Mary Ann Wells and Sophia formed a bond eight years ago, and on the eve of her official adoption, it's stronger than ever.
Wells met Sophia when she was just two-and-a-half weeks old, a tiny patient at Loma Linda Children's Hospital in Loma Linda, California. Sophia was born with a condition called gastroschisis, with her intestines outside of her abdomen. She needed to have surgery, and was in the hospital for 11 months, spending much of her time in isolation. "I would sing to her, hold her, cuddle her," Wells told ABC Los Angeles. Sophia's dad was never in her life and her mother was often not around, leading the hospital staff to determine "there was excessive medical noncompliance," Wells said.
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