Kevin and Dominique Gill weren’t really looking to adopt a child, but they wanted to bring a foster care child into their family. However, in 2018, the couple, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, met a young boy named Andrew who changed everything they ever believed about family. Despite the traumatized boy’s attempts to keep to himself and push people away, the Gill family fell in love with Andrew. He had been shuffled around the foster care system for more than four years, and his biological parents lost their parental rights when the boy was only six years old. Andrew had four siblings who got adopted quickly.
However, Andrew seemed destined to wait, or not be adopted at all. However, when he was 10 years old, he met the Gills and they changed his life. Dominique said in an interview with Today that Andrew didn’t want to let people get close to him. Foster care is a rough life, even in the best circumstances. She said that in his first week with the family, he stayed in his bedroom looking at old photos, not wanting to talk or interact with the family. She said that when people read his file, they were scared away, but Kevin and Dominque didn’t see a scary kid. They saw a traumatized child.
Things changed in the family one day when Kevin and Dominique’s son, Joc, invited Andrew to play some video games. Andrew agreed, and it wasn’t long before the boys bonded over their shared enthusiasm for gaming. They also both have an appetite for Pop-Tarts, as it turns out. Over the next few months, the boys’ friendship grew and Andrew started slowly coming out of his shell. In the last two years, Andrew has become a member of the family in every way, and after two other foster families failed to adopt him after trying to, the Gills were finally successful.
Last June, the family surprised Andrew by wearing t-shirts that said, “Will you be my brother” and “Will you be my son.” Andrew was delighted to say yes and he has officially joined the family. Watch the video below to see their story. Dominique says, “Love doesn’t have a color.”
