Parents Adopt Boy with Same Rare Genetic Disorder as Their Son (Exclusive)

When John and Cassie Dibble’s son Jacob, their fourth child, was born in 2018, he was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), also known as brittle bone disease, which causes bones to break easily and sometimes for no reason.

Now, the Virginia parents of six raising two children with the same disorder after adopting son Christian, now 14, from Colombia in 2023.

Although adoption wasn’t always part of their plan, the parents talked about having six kids from the very start of their relationship. “On our first date, Cassie was like, ‘How many kids do you want?’ And I said, six,’ ” says John.

Jacob’s first year of life was hard, his parents tell PEOPLE. Their now-6-year-old son was born with two broken femurs and a dislocated hip and had 25 fractures before his first birthday — and Cassie says she swaddled him in a blanket instead of dressing him so she wouldn’t risk breaking his delicate bones.

Three years later, when Jacob’s treatment regimen and surgeries had “just settled down,” the couple had their first conversation about adoption in late 2021.

At the time, John had just read an article about another family who had opted to adopt a child with the same genetic disease as their biological child, and he thought that might be right for their family too. When he brought it to Cassie, she initially found the idea overwhelming — but she kept thinking about it and soon found she couldn’t get the idea out of her head

Handling Jacob’s wheelchair, crutches and other mobility equipment made her realize that she was capable of caring for another child with the same needs. She says it felt like she had gotten a message of confirmation from God: “You’re equipped for this.”

On an anniversary date with John about six months after their first adoption conversation, Cassie told him that she’d come around to the idea. Over their meal, she opened her phone and began scrolling on an adoption website that allowed users to filter results by children’s special needs and disabilities. One profile captured her attention: a boy named Christian who had OI, like Jacob, and whose dark glasses and features reminded her of her husband. Excited, she passed John her phone to show him the boy.

“I look across, and John’s a little teary-eyed, and he’s like, ‘I’ve already found him,’ ” Cassie recalls. 

Unbeknownst to her, John had bookmarked Christian’s profile a few months earlier.

Unlike Jacob, Christian — who spent most of his life at a children’s home in a remote Colombian village — hadn’t gotten specialized care from birth and had spent much of his life in bed. The Dibbles say that Christian’s biological mother surrendered him soon after he was born in the hopes of giving him a better life as she realized she didn’t have the resources to meet his needs.

His arms and legs, which had been fractured and never properly reset, were not straight, but made jagged Z-shapes — and though he was 12 when he joined the Dibbles family, he was closer in size to Jacob, then 5.

In welcoming him into their family, the Dibbles knew Christian would get access to the care he needed through the Army, where John is a Reserve officer.

Still, their adoption expenses were nearly $55,000, and the parents sought grants from organizations and got help from their church, which organized a silent auction fundraiser.

Again, they felt they saw God’s help in the process, as when a bill for about $10,000 arrived that they didn’t have the means to pay.

“Then a check comes in the mail and it was for [almost] that exact amount,” Cassie says.

After a nearly two-year wait, which included mountains of paperwork and multiple Zoom conversations with Christian, the Dibbles traveled to Colombia in October 2023 to take their son home.

As soon as they met in person for the first time, Christian couldn’t contain his joy, his parents say.

The little boy was shaking with joy in his wheelchair and grinning with his whole face as the Dibbles embraced him, which was a moment Cassie says they’ll all “never forget.”

My Extraordinary Family is PEOPLE’s series that explores fascinating families in all their forms. If you have a sweet story the world needs to know, send the details to [email protected].  

Overjoyed to be together, the parents were quickly reminded of the tough road ahead: Christian, not used to activity and movement, fell and broke his leg even before they’d left Colombia.

Once they got back to the United States, they consulted with the world-class specialist who’d taken care of Jacob about the treatments Christian would need.

Dr. Laura Tosi, director of the Bone Health Program at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., says she recognized the severity right away. His bones, she says, had malformed into sharp “saber” shapes — and one of his shin bones was actually poking through the skin. 

The first of Christian’s surgeries, to break and realign his left femur and insert a rod to support it, lasted about 14 hours, the Dibbles said. In the space of a few months, he had similar operations on both femurs and shin bones. Because he had arrived in the U.S. in such difficult shape, Tosi didn’t think Christian would ever walk, but she hoped he’d be able to become largely independent in his wheelchair.

But with hard work and lots of encouragement from his parents, Christian took his first steps in June with the help of a walker and leg braces.

Seeing him walk into her clinic was “magnificent,” Tosi says — and “so exciting.”

With procedures still to be done on Christian’s arms, he’s defying expectations in other ways. His progress in learning English is “incredible,” Cassie said, and he’s learning to read and do basic math. He and Jacob also bonded quickly, as did Jack, the Dibbles’ 13-year-old son, with whom Christian shares a room.

Cassie Dibble marvels at the transformation in this boy who once spent most of his time alone in a bed.

“Now he’s swimming around in our pool,” she says, “And he’s like, ‘Mom,’ – because we watched the Paralympics last summer – he’s like, ‘I’m gonna swim for America.’ “