TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Kadesha Stewart knew one thing her whole life.<\/p>\n
“I always wanted five children,” said Stewart.<\/p>\n
She had a son, LaShawn. But that was it. In her heart and in her home in Tampa, she never stopped yearning for more little feet.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Kadesha Stewart is an adoptive mom of 4 kids that she previously fostered, and three of them have special medical needs She decided to become a foster parent, and through her training decided she would be a medical foster parent.<\/p>\n \u201cThese babies, they need more than just medication. They need love. They need stability,\u201d said Stewart. \u201cAnd they just need someone who can have the patience to care for them.\u201d<\/p>\n She went through training and opened her home. It quickly began to fill.<\/p>\n With foster care, reunification with the child\u2019s biological family is always the goal. But in some cases, that doesn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n So Stewart became mother to more than one, adopting Teryonna first. Then, she adopted Lucas. Then Emma.<\/p>\n \u201cThen the opportunity comes for you to adopt now your fourth child, and your answer is?\u201d asked Spectrum Bay News 9 anchor Erin Murray.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d said Stewart with a huge smile.<\/p>\n Graciyanna became adoption number four.<\/p>\n In total, Stewart has fostered more than 30 kids \u2014 most with medical needs.<\/p>\n With LaShawn, Teryonna, Lucas, Emma and Graciyanna, Stewart\u2019s dream is now complete. She is the mother of five children.<\/p>\n \u201cSo five is enough for me because, you know, it\u2019s just me,\u201d said Stewart with a smile.<\/p>\n Or that is what she thought.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I have the space and the help, which is my mom, to do it, you know, I just want to continue to be a blessing to a child,\u201d said Stewart.<\/p>\n Fostering is part of her purpose, she said.<\/p>\n The Children\u2019s Home Network hopes more people will consider becoming medical foster families.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Hillsborough County, there\u2019s only about 15 medical foster homes,\u201d said\u00a0Paul Penhale, Out-of-Home Care Senior Director, Children\u2019s Home Network in Tampa. \u201cIt\u2019s never enough, right? We\u2019re actively recruiting.\u201d<\/p>\n Penhale said while they are making it work with those 15 families in Hillsborough, Children\u2019s Home Network is always looking for the next generation of foster moms and dads.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that regardless of the child\u2019s medical condition, they still deserve to be in a family-like setting. They don\u2019t need to be in the hospital if they\u2019re medically ready for discharge. But they do need more than a traditional foster parent can provide care,\u201d said Penhale.<\/p>\n Stewart hopes others will see her family and give fostering a chance.<\/p>\n \u201cThese children need a home, and it would be a blessing for more families to open their home to medical children,\u201d said Stewart.<\/p>\n A full home that always has room for one more foster child.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to say no,\u201d said Stewart.<\/p>\n
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She is a specialized medical foster parent through Children’s Home Network,<\/a> and has received training and a special license to care for kids at their most vulnerable, whose birth parents cannot care for them
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After helping over 30 kids, Kadesha closed her foster home to new fosters when she adopted her fourth child, but is now getting re-licensed through CHN and is reopening her home for more medical foster children
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Medical foster parent(s) are needed. To learn how to become one, join a virtual information session with the Children’s Home Network<\/a><\/p>\n