A YouTube personality has shared some tragic news about her family.
In a new video from Tuesday, Myka Stauffer and her husband James Stauffer revealed to her 717,000 YouTube subscribers that the couple’s adopted son, Huxley has gone to live with another family, which is also known as rehoming. The couple explained the situation between tears, as they openly discussed their choice to find a home that was a better fit for the toddler. Myka and James also share four other children: Kova, Jaka, Radley, and Onyx.
“With international adoption,” James said, “sometimes there are unknowns and things that are not transparent on files. Once Huxley came home, there were a lot more special needs than we were aware of and we were not told.”
The Stauffers adopted Huxley from China in 2017. In a story written for The Bump, Myka described the toddler’s condition as “profoundly developmentally delayed.” He had a brain cyst and brain tumor, and when he got to the U.S., was also diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder level 3.
After enduring “multiple assessments and evaluations,” Myka said that Huxley’s doctors suggested he spend time with a family that was better suited to his needs.
“There's not an ounce of our body that doesn't want Huxley with all of our being. There wasn't a minute that I didn't try our hardest,” she said in the video. “Do I feel like a failure as a mom? 500 percent. So when we get insidious, hurtful comments, it really makes it hurt