Massapequa family adopts girl to spare her from orphanage in China

<p>A large Massapequa family is adopting a Chinese girl it had fostered after another family backed out of the adoption process -- and they got approved by the foreign government just in time for the holidays.</p>

News 12 Staff

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Dec 6, 2017, 8:01 PM

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Updated 2,571 days ago

A large Massapequa family is adopting a Chinese girl it had fostered after another family backed out of the adoption process -- and they got approved by the foreign government just in time for the holidays.

The Galm family took care of Lia when she came to the United States for surgery to address her craniofacial disorder 14 months ago.

Lia had been abandoned as a baby in China and lived in an orphanage.

Amy Galm and her husband had no plans to adopt a child initially -- they were done having their own kids 15 years ago, they say.

"I have four kids," Galm says. "I'm a grandmother."

But the family received an email in January from the adoption agency saying the prospective adoptive family had backed out and the girl would have to return to an orphanage in China.

Galm says she rushed to get the paperwork together, and last week received approval. They returned Sunday after two weeks in China.

Galm initially shared her story on the Massapequa Moms Facebook group.

Lia has Saethre-Chotzen syndrome, also known as acrocephalosyndactyly type III. It is a rare congenital disorder associated with the premature closure of one or more of the sutures between the bones of the skull.

She has undergone two surgeries already and has another one coming up soon.

"I don't worry about her," Galm says. "She's going to be just fine.