journey to create the family he has always dreamt about was not the easiest one. As the LGBTQ+ community was on the rise of fighting for their rights, Pablo, who aspired so much to become a father, decided not to give up and to make that wish come true.
His inspiring story of determination and perseverance to become a parent no matter the obstacles can hopefully empower others to strive for their dreams and wellbeing that create happiness and community. Bored Panda got in touch with Pablo to talk about his journey.
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This is a picture of Pablo on his first day as a father to the adopted girl, Mia, who lived in a hospital for a year
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
Pablo, a social worker from the never sleeping Buenos Aires, Argentina, who is an avid LGBTQ+ activist and a former Red Cross volunteer, always wanted to become a father. Now, as you might imagine, as he was growing up through volatile political and cultural changes in the ’90s in South America, creating a family as a gay man was more than impossible. As a teenager, he already saw that there were two ways his story could pan out: carrying on being who he is, or giving up one of his dreams.
“I really enjoy working with communities and helping people in need, not only in a professional way, but also as a volunteer and an LGBTIQ+ activist. You could say that the idea of ‘service’ is something that covers every topic of my life.”
One of Pablo’s biggest dreams was to be a father and being a single gay guy in Argentina does not make the process of adoption easier
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
As he started working with the LGBTQ+ Federation of Argentina and joined the fight for human rights to establish marriage equality, he noticed a flash of hope. The change of marriage policies meant that he could slowly awaken the dream of having a kid. In 2017, Pablo had to go through therapy and a serious rethinking process and he decided to go after his ambition. Leaving the fear behind, Pablo filled out the necessary papers and started the adoption process.
Leaving fear and prejudices behind, Pablo filled out the paperwork and armed himself with patience, facing the long and uncertain process of adoption in Argentina
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
“Right now we are one of the most progressive countries in the world when it comes to LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, especially in the last 10 years, since we passed marriage equality, gender identity, abortion, and trans people’s protection laws. That was only a dream when I was a child, in a very Catholic country (hi Pope!), where I remember seeing the archbishop on the national public TV channel saying that every gay man should go and live on an island and stay away from good working people, and also the effects from the dictatorship (when it came to police raids on LGBTQ+ places) were a regular thing even after democracy was reestablished. So there is an absolute distance between my childhood and the current situation.”
Mia, at the time of adoption, had already spent one year living in a hospital
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
In 2019, after two years of waiting, he got a phone call from a family judge who told him about a little girl who, at the time, was one year and 10 months old and who was living in a hospital. The girl called Mia had a gastrointestinal condition and needed serious medical attention. Her biological family couldn’t provide it and the family court took the decision to send Mia to a sort of foster home/hospital—an institution for kids with health issues.
After receiving the phone call with the green light for adoption, Pablo was on his way to meet Mia the following day
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
The success of adoption heavily depends on the kindness, tolerance and understanding of the judge, and well, Pablo got lucky
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
The process of adoption in Argentina is not difficult, but definitely takes a long time, according to Pablo. In his province, the appointed family judge chooses the parent and is the one deciding whether the person can adopt the child. The success of adoption heavily depends in the kindness, tolerance, and understanding of the judge who would agree that a gay single man is a good choice to be a parent for a child.
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
It turned out that judge was objective enough to pick Pablo’s application, regardless of all the outdated preconceptions
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
Besides Pablo, there were 4 couples who were shortlisted for the evaluation of adopting Mia. The young man considered his chances of being chosen to be a foster parent as quite slim. It turned out that judge was objective enough to pick Pablo regardless of all the typical prejudices.
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
The next day, Pablo was on his way to the hospital to meet little Mia. Pablo recalled the first time meeting the baby girl brought into the room by a nurse who handed her to him. After that, they started to play, and well, they have not left each other since. Pablo, however, had to give up his volunteering at the Red Cross and non-profit humanitarian missions he was involved in as they required too much time away from home. It was tough for him to leave the Red Cross as he spent most of his life volunteering and living by its principles. It was extremely hard, but worth the sacrifice for his dream of being a father coming true.
