A single dad is being hailed as a ‘hero’ in England after he opened his home to five special children.
35-year-old Ben Carpenter wanted to adopt only one child when he was 21, but now has adopted five children with different health conditions.
His children, Jack, 11, Ruby, 8, Lily, 6, Joseph, 3, and Noah, 1, all have complex needs, from autism to Pierre Robin syndrome.
His son Jack has autism, Noah has Cornelia de Lange syndrome, Ruby has Pierre Robin syndrome and limited use of her arms as she is missing some bones.
Lily is deaf and Joseph has Down Syndrome.
Ben, used to work as a social carer which has helped him with his decision.
His previous experience working with disabled adults and children, helped him take the decision to adopt disabled children as he would be able to care for them properly.
He recalls that he had seen an advertisement from a local adoption social service which was looking for adoptive parents; and being a single man, he thought that they may not want him, but when he told them what he did for a living, they responded positively and were enthusiastic about him adopting a child.
Now after nine years, he has five children and has never bothered about having biological children, as he believes adopting is just as good.
He says, “I’ve never wanted biological children because there’s much, much more than just being biologically linked to a child. My children are my children – for example they have the same mannerisms as me. Yes, they might not have the same blood as me, but who cares!”
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Ben has remained single from the age of 21 and is not looking for relationships as fatherly duties are more important in his life, he says he will walk over coals to protect his children, and provide for them.
Ben sums it up by saying, “Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.”
This is such an extraordinary story of selflessness and outpouring of love by a single man for his adopted children with special needs.