The Special Care of Nancy Wasilowski

Nancy Wasilowski has 8 children, all adopted through the Minnesota Adoption Resources Network (MARN). She currently has 5 children living with her; Tony, Ian, India, Logan and Kennedy ranging from 15 years old to 2 years old and her 3 angels looking over their family; Sky, Analee and Paul. Nancy and her longtime partner, Morgan, whom she has been with for over 18 years, have adopted all 8 children and they love them as if they are their own. Each child requires constant care from Nancy, Morgan and several other nurses. Nancy understands that her children will not be with them for long, so she makes sure she enjoys every moment with them and strives to put a smile on each one of their faces.

Nancy has always enjoyed taking care of kids with special needs, dating all the way back to when she was in elementary school and would help out with the special needs children in her school. After graduating with a degree in psychology and business from St. Cloud State University, Nancy went on to work at a children’s home for 7 years working as a youth counselor for the children. Eventually her and her partner Morgan decided to run a home study to care for their children.

For the past 13 years, all 8 of her children have gone through Great Steps and John Held, C.O. Nancy had tried out other O&P facilities, but it wasn’t until she was referred to Great Steps that she found the right fit for her children. Whether it’s been helping get the right AFO’s, SMO’s, Helmets or other necessary equipment, John and the Great Steps staff have been there to help Nancy and her children along the way. Nancy stated, “John has a great attention to detail as opposed to other places.”

 

 

Our goal at Great Steps is to provide quality care to all of our patients in any way possible. This is another great thing Nancy loves about Great Steps. Having 8 children with disabilities, each one requires a different type of special care and whether it’s finding a solution to keep one child’s head facing straight or keeping another child from putting his fingers in his mouth, John and Great Steps have been very creative in assisting Nancy with her kids every need, “John thinks outside the box to come up with solutions for everything."

Nancy cares for her children more than anyone before her did and has seen the potential that they have that others previously wouldn’t acknowledge. The last thing on her mind is the money that is involved in adopting these children stating, “its not as expensive as some may think but regardless it’s a drop in a bucket to help these kids.”

When asked if she would see herself continuing to adopt more children, Nancy paused before saying, “If there is room in the house, room in our hearts, then there is room for some kids.”