From the moment that Monica and Josh Poynter met the little boy they planned toadoptfrom an orphanage in China, they knew he was the missing puzzle piece in their lives.“It was just that same feeling of ‘There’s your child!,’ and he just walked right up to us with that big smile smeared on his face and gave me a big hug,” Monica tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue of meeting then-8-year-old Trey in January 2020.Adds Josh, “We felt like we had known this little guy for such a long time.“And for their biological son, Tag — who born in 2014 with severehemophilia type A,a potentially deadly disorder weakening the body’s ability to form blood clots — he found an instant connection with Trey, who has the same disorder.“There’s reason and a purpose for everything,” says Monica, 36, of Bowling Green, Kentucky.“The fact that they have the same disorder is something they get to bond over. It’s helped everything come full circle,” adds the full-time mother, who homeschools the two boys, now 7 and 10.Trey, Monica and Tag Poynter.courtesy Monica PoytnerSoon after Tag was born and diagnosed with the disorder, the Poynters had to remain vigilant to make sure he would not fall or bump his head.“There’s a common misconception that people with hemophilia can’t get an external wound to stop bleeding,” explains Josh. “But a much more serious problem is internal bleeding that you can’t see, especially from a head injury.“In China, meeting Trey for the first time.courtesy Monica PoytnerThey later learned how to give him frequent injections to prevent bleeding, and in 2019 they switched to a new drug called emicizumab-kxwh, which is injected just twice a month. At the same time, the couple had also been trying to have another child, but struggled with infertility.Tag and Trey Poynter.courtesy Monica PoytnerBy chance in the spring of 2019, Monica read an article in a magazine about an American woman who had adopted a child with Hemophilia A from an orphanage in China; she felt this option could be the perfect fit for the family. Working with an agency that specializes in overseas adoptions, Monica soon sawa photoand thenvideo of Trey, and fell in love.He was suffering from a painful knee injury due to an unmedicated bleed at the time — and the preventative medicines Tag took were not available for Trey, who had been hospitalized numerous times.While Trey had difficult walking, “he had this huge smile,” Monica recalls.“He was still so happy — he always is. It’s his signature trait,” she adds. “We were like, ‘Okay, let’s do this.’ “Poynter family.courtesy Monica PoytnerFor more on the Poynter family’s story, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.Once back at home, Trey began the same preventative drug as Tag, with the boys receiving their shots at the kitchen table.Soon he could play with Tag, a ceaseless bundle of energy who was also quick to help his older brother learn English.“My favorite thing,” Tag says, “is having a brother to love forever.“The Poynter family.Manuela PeguesThe pair now love racing their bicycles, climbing trees, romping with their two dogs on their 12-acre property and creating parties in Tag’s room, where they play Legos and read theDiary of a Wimpy Kidseries.“They’re typical brothers in every sense of the word. Josh and I feel very blessed,” says Monica.Tag feels the same way, writing in a recent school assignment: “My favorite thing is having a brother to love forever.”
From the moment that Monica and Josh Poynter met the little boy they planned toadoptfrom an orphanage in China, they knew he was the missing puzzle piece in their lives.
“It was just that same feeling of ‘There’s your child!,’ and he just walked right up to us with that big smile smeared on his face and gave me a big hug,” Monica tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue of meeting then-8-year-old Trey in January 2020.Adds Josh, “We felt like we had known this little guy for such a long time.“And for their biological son, Tag — who born in 2014 with severehemophilia type A,a potentially deadly disorder weakening the body’s ability to form blood clots — he found an instant connection with Trey, who has the same disorder.“There’s reason and a purpose for everything,” says Monica, 36, of Bowling Green, Kentucky.“The fact that they have the same disorder is something they get to bond over. It’s helped everything come full circle,” adds the full-time mother, who homeschools the two boys, now 7 and 10.
Trey, Monica and Tag Poynter.courtesy Monica Poytner
Soon after Tag was born and diagnosed with the disorder, the Poynters had to remain vigilant to make sure he would not fall or bump his head.
“There’s a common misconception that people with hemophilia can’t get an external wound to stop bleeding,” explains Josh. “But a much more serious problem is internal bleeding that you can’t see, especially from a head injury.”
In China, meeting Trey for the first time.courtesy Monica Poytner
They later learned how to give him frequent injections to prevent bleeding, and in 2019 they switched to a new drug called emicizumab-kxwh, which is injected just twice a month. At the same time, the couple had also been trying to have another child, but struggled with infertility.
Tag and Trey Poynter.courtesy Monica Poytner
By chance in the spring of 2019, Monica read an article in a magazine about an American woman who had adopted a child with Hemophilia A from an orphanage in China; she felt this option could be the perfect fit for the family. Working with an agency that specializes in overseas adoptions, Monica soon sawa photoand thenvideo of Trey, and fell in love.
He was suffering from a painful knee injury due to an unmedicated bleed at the time — and the preventative medicines Tag took were not available for Trey, who had been hospitalized numerous times.
While Trey had difficult walking, “he had this huge smile,” Monica recalls.
“He was still so happy — he always is. It’s his signature trait,” she adds. “We were like, ‘Okay, let’s do this.’ "
Poynter family.courtesy Monica Poytner
For more on the Poynter family’s story, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.
Once back at home, Trey began the same preventative drug as Tag, with the boys receiving their shots at the kitchen table.Soon he could play with Tag, a ceaseless bundle of energy who was also quick to help his older brother learn English.“My favorite thing,” Tag says, “is having a brother to love forever.”
The Poynter family.Manuela Pegues
The pair now love racing their bicycles, climbing trees, romping with their two dogs on their 12-acre property and creating parties in Tag’s room, where they play Legos and read theDiary of a Wimpy Kidseries.
“They’re typical brothers in every sense of the word. Josh and I feel very blessed,” says Monica.
Tag feels the same way, writing in a recent school assignment: “My favorite thing is having a brother to love forever.”
source: people.com
