Adopted Kids From China Share Emotional Reunion at Dallas Airport
Best friends Hannah, 4, and Dawson, 3, are inseparable again.
— -- Two young children who grew up together in China but were separated when one was adopted and brought to the United States shared an emotional reunion last week at the Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport.
Hannah Sykes, 4, and Dawson Clary, 3, saw each other for the first time in nearly a year when Dawson, who is nicknamed “Dada,” arrived in Texas to live with his adopted family, Christopher and Amy Clary.
“He was so excited. He was so giddy,” Amy Clary said today on “Good Morning America.” “He just ran up to her and hugged her and they rolled to the ground.”
Clary and her husband began the process of adopting Dawson after Hannah’s adopted parents, Andy and Sharon Sykes, posted a photo of the boy on Facebook in hopes that someone in their North Texas area would adopt their daughter’s best friend.
“They just shared such a sweet and special bond,” Sharon Sykes said on “GMA.” “They were so close we just couldn’t imagine leaving him in China and him not having a forever family himself.”
Clary, who lives near the Sykes but had never met the family, said she knew immediately after seeing the Facebook photo of Dawson that he was meant to be part of her family.
“Look at him. Look at his eyes and his smile. How could you deny that,” she said. “He’s just so sweet. We had to bring him home.”
Clary and Sykes, once strangers, described themselves now as “good friends." They said Hannah and Dawson have seen each other for play dates every day since Dawson’s arrival in the United States, and raised the possibility of an even happier ending in the future.
“Maybe wedding bells,” Sykes said, with a smile.
Sykes shared a video of Hannah and Dawso’s hugging each other at the airport on Facebook that has been viewed thousands of times. Sykes said she hopes the attention on their story puts a positive spotlight on adoption.
“That is such a wonderful option for families and we hope people will consider it,” she said of adoption. “You think you’re doing something for these kids but in the end we’ve been so blessed. Our lives have been made so rich.”