Karli Moch and her husband Taylor were high school sweethearts with a big dream of having a large family. But after having one son, Moch began experiencing medical issues that would ultimately take away her fertility and send the couple down the path of adoption.
On Christmas 2017, Moch was in the hospital receiving treatment for ulcerative colitis and eventually spent a year in and out of the hospital, leaving Taylor and their son Dawson at home. Watching them leave the hospital without her on Christmas broke her heart.
“This is where I truly fell on my face and hit rock bottom,” she said. “I just sobbed for hours.” Dealing with intense pain, she turned to prayer. “That day, I hit my knees, begging God for a chance to be the parent I’d always dreamed of. ‘If you give me a chance, I will walk through every door you open.'”
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As her health improved and she and Taylor began talking about having more children, doctors told her that due to her health issues, she would not be able to conceive and carry another baby.
“It was like, ‘God, what else can you take from me?'” she said.
It was now January 2019, and the couple began to discuss the possibility of adoption. Though it could be years before a child was placed with them, the adoption agency explained that if they used unconventional methods they might be able to adopt sooner. So the couple created a Facebook page and a website and were matched with a woman who was having a baby boy in February 2020. They met with her just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Baby Simon was born in June 2020, in the middle of the pandemic.
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“He’s like the piece of the puzzle we never knew we needed,” said Moch. “While we’re pretty chill, he has no fear. He’s going to take us on adventures we never would have known otherwise.”
Her health issues also led her to change her career, leaving a big corporation to start The Dream Project, through which she offers life coaching. She speaks to workplace staff and college athletes. In her talks, she often supports individuals facing infertility or unplanned pregnancy and encourages adoption when possible. But she is quick to note that adoption is not about the adults. “It’s about God’s plan for this child.”
“There are no accidental children,” she said. “There might be accidental parents at a season in life, but not accidental children. Placing a child for adoption with a different family is “one of the most selfless acts I’ve ever witnessed.”
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