Reece’s Rainbow Report #62: Kuecker Family

On a recent sunshine-filled day, Chitti Kuecker’s thick black hair was baking in the sunlight on her family’s boat. Her adoptive mother noticed, dousing a towel with water and placing it on her daughter’s forehead. 

“Ahhhh,” Chitti sighed in relief. Katie and Aaron Kuecker couldn’t help but giggle — but they also knew it was the perfect sound to describe Chitti’s journey from a young teenager waiting for a family in an Indian orphanage to a treasured 17-year-old Nebraskan daughter. 

“Our biggest joy is Chitti!” says Katie, a 30-year-old special education teacher. “We love this girl more than we even knew possible, and we can’t imagine life without her.” 

It was Chitti, in fact, who found her way into Katie’s heart before Aaron — or at least the idea of her. The couple was only on their second date when Katie informed her new beau that she was pursuing adoption as a single woman of a child with major special needs from India. 

Aaron was unphased. His younger sister has disabilities, leading to a high level of comfort with differently-abled children. The couple stayed together throughout Katie’s adoption process, culminating with both 14-year-old Chitti’s adoption in 2021 and marriage the following year. 

“Honestly, the process itself may be the biggest challenge,” Katie says. “Waiting for your child to be home for two and a half years is very challenging.” 

Yet it’s a challenge the couple is once again tackling as they are in-process to adopt another daughter from India. The country and culture — not to mention its waiting children — are simply too vibrant and beautiful to not fall in love with, the Kueckers think.

“I absolutely love India and all the time I have spent there,” Katie says. “Everyone I met was so kind and helpful."

And she certainly needed help in those initiation days of motherhood. With cerebral palsy and epilepsy, Chitti’s care came with a steep learning curve. Not only was Katie a first-time mom and Aaron a first-time dad, they were first-time parents to a teenaged stranger with multiple medical challenges. What were her likes and dislikes? Was Chitti successfully bonding to Katie and Aaron, a 30-year-old high school math teacher? What was going through her brain? Were they doing enough?

Thankfully, both sets of grandparents were around to help with advice, a listening ear and practical assistance. And gradually, day by day, the mountain of doctor visit and hospital appointments became manageable. Her care became more routine — not really so different than any other new parents and child, just slightly modified. And the Kueckers began learning what Chitti thought about any given situation or person by watching her body language, vocalizations and facial expressions. 

The soon deduced that Chitti’s smile was the best reward for any task — or for simply being with her. She started gaining more spoken language, new skills at physical therapy, a solid circle of friends and increased ways to express herself. Her loving, silly side blossomed under her new family’s care, leading Chitti to join an adapted cheerleading team and become the proud owner of an adapted tricycle — not to mention a boat through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

“She loves dancing, singing and to spend time outside in the sun,” Katie confirms. Even when it gets a touch too hot, apparently, as evidenced by her recent boat ride and new relief sound she had never made before. 

No worries. She’s got an entire community around her now that will rush to alleviate any irritation and meet any need Chitti has. 

“People often tell us how much they love watching how happy she is,” Katie says. “She has the best smile in the world!” 

The Kueckers are hoping to get a glimpse of another certain smile in less than two years: that of their new Indian daughter. They have not been matched yet but are hoping for a girl who was listed on Reece’s Rainbow. If not her, then the newest Kuecker will definitely still have multiple medical needs. 

“I wish people would know that it is okay and normal to go into an adoption of a kid with medical needs not knowing all the medical things,” says Katie. “It is okay to not know how to use a feeding pump, or how to [catheterize] a child, or what parts to order for a wheelchair. You can and will learn! There will be other families, just like there was and is for us still, that will take time to help and teach you.” 

One of those lessons? That you can still lead a beautiful, meaningful, even adventurous life with a child with intense medical challenges. 

“We are still able to take vacations to the beach, travel internationally, hike, swim and more!” Katie says. “We may have to think about things a little differently than other families, but we are always on the go and finding new ways for Chitti to get involved in different activities.”

Because that’s what you do for someone you love. 

“The joy that Chitti brings to our family far surpasses any challenge, financial burden, medical need or even the adoption process itself,” Katie says. “We feel so lucky that we get to watch her grow up and our lives are forever changed by her (and our next child too!).” 

An eternal, internal “Ahhhh,” you could say, exhaled by an entire family finding cool relief from life’s scorching in the gift of each other.