ROUND ROCK, Texas — Lily is an energetic 3-year-old girl who quickly brings joy and laughter to every new person she meets.
When she was born, Lily immediately went from the hospital to an adoptive family who didn't end up being her forever family. One of her nurses decided to become her foster mom, and Lily currently still lives with her.
Lily's caseworker was also there when she was just a tiny baby at the hospital.
"The first day that I met Lily was at Dell Children's Medical Center, in the NICU. It was so surreal – this little person that was longing for love and a family," Ashley Carnahan said.
KVUE's Hannah Rucker met up with Lily and Carnahan at Chuck E. Cheese in Round Rock for a morning of fun. The staff decorated a table for her and gave her a big bag full of toys and gifts to play with.
"She loves coming to Chuck E. Cheese. It's her favorite," Carnahan said.
Lily was running around on her tippy toes, playing different games where she could ride in pretend cars. She also loved rolling around on the sensory-friendly dance floor.
Lily is considered medically fragile because she relies on a gastrostomy tube and requires speech and occupational therapy. But she is very bright and active! She likes to sing different songs, knows her alphabet and can point out different colors.
To learn more about Lily or to put in an inquiry to adopt her, visit her page on the Heart Gallery.
Catch Lily's full story on KVUE Midday on Friday at 11 a.m.
Additionally, on April 23, Dell Children's is offering free courses to parents who are interested in fostering or adopting a child with medical needs. Click here to learn more.
KVUE launched the Forever Families segment with Partnerships for Children (PFC) in June 2020 to highlight children in the Heart Gallery of Central Texas who need secure and permanent families. Every day, there are nearly 1,000 children waiting to get adopted in Central Texas, according to PFC.
Editor's note: The children who are in the Heart Gallery program and featured in KVUE's Forever Families segments are children who have had every effort made on their behalf to connect them with family or others in their community to provide options for permanent, adoptive homes. Through no fault of their own, that hasn’t happened yet, and so in partnership with the Department of Family and Protective Services, we collaborate to bring awareness to KVUE viewers about these children in the hopes of finding them permanency before they age out.