Anthony always dreamed of having a family. Even through the hard times, his journey toward adoption was worth it.
Just days after opening his home for foster care, Anthony Kyhn got the call that would change his life. He learned of a 5-week-old boy who had recently been removed from his mother’s care and the DCS case worker asked if he could come meet him.
“I just started sobbing and saying ‘Yes, yes,” Anthony said. “I was at work and my clients were asking what was going on. I had to run to Target and then go pick him up. It was so surreal and incredibly nerve-wracking.”
Anthony had always dreamed of starting a family and in 2021 he was tired of waiting. In a leap of faith, he decided to give foster care and adoption a try as a single, gay parent. He decided to become licensed to foster through Child Crisis Arizona.
Throughout the training and licensing process, Anthony had been warned many times that cases in the foster care system are often unpredictable. His goal was to adopt a child, but he knew it might not happen right away.
For the first week of having baby Brixton in his home, Anthony kept those worries in his mind, but over time, he learned to push them aside.
“I tried to keep my distance emotionally, but I remember thinking ‘I can’t do this,’” he said. “He is with me because he needs all of the love. He needs all of the attention that I can spare. That's what he wasn’t getting before. He wasn’t getting the love or the nurturing or everything parents are supposed to give. I had to come to terms with the fact that I am going to give him all of me, even if it ends with heartbreak. I remember rocking him in his chair and feeding him in the middle of the night and quietly crying. I was thinking ‘This could be over any minute. Take it all in.’ It was very difficult but it was everything I wanted.”
Brixton and Anthony’s bond continued to grow over months and eventually years. After more than 20 months in his care, Anthony was finally able to adopt Brixton in April of 2023. This Father’s Day will be his first as an official, legal, father to Brixton.
“He is truly an amazing child,” Anthony said. “I would not have been able to do this on my own if he were not such an easy, amazing child. To others considering fostering or adopting--try it. Do it. I have no regrets!”
There are thousands of children in Arizona’s foster care system in need of a stable, loving home. To learn more about foster care and adoption, please join us for a virtual agency meet and greet.
