This Single Dad Is a Hero for Adopting the Baby Girl Rejected by 20 Other Families
The story of Luca Trapanese is one that can grab your heart right away. He grew up in Naples and spent much of his life helping kids and adults with disabilities. The path that led him there started when he was fourteen and caring for his best friend, Diego, during a serious illness. Staying by Diego’s side taught him what compassion looks like when life gets difficult, and it pushed him to volunteer in hospitals and community programs. Over time, he even opened a center where people with disabilities could feel supported and valued.
As the years went on, Luca felt a growing tug toward fatherhood. When he applied to adopt, he was told he’d only be considered for children facing medical challenges or disabilities. That didn’t bother him one bit. He already knew he wanted to welcome a child who needed someone steady in their corner.
In July 2017, he got a phone call. A 13-day-old baby girl named Alba had been abandoned at birth and turned down by more than 20 families. She had Down syndrome, and the system had run out of traditional households willing to take her. Luca didn’t hesitate. He said yes right away.
Meeting Alba for the First Time
Image via Canva/OLHA TSIPLYAR
Walking into the hospital, he saw Alba lying in a small cradle. He had never held a newborn before, but holding her felt unexpectedly natural. He knew she was his daughter. He took her to his family’s place in the countryside so they could settle in quietly together.
Those first days were filled with baby naps, feedings, and tiny moments that stitched the two of them together. When he finally introduced her to his friends and relatives, everyone immediately fell in love with her.
Alba had personality from the start. She loved music, food, and being around people. She could be stubborn in the funniest ways and had the kind of spark that pulled people toward her.
A Life Built Around Love
Luca always says that Down syndrome is not an illness. To him, it is simply another way of seeing and experiencing life. Alba helps him look at the world with fresh eyes. He believes kids like her add joy wherever they go, and he often jokes that life might be better if more people had an extra chromosome 21.
By the time she reached 4, Alba was sweet, cheerful, and determined to get her way. She kept him busy and made him laugh more than he ever expected. Parenting is tough, but he never saw her condition as something that made his journey heavier. She was never a second choice.
He often expresses gratitude toward the families who turned her down. It sounds surprising at first, but he means it. Their decisions allowed him to become the father he had always hoped to be.
Changing Minds One Story at a Time
Luca shares parts of his journey to help people rethink disability. He knows many families walked away because they were afraid, but he also knows they missed out on an incredible kid. Alba became the center of his world, and their bond shows what can happen when someone chooses love over hesitation.
Today, he continues his work through La Casa di Matteo, an organization that supports children with serious medical needs. He also writes children’s books that show disability in a positive and everyday way.
Ask him how he sees it, and he’ll tell you he’s not a hero. He says Alba changed his life as much as he changed hers. Their story quietly reminds us that sometimes the best things come from simply saying yes when it matters most.