Dang Son was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate and abandoned outside an orphanage in Hai Duong. His life turned into a new page when a foreign man from Ireland wanted to adopt Son from the moment he first saw the baby in pictures.
John Hennigan, an English teacher at British Vietnamese International School (BVIS) Hanoi, recalled that moment: “It was heart-wrenching when seeing the baby’s incomplete smile. I immediately realized that he was the child I wanted to adopt,”
The first time they met was the day Dang Son was taken to the Vietnam – Cuba Friendship Hospital for his first surgery to repair the cleft lip in the program of Operation Smile Vietnam. Having undergone various surgeries for Dang Son and a complicated four-month process, adopting Dang Son was indeed a journey showing the unfailing determination of John: “In my life, I have never done anything as difficult as adopting Liam. The biggest hurdle was trying to prove I was capable and deserved to become a candidate to adopt, and in the past, I used to obtain an objection letter from Ireland.”
The miracle finally happened in June 2021, Dang Son with the new name Liam, was officially adopted by his father John Hennigan, and started a happier, more loving, and brighter life.
It’s not usual when you hear of a foreigner adopting a child born with facial deformities. But it happened and sent the message to people to keep believing in the miracles in this life. Maybe you will be the one to make the change, who creates heart-touching stories when you never stop loving.