Debbie Sarich, a pediatric physical therapist, said, “All of a sudden, it fell into place that I would grow my family by adopting children with special needs.”
Debbie Sarich, a pediatric physical therapist, had always desired to have a large family, so as her 40th birthday approached, she made the decision to research adoption. She now cares for seven special needs children who are adopted from all over the world.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Sarich says, “It just fell into place that I would grow my family by adopting kids with special needs.” She could understand it because she worked with such kids as part of her job. She continues, “I do that every day and I love it.”
I have dedicated my life to providing physical treatment for these kids, so why not welcome them into my heart and home as well? She continues.
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With the help of her daughters Sadee, 12, Kaitlyn, 15, Lucy, 19, and Krasimira, and boys Tray, 12, Sergio, 16, and Evan, 15, Sarich set out on her first of many international adoption journeys.
She now shares a home outside of Houston with her children, who were born in Guatemala, Russia, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, and China. There are also seven dogs, two cats, three aquatic turtles, and a fish tank.
The 56-year-old Sarich said, “It’s extremely entertaining. The 56-year-old Sarich said, “It’s extremely entertaining. “I love having a large family and the closeness that comes with having many siblings.” One of Sarich’s four daughters uses a wheelchair and has cerebral palsy. Tray is one son who wears a prosthetic limb.
School, competitive sports, and Sarich’s profession at Texas Children’s Hospital are what keep him busy every day. Sarich acknowledges, “It’s a little insane. An average day starts with a 5:30 a.m. wake-up, followed by breakfast, feeding the dogs, doing hair, giving out medicine, and boarding one of the special needs buses that pull up to the family’s driveway.
“Depending on the day, some kids use wheelchairs, some use crutches, and some use walkers, but I have to make sure who’s doing what this time,” said the teacher.
She makes an effort to start the day without incident, but occasionally things don’t go quite as planned. She explains, “I occasionally have to drive one of my high schooler lads who missed their bus.
She works at Texas Children’s Hospital, where several of her kids get physical, occupational, or speech therapy. On some days, they travel with their mother: “And then after three hours, I clock out of work for an hour and drive them to school, and then they come back to work.” Sarich, who is renowned for her sensitivity, attends to her patients in between.
Jay Mennel, a physical therapist and the hospital’s rehabilitation manager, claims that Debbie “has a huge heart.” She has a great deal of sympathy for both her job and her children.
Mennel adds that Sarich’s unique perspective comes from her experience as a mother of special needs children: “I think she is just an amazing clinician, an amazing mom.”
Sarich, a former competitive field hockey player at Ohio University, has passed along her passion for sports to her children, who participate in parasports that lead up to the Paralympics.
“I really want them competing in sport to give them goals and have them feel confident about their abilities,” adds Sarich. And it has had a tremendously great impact on the lives of my children.
Getting to and from practices makes for busy after-school hours and weekends, as it does for any parents of young athletes. Sarich, who takes delight in witnessing how much sports matter to her family, says, “But honestly, they enjoy it. “It’s really fantastic for them because they say, ‘Oh, I never thought I’d be able to race or run. They gain such confidence as a result, she continues.
Although the children come from various origins, they “all get along great” and have harmoniously assimilated into one enormous, devoted Texas family. The flurry of activity Is a fun aspect of it, according to the eternal mom. I simply adore it, says Sarich. And I consider it to be lovely and magical. What will happen when her children grow up and go on? Will Sarich expand her family with more kids?
