Couple Adopts 7 Siblings Whose Parents Die in Car Crash

• Seven kids lost their parents in a car accident and had to live in a foster home.
• Their foster parents finally adopted them in a moving ceremony.
• Pam and Gary Willis see it as a second chance at parenting while for the children, they are their second Mom and Dad.

---

When Pam Willis saw a Facebook post of seven siblings in need of a home, she immediately wanted to foster them.

The mother of five children who were now adults, Pam told her husband her wishes and Gary felt the same way.  Shortly after, they called the number in the post.

They found out during the screening process that the children lived with their parents who struggled with addiction. They lived in encampments for the homeless and barely had food to eat.  Then tragedy struck, they lost their parents in a car crash.

Pam and Gary were matched with Adelino, 15, Ruby, 13, Aleecia, 9, Anthony, 8, Aubriella, 7, Leo, 5, and Xander, 4, two months later.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pam Willis (@second.chance.7)

Pam said, “It was easy to connect with the little ones. They were just desperately craving permanency.” But the other older two needed a little work.

Pam added, “I think they didn’t quite trust that we were real. Like maybe we were going to go away. I think it’s so hard to trust when so much has been taken from your life. Ruby didn’t know how to be a kid. She had to be a mother figure at a very young age.”

Lack of sleep and frequent nightmares were common in their first six months at their new home.  Pam recalled one incident when the 7-year-old came into their room just to make sure they were still there.

But Pam and Gary are in for the long haul as they adopted all the 7 kids.  Their adult children even attended the ceremony and welcomed their new siblings.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pam Willis (@second.chance.7)

Pam said that it was awesome. “We brought a big TV screen out to the park so everybody could watch and cheer and be safe during COVID. There was so much love.”

Pam posted an Instagram video entitled “Our life in 15 seconds!” that caught the attention of Actor Kristen Bell. Bell was touched by the post that she included it in her story.

Pam can only say, “They’ve given us a second chance at parenting, we’ve given them a second Mom and Dad. They are our Second Chance 7.”

Source: Today