SAN ANTONIO—Soon after William and Dana Ryann married, he battled cancer and underwent radiation, making natural conception unlikely. Since the couple wanted children, and she had been adopted herself, it didn’t take them long to decide to adopt.
In 2000, the Ryanns adopted newborn twin bi-racial boys, whom they named Aaron and Kevin. When the boys were only 5 months old, Mrs. Ryann found out against all odds that she was pregnant, and along came their biological daughter, Olivia.
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William and Dana Ryann are pictured with the judge who recently finalized their adoption of their second set of twins, Emilia and Simon. Previously, they had adopted Aaron and Kevin and had a biological daughter, Olivia. (BCFS PHOTO)
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When Olivia was 5 and the boys were 6, the Ryanns once more started talking about the possibility of adoption.
Ryann, an attorney who was doing work for Baptist Child & Family Services, suggested the agency as an option for their second adoption.
“To be honest, as bad as it sounds, I was hesitant about the idea of the troubles that some children might already have prior to coming into our home,” Mrs. Ryann said.
“But everyone at BCFS was so nice and honest, and they answered all of my questions openly.”
Last November, the family received a call about twins—a boy and a girl—whose mother had used heroin during pregnancy.
While they were hesitant about the idea of twins again, they knew from experience they could handle it and welcomed the babies into their home that same evening as foster children.
“Although it was difficult to explain to our other children why the babies might not be staying, we were shocked with how well they took to our new additions. They kissed and loved all over them as if they had been in our family forever,” Mrs. Ryann said.
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The adoption of the twins, Simon and Emilia, was finalized in May, and the babies have two 8-year-old brothers, a 7-year-old sister, and two loving parents.
“This has been a great experience for us. There’s always that fear in the beginning that it won’t work out, but looking back, I can see how everything fell into place perfectly,” Mrs. Ryann said.
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