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Dad With Cleft Lip Adopts A Child Just Like Him

June 18, 2017

Brian felt an instant connection with Hattie when he saw her adoption photo. She had a cleft lip, just like he did.

He vowed to give her the life she deserved.

When Brian and Molly Pierce were on their honeymoon, they met a family with a 12-year-old daughter adopted from China. The Pierces had always known they would adopt someday.

Brian and Molly communicated through their adoption agency that Brian had a cleft lip and palate as a child. When they opened the envelope containing a photo of their baby-to-be, Brian wasn't surprised to see that little Hattie had been born with a cleft lip and palate, just like him.

Molly said, "She smiles with her eyes," the same thing she had said to Brian on their second date.

Ten months later, the Pierce's brought Hattie home to meet her new big sister and dog.

Hattie received surgery for her cleft lip and palate at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the same place Brian had gotten his own surgery nearly 40 years earlier.

"Everyone who meets her falls in love with her," Brian said. "All the other kids like to play with her."

Watch the video below.