Pablo gave up his volunteering and work for humanitarian missions to dedicate as much time to his daughter as he can
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
“If I have to use two words to describe Mia, it would be ‘resilience’ and ‘power.’ This girl survived in every single possible way as she had a rough start in her health, with a lot of challenges and she fought and faced them alone at only months of age. And now she is a 100% healthy kid like everyone else,” shared Pablo.
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
Image credits: Pablo Fracchia
Pablo also highlighted how important it is to follow and fight for your dream, who you truly are, and what you stand for. “MEET OTHERS LIKE YOU. ORGANIZE. FIGHT FOR YOUR DREAM. The status quo can only be broken when we organize with people struggling with similar issues and start showing the injustices we live with to the public eye. It’s still illegal to be gay in almost 70 countries. Some of them even include the death penalty. So hang in there and organize.”
Let us know in the comments below your thoughts and experiences of adoption and whether this story gave you hope and determination to pursue your dream!
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n-no, your just sweating out of your eyes, like me,,
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„ The girl called Mia had a gastrointestinal condition and needed serious medical attention. Her biological family couldn’t provide it and the family court took the decision to send Mia to a sort of foster home/hospital—an institution for kids with health issues.“ - WHY DIDN‘T THEY SUPPORT THE PARENTS SO THAT SHE COULD STAY WITH HER REAL FAMILY?? I do support gay people adopting children. I don’t understand taking children out of their homes because they’re poor.
Hi Stephanie and everyone! This is Pablo from the story. Let me first say that I totally agree with you on removing kids from families just based on their economic income. As a Social Worker I'm aware that in many places that is something very common. In Argentina Child Protective laws specifically prohibit to take a kid away from a family based exclusively on their income or social class. I can assure you and everyone posting that in our story, this was NOT the case. For reasons I decided not to mention to protect Mia's privacy and dignity, the family court had to make the decision of including her in the adoption list. What I can tell you is that the Child Protective Service here took her case when she was a newborn (4 days) and they worked for almost a year with her family to think of different strategies to guarantee a safe, caring and healthy development for Mia, and they couldn't succeed. After that the decision to look for adoptive parents was taken. Cheers!
Load More Replies...
Two main things that a child needs to grow up is stability and love. Sometimes it is hard to provide stability so that your child has routine and knows what to expect... life throws crap at you (like Covid)... but as long as you do your best, and you let them know that they are loved, then that's the best foundation you can provide. This man looks like he can do that, so all the best to him!
The adoration on new daddy's face in that first photo - that little girl is going to want for nothing.
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What about her biological family that is mentioned? "Her biological family couldn’t provide it and the family court took the decision to send Mia to a sort of foster home/hospital"
Hi Janine! For reasons I decided not to mention to protect Mia's privacy and dignity, the family court had to make the decision of including her in the adoption list. What I can tell you is that the Child Protective Service here took her case when she was a newborn (4 days) and they worked for almost a year with her family to think of different strategies to guarantee a safe, caring and healthy development for Mia, and they couldn't succeed. After that the decision to find for adoptive parents was taken. Cheers!
Load More Replies...
That little girl is so loved! The judge did the right thing. Congrats, Pablo + Mia!
Looks like the perfect FAMILY to me! Congrats to both on finding each other. And no, I'm not teary eyed. Dust, there's dust floating around.
I love this story and I'm so happy for the both of them and so pleased the judge was unbiased. There are so many good people in the world.
This is wonderful, and dare I say a great step forward for Argentina, which is not the most accepting of the LGBTQ+ community in many facets of society.
I don't agree argentina has been leading the region in lgbtq rights for quite some time now. Civil Union rights in 2002, same sex marriage and adoption rights in 2010. Gender change without hormone treatment for quite a while now. Not perfect but a good example of where every country should be heading. Also a high rated destination for lgbtq tourism
Load More Replies...
That is a daddy's girl for the rest of her life. The love is pouring through.
Thank you for making a difference. This goes out to Pablo *and* the judge.
He doesn't have to quit, just take a break and use those ideals to teach that beautiful girl and start doing Red Cross activities together as she gets older.
Well, that is certainly and idea that has come to my mind SEVERAL TIMES. And it would be a dream come true. Thanks! Pablo.
Load More Replies...
"Girl Who Lived In a Hospital For A Year Gets Adopted By Single Gay Who Always Wanted To Be A Dad"... am I the only one who noticed there's a noun missing? Surely Pablo is a "...Single Gay Man..." Will assume it's an honest omission. Or maybe "Gay" was meant to be "Guy"?
This is so sweet! I hope someday I can adopt and become a parent... hopfully with a wife
I'm just preparing some popcorn for all the "this comment is hidden" comments.
Love the story though. She's in good hand right now with a bright future ahead of her. God Bless
Such a sweet story. I'm very happy that the judge was objective in their decision. I wish Pablo and Mia nothing but all the very best life has to offer. May their father and daughter love and bond grow stronger each day.
I can’t stop the liquid oozing out my eyes... this is love. His heart is so pure and full. Mia is gorgeous and a fighter and with an amazing dad in Pablo, she will continue to become the strongest most secure girl! I love this story and the judge deserves major props for knowing Pablo and Mia were destiny !
Glad they changed the title to the article. There was no need to label the man as single or gay.
Breaking many of the traditional taboos. A lone parent, being male and being gay. All that matters is finding someone who is GOOD and can look after the child well. So many fathers bail on there responsibilities and keep fathering children whilst men like this have every obstacle put in their way..
I sincerely hope all works out well for little Mia and her new father.
I'd like to know the detailed reasoning why the judge prefered single man before those couples... don't get me wrong, I support adoption by anyone who is financially stable and capable of providing loving home to the child, regardless their gender, sexual orientation or marital status... honestly I don't have trust in so called "traditional family"... but - and that might be just my prejudice - I've never considered Argentina (or any other South American country for that matter) to be exatly "progressive" kind of society... so if the judge decided solely on the basis of who is the best fit to the girl it might set good example and good precedent to other similar cases all over the world
This is beautiful, truly! Giving people a better life is An amazing thing, it want just them he wanted a father but he wanted to be able to watch over someone. This seems cringe to me but I just watched a movie thst made me emotional and not I feel inspirational lol
n-no, your just sweating out of your eyes, like me,,
Load More Replies... „ The girl called Mia had a gastrointestinal condition and needed serious medical attention. Her biological family couldn’t provide it and the family court took the decision to send Mia to a sort of foster home/hospital—an institution for kids with health issues.“ - WHY DIDN‘T THEY SUPPORT THE PARENTS SO THAT SHE COULD STAY WITH HER REAL FAMILY?? I do support gay people adopting children. I don’t understand taking children out of their homes because they’re poor.
Hi Stephanie and everyone! This is Pablo from the story. Let me first say that I totally agree with you on removing kids from families just based on their economic income. As a Social Worker I'm aware that in many places that is something very common. In Argentina Child Protective laws specifically prohibit to take a kid away from a family based exclusively on their income or social class. I can assure you and everyone posting that in our story, this was NOT the case. For reasons I decided not to mention to protect Mia's privacy and dignity, the family court had to make the decision of including her in the adoption list. What I can tell you is that the Child Protective Service here took her case when she was a newborn (4 days) and they worked for almost a year with her family to think of different strategies to guarantee a safe, caring and healthy development for Mia, and they couldn't succeed. After that the decision to look for adoptive parents was taken. Cheers!
Load More Replies... Two main things that a child needs to grow up is stability and love. Sometimes it is hard to provide stability so that your child has routine and knows what to expect... life throws crap at you (like Covid)... but as long as you do your best, and you let them know that they are loved, then that's the best foundation you can provide. This man looks like he can do that, so all the best to him!
