A single gay man adopted a child suffering from malnutrition and raised an Olympic champion.
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Jordan Windle, now a U.S. Olympian at Tokyo2020, was born in a Cambodian family. Tragically, his biological parents died shortly after his birth, and he was forced to spend the first years of his life in an orphanage. At the age of 2, he was suffering from malnutrition, scabies, and severe infections.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, there was a man who had always wanted to be a dad. Jerry Windle, a single gay man from Florida, had dreamed of having a child all his life. Sadly, everyone around him doubted he would ever have the chance to become a father.
But on one fateful day, both Jordan and Jerry’s lives were changed forever.
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As Bright Side notes, being a single gay man made it incredibly hard for Mr. Windle to adopt a child in the U.S. Luckily, just as he was starting to lose hope, he stumbled upon an article about the life of orphans in Cambodia. Jerry knew this was a sign, so he immediately contacted the Cambodian officials. Not long after, he received life-changing news.
It was the summer of 2000, when Mr. Windle rushed to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to meet his future son.
At the time, little Jordan struggled with severe health complications and weighed only 16 pounds. Jerry feared he might not survive, but he knew he was destined to help him recover and, hopefully, give him the childhood he deserves.
When the new dad took his son back to Florida, he did everything in his power to help him regain his strength. And he did.
At the age of 7, Jordan was already a promising athlete. His talent for diving caught the attention of Tim O’Brien, the son of a famous diving coach, Ron O’Brien. He then joined a special diving program and started marking his first triumphs.
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The young boy’s victories were also noticed by Olympic gold medalist and LGBT activist Greg Louganis. He was even dubbed Little Louganis.
It took Jordan three Olympic trials until he finally achieved his dream of qualifying for the Games.
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At the Tokyo2020 Olympics, the diver competed for Team USA. Nevertheless, he never forgets his home country. Interestingly, he recently got a tattoo of the Cambodian flag, before also getting one of the five-ringed symbol of the Olympic Games.
In 2011, Jerry and Jordan co-authored a children’s book called Orphan No More: The True Story of a Boy. It tells the story of a rooster, who was told by other animals that he would never be able to become a dad without a hen by his side. But one day, the rooster finds an egg that no one wants. Although the egg is of a baby duckling, the rooster proves to everyone that he could be an amazing father because “where there is love, there is family.”
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