What a bigot you are. Seriously what a bigot you are. You see a photo- and then you tell us that these guys are refusing any girls?
What a fucking bigot you are.
'those most vulnerable' are handicapped kids abandoned by the biological mothers and fathers- you know the ones you keep saying are the only ones who should be raising their kids.
And the family I showed you? The ones you are calling predators? Really- how can any decent human being call these human being predators? These guys have so much more guts than I do! And you call them 'predators'
Gay foster carers: 'I love every minute of it'
This all makes the Hastings household presided over by David Upjohn and Andrew Daniels somewhat unusual. David, 59, and Andrew, 47, are foster carers and have also been adoptive parents.
They have been together in a relationship for 24 years, and before they became full-time carers, Andrew taught at a school for children with special needs, and David worked in adult social care.
They first fostered 18 years ago. Then, the idea of two men adopting a child was uncommon, which is partly what led them to foster when, due to Andrew's experience with children with special needs, they were asked if they would look after a boy with severe disabilities. "He wasn't expected to live to his first birthday, although he eventually lived until he was seven and a half," says Andrew.
The death of a child will always be traumatic, but Andrew and David felt compelled to continue.
"He'd taught us so much and we'd developed so many skills … we thought, we can't just leave it. We've got to do something with this knowledge. That's when we decided to carry on fostering children with profound disabilities and terminal conditions."
The couple contacted Credo Care, an organisation that specialises in disability foster placements. Shortly after, Armand arrived.
"He arrived in March, 10 years ago," explains David. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, six-year-old Armand had lived in hospital for most of his short life. A wheelchair user, he has severe learning disabilities, a tracheotomy and is fed through a Peg [percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy].
"He came to us when he was six and was the first one to arrive. Four months later, we had an emergency phone call, asking us if we'd take a boy from Derby. Luke arrived that afternoon. He was 12 and had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In those days he could shuffle around, but now, he's totally … well, the disease has got hold of his body. He's 22 now. He's a great lad, he really is. He's brilliant."
A couple of months after Luke joined the household, the couple were asked to take Steven, who was five and had cerebral palsy and learning difficulties. They have looked after the three boys ever since. Two years ago, they adopted a little girl. Sadly, she wasn't well and didn't live long.
"We had 17 wonderful months," says David. "She was three when she died. It was just 10 days after the adoption was completed, and it was very sudden, so … we haven't gone down that road again," he adds, choosing his words carefully to describe what must have been a devastating experience.
The latest addition to the household arrived earlier this year. Three-year-old Emma is immobile, has limited vision and breathes via a tracheotomy, but appears to be thriving in their care.
"She's making huge progress," says Andrew. "She was in a place in Surrey, where she had lots of different people working with her. She couldn't make connections with people. Now she just has two voices that she hears all the time – the same people caring for her. And we have the luxury of spending time with her."