The adoration on new daddy's face in that first photo - that little girl is going to want for nothing.
Load More Replies... What about her biological family that is mentioned? "Her biological family couldn’t provide it and the family court took the decision to send Mia to a sort of foster home/hospital"
Hi Janine! For reasons I decided not to mention to protect Mia's privacy and dignity, the family court had to make the decision of including her in the adoption list. What I can tell you is that the Child Protective Service here took her case when she was a newborn (4 days) and they worked for almost a year with her family to think of different strategies to guarantee a safe, caring and healthy development for Mia, and they couldn't succeed. After that the decision to find for adoptive parents was taken. Cheers!
Load More Replies... That little girl is so loved! The judge did the right thing. Congrats, Pablo + Mia!
Looks like the perfect FAMILY to me! Congrats to both on finding each other. And no, I'm not teary eyed. Dust, there's dust floating around.
I love this story and I'm so happy for the both of them and so pleased the judge was unbiased. There are so many good people in the world.
This is wonderful, and dare I say a great step forward for Argentina, which is not the most accepting of the LGBTQ+ community in many facets of society.
I don't agree argentina has been leading the region in lgbtq rights for quite some time now. Civil Union rights in 2002, same sex marriage and adoption rights in 2010. Gender change without hormone treatment for quite a while now. Not perfect but a good example of where every country should be heading. Also a high rated destination for lgbtq tourism
Load More Replies... That is a daddy's girl for the rest of her life. The love is pouring through.
Thank you for making a difference. This goes out to Pablo *and* the judge.
He doesn't have to quit, just take a break and use those ideals to teach that beautiful girl and start doing Red Cross activities together as she gets older.
Well, that is certainly and idea that has come to my mind SEVERAL TIMES. And it would be a dream come true. Thanks! Pablo.
Load More Replies... "Girl Who Lived In a Hospital For A Year Gets Adopted By Single Gay Who Always Wanted To Be A Dad"... am I the only one who noticed there's a noun missing? Surely Pablo is a "...Single Gay Man..." Will assume it's an honest omission. Or maybe "Gay" was meant to be "Guy"?
This is so sweet! I hope someday I can adopt and become a parent... hopfully with a wife
I'm just preparing some popcorn for all the "this comment is hidden" comments.
Love the story though. She's in good hand right now with a bright future ahead of her. God Bless
Such a sweet story. I'm very happy that the judge was objective in their decision. I wish Pablo and Mia nothing but all the very best life has to offer. May their father and daughter love and bond grow stronger each day.
I can’t stop the liquid oozing out my eyes... this is love. His heart is so pure and full. Mia is gorgeous and a fighter and with an amazing dad in Pablo, she will continue to become the strongest most secure girl! I love this story and the judge deserves major props for knowing Pablo and Mia were destiny !
Glad they changed the title to the article. There was no need to label the man as single or gay.
Breaking many of the traditional taboos. A lone parent, being male and being gay. All that matters is finding someone who is GOOD and can look after the child well. So many fathers bail on there responsibilities and keep fathering children whilst men like this have every obstacle put in their way..
I sincerely hope all works out well for little Mia and her new father.
I'd like to know the detailed reasoning why the judge prefered single man before those couples... don't get me wrong, I support adoption by anyone who is financially stable and capable of providing loving home to the child, regardless their gender, sexual orientation or marital status... honestly I don't have trust in so called "traditional family"... but - and that might be just my prejudice - I've never considered Argentina (or any other South American country for that matter) to be exatly "progressive" kind of society... so if the judge decided solely on the basis of who is the best fit to the girl it might set good example and good precedent to other similar cases all over the world
This is beautiful, truly! Giving people a better life is An amazing thing, it want just them he wanted a father but he wanted to be able to watch over someone. This seems cringe to me but I just watched a movie thst made me emotional and not I feel inspirational lol
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