Dakari brings joy to his new family

On Friday, we will celebrate National Adoption Month with adoption ceremonies for 13 children being welcomed into nine families. It’s one of our most special days.

 We’ll be introducing you to some of the families that will be adopting that day. Their stories will warm your heart.

The name Dakari comes from a Swahili word that means “joyous and happy.” That certainly fits the young man who joins the Kopulos family on Friday.

Tracy and Christopher Kopulos picked Dakari up from the hospital nearly two years ago, after he spent 10 days in intensive care. At first he just slept a lot, but with care and nurturing, he started to interact more.

“Slowly his personality came out and his personality is just one of complete joy,” Tracey said. “We had talked about changing his name, then we looked up what Dakari. We thought that was just so fitting to his personality. Any person that he comes in contact with comments on what a joy he is. He’s always laughing, he’s always having a good time.”

Dakari had some health issues and will need special care, but that was part of the deal when the Kopulos decided to be foster parents.

We had kind of made a decision ahead of time that we were pretty open to take in a child that had any kind of need and that most importantly needed a home to be in for a little while, a long while or forever,” Tracey said. “We had just decided to take what came and figure it out as we go.”

Dakari was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was a year old, but he is a fighter.

“There was a time when his physical therapist was telling us he would never walk unassisted,” Tracey said. “But he’s thrived so well in our home that he is walking all the time, unassisted.”

Christopher said bringing Dakari into their home was an exciting moment. One they had been preparing for for a long time.

He said the couples other two sons, ages 5 and 3, have welcomed Dakari as their brother from the start.

“Our middle child still refers to Dakari as his baby,” Christopher said.

This Friday’s adoption ceremony doesn’t change much for this family, but it still means a lot.

“From the day he came, he has been a part of our family. For us it’s a celebration,” Tracey said.  

“We’re all going to go out afterwards and have a big Skyline celebration because that’s Dakari’s favorite.”

by Ashley Woods

Filed Under: News

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