No, she doesn’t have a newborn. But alongside Micah, their six-year-old biological son, Hannah and her husband Paul do have Theo and Navaneeth, two adopted sons with major special needs. That various bodily fluids in abundance are just part of the daily package is a fact no one really emphasized to the Chestertons before their adoptions in 2021 and 2023. Or at least they didn’t truly quite comprehend its ensuing intensity. 

“Some days feel like we’re running a mini hospital unit,” says Hannah, a 30-something assistant professor. “Mornings start with meds through both boys’ G-tubes, catheterizing one, ostomy care for the other, diaper changes, fresh clothes, then packing their medical supplies and getting their wheelchairs for school.” 

Evenings are equally chaotic. Music blares (lots of Disney and dubstep) while Micah dances around his brothers’ room. Hannah and Paul, a late-40s web developer, get their two oldest set up for the night, including their overnight feeds via J-tubes. 

It wasn’t always like this, of course. Before adopting 11-year-old Theo from Ukraine, it was “just” Hannah, Paul and Micah. Several members of Hannah’s family had adopted children, and she and Paul had been discussing the possibility for themselves ever since falling in love. Plus, Hannah is Indian and was raised in the United Kingdom, so a multicultural family seemed natural. 

But it wasn’t until they saw a Facebook post with Nav’s photo that the possibility became real to the couple. As cute as “Zack” in India was, they felt drawn to Ukraine, finding another adoptable boy to pursue. Another family came for him first, however, and the Chestertons matched with a different potential son. Hannah even met him in Ukraine. But the adoption fell through. 

Hannah flew back to Kyiv to meet “Ravi” instead. His profile spoke of an unknown genetic condition and a boy who loved windows and had once been able to scoot around his bed. 

“Paul and I kept returning to his photos: his bright, curious eyes,” Hannah remembers. “We felt we could be a great fit for him, and here we are four years later.” 

That boy turned out to be Theo, and he was in rough shape when he first got home to Maryland. At the age of 11, he weighed less than 20 pounds and wouldn’t grasp objects. He could barely move and refused to let anyone touch his hands and feet. And as Hannah and Paul quickly came to realize, he was almost always in some sort of pain. His daily crying and constant grunting broke Hannah’s heart. 

But then a swallow study revealed that he couldn’t safely eat anything with his mouth. Having a G/J-tube, with feeds through the J-port, made a huge difference, and Theo, now a quiet, observant 15-year-old who loves nature, tickles and music, began gaining weight and moving around. Today, he tips the scale at 53 pounds and reaches for the hands of those whom he loves and trusts, pressing them against his cheek. 

“More recently he had colon surgery and now has an ostomy bag, which has brought huge relief!” Hannah says. “Another procedure may still be ahead, but now he is noticing things around him in a way he hasn’t before. I look over and see a huge smile on his face!” 

Even amidst Theo’s medical mayhem, the Chestertons hadn’t forgotten about Navaneeth. The nine-year-old was living in one of Sarah’s Covenant Homes, a ministry serving disabled children and adults around India, and with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, he certainly fit the bill. With his good looks and charming smile, Hannah was shocked that no one had made him their son yet. 

Maybe we could be his family, she thought. Indeed they could, even getting to stay in a Delhi location Hannah had often visited as a child. 

“Nav was very smiley and excited! He was clearly bonded to the people around him,” says Hannah. “Although he was eager to join our family, the first few days alone with us were understandably very hard for him.” 

Nav desperately missed his native country, friends and special caregiver when he became an American. But all that paled in comparison to the health challenges that swooped in four months later. A few days before Thanksgiving in 2023, the newest Chesterton was rush to the hospital with multiple seizures. When he regained consciousness two days later, he hallucinated and was completely disoriented, in a state of septic shock. He had, doctors concluded, COVID-induced autoimmune encephalitis. A hospital room became his home for three months, with frequent emergency room visits for the next six. Nav, now 11, missed several holidays and birthdays. 

The reality: Navaneeth now has permanent brain damage and white-matter loss. Hannah calls him a “different kid” than the one they adopted, citing memory loss, brain fog, social struggles and communication difficulties. 

Even so, the preteen boy hasn’t lost his smile, nor his “social butterfly” personality. 

“Nav is incredibly positive and upbeat. He adores school, mostly because he loves being around people. He’s less enthusiastic about schoolwork, but his teacher is great at keeping him on task,” his mother says. “Nav loves superheroes, especially the show Spidey and Friends. He shares his younger brother’s passion for dinosaurs, I think mainly so they can connect and play together.” 

That’s another spoke in the Chesterton wheel: Micah’s extreme love for his brothers. 

“The bond between Nav and Micah is beautiful. They genuinely care for each other, and Micah is the one kid Nav connects with easily, and Micah is very patient with him (for a 5-year-old, anyway!),” Hannah says. “Nav loves telling everyone about his brother Micah.” Theo, meanwhile, always smiles when Micah is around. 

Those bright spots keep Paul and Hannah moving forward, especially through Nav’s “relentlessly exhausting” medical crisis. Some days, the family could barely keep moving. Thankfully, they are developing a village of special needs families who show up at the hospital, play with the children, encourage each other and provide for practical needs (like a ramp for Nav’s wheelchair at the house). 

Hannah considers Reece’s Rainbow to be part of their community, too. 

“The group gives me a community that truly gets it,” she says. “There are people who understand how unpredictable adoption is, especially when children come from neglect and have complex medical needs. Reece’s Rainbow has helped me feel supported and less alone!”

Less alone — because fending off the loneliness is a constant task. People often misunderstand the Chestertons’ lives and motivations. Family lives far away. Money seems to go poof the moment it’s earned. It’s all part of the “beauty and brutality” of adoption, a concept that resonates with Hannah. 

And it’s all incredibly worth it, in her opinion. 

“Every child should be in a safe, loving family. Family is not just biological!” Hannah says. “This life we’ve chosen is worth it because Theo and Nav are both alive and able to thrive.” 

And that’s a truth she’ll share with herself and anyone else, at 3 a.m. and forever.