Grant Me Hope Success Story: Catching up with Nathan
Mississippi (WXXV)-If you’re a long-time viewer of WXXV News 25, you may remember a segment we use to air called Grant Me Hope.
That segment featured children in Mississippi up for adoption. One of those kids we featured is Nathan.
He was granted hope when he found his forever family a few years ago.
Dustin Kelly adopted Nathan last year, sharing with WXXV the experience of bringing home his new son.
“He came to stay for the day. We played games, hung out and went out to eat. After that it kind of clicked and fell into place,” said Kelly. “It went pretty smooth, the whole process. It’s all different steps you have to do.”
Nathan talked to us about the moment the adoption papers were signed, making it all official.
“It was exciting, a lot of people there congratulating me and proud of me because I made it that far. It is happy, a good thing,” said Nathan.
Nathan was 11 years old when his Grant Me Hope segment was filmed. He is now sixteen and remembers that day like it was yesterday.
“After school I got picked up and I went with a social worker and she took me to the video. It was fairly easy, we just did the video,” said Nathan. “They asked me questions and I told them the truth, what I think.”
Kelly says the segment helped him in the process of getting to know who Nathan was.
“Sometimes they don’t have pictures that are up to date or anything,” said Kelly. “Having the video and getting to hear his side of the story gave me an idea of what he is looking for.”
Kelly also says adoption has given Nathan the chance to job shadow and take part in experiences he did not know about previously.
In Nathan’s Grant Me Hope video, he talks about wanting to be a mechanic when he grows up. Kelly says that through these new experiences, Nathan now wants to become a chiropractor.
Meanwhile, Nathan says he sees an improvement in his life because of his adoption.
“I did a lot of improvement. It’s kind of different because of how I used to act and used to think, I definitely improved because I am happy about more things, willing to try new things and learn new things,” said Nathan.
Kelly wants people considering adoption to know this:
“It’s nerve wracking at first, you got to have a support system. Use your resources. Start the process because the longer you wait, that’s the less time you have with them and they are just sitting there waiting on somebody.”
Nathan also giving this advice to anything thinking about adoption:
“Definitely got to try it, you can definitely make someone happy.”
