In one of my earliest memories of life as Jesse's mom, I am sitting alone in a tiny room at Sick Kid's Hospital in Toronto, a nervous new foster parent trying to process the unfathomable: that the tiny person I'd already come to think of as 'my' child would probably not survive his first year; that if he did survive he would never walk, never talk, never feed himself. Brutal predictions from a well-meaning doctor and a social worker determined to offer a way out. You do not h

Rebecca is sunshine and perseverance.   Born almost three weeks overdue to 26 hours of induced hard labour, I watched as she turned blue, and bluer, and darker still. Not breathing. No crying. Now purple. Still not breathing.  Doctor and nurse take her to a side table, their backs now to me and her Mom.  Can’t see her, can’t hear her. Still not breathing.  No crying.  Eternity. They rush Rebecca out of the room just as my wife asks me what’s wrong, where is she? Where’s our b

Mom couldn’t say “no” when the social worker asked if she would go and visit a small institution in the city near the end of 1975.  This is where Mom met Mario and told the social worker that she was willing to have him become part of our family.  So, on February 1, 1976 Mario became the sixth foster child in seven years to join the Wustefeld family.  Born with Down Syndrome, Mario was left at the hospital as his biological parents felt that they could not take care of him. 

A.K.A.  Supergirl,  A.K.A.  Kelly K Pumpkin, A.K.A  Partygirl, A.K.A. Dancing Queen. After her sister Rebecca was born with Global Developmental delay, we were unsure about having more children, and did due diligence in learning about the likelihood of having another child with the same condition. Being assured that it was “just one of those things”, and most likely due to the difficult and traumatic birth we experienced with her sister, we were still hesitant.  But lucky for

Cassie has had to overcome many health issues right from birth but that did not impede our shining star from emerging. Life has bestowed many challenges upon her but they have transformed her into a beautiful, compassionate young woman that exudes confidence and pride while being respectful of others. She loves to have fun and her cheeky attitude draws you to her. Cassie has taught us to never give up on the challenges of life.  Thank you Dreams for igniting these qualities i

Danny is a 3 rd  born son, baby of the family. He has an older brother, and sister. Both are married with children making Danny an uncle to Ella and Eve, and Tyler.   He is a bright light that sparkles and shines and lights up any room he walks into. The love and childlike humility that he possesses cannot be missed.  Anyone who knows Danny can only describe him as loving. One of his highest skills are social, outgoing and funny. He lives at home with mom and dad, and is such

On December 23, 1983 we found out that we would be expecting our first child!  Our daughter Alicia was born in August of 1984 and our family story had begun. Adding a new member to our family proved to be quite the challenge.  After several years of infertility treatments and many years of disappointment we finally received word again on December 23, 1991 (yes, 8 years later) that we were expecting!  On August 23, 1992 our darling Kristy was born at Markham-Stouffville Hospit

Thomas towers over me. My gentle 21year old son is built like a football player but is as gentle  as a teddy bear. We are waiting to get buzzed in at the Centre for Dreams. As soon as the  door opens, he runs up the stairs. From the 2nd floor window, he waves goodbye and heads  inside. He might turn back to check on me. He needs to make sure I’m leaving.  Every morning drop off is the same and every one makes me happy. I don’t know what I  imagined his life was going to be li

Jeany has been attending The Centre for Dreams for many, many years. It was a great relief to my parents to find Dreams (through a social worker). As a result of Dreams programming, Jeany has been able to engage outside of the home and from immediate family, continue to learn and make friends. She is not good at math or counting money. Nor is she good a reading or writing or creating sentences. However, you can tell that she likes these activities because she constantly asks

Anushka, our darling daughter, was born in Sri Lanka 34 years ago. Life took an unexpected turn when we learned about her Down's Syndrome diagnosis, shaking us to the core. As a young mother, the idea of having a child with special needs never crossed my mind, and accepting the truth was a challenging journey. However, Anushka's vibrant life has shattered all our initial fears. With the support of my sister, who sponsored our migration to Canada, we embarked on a new chapter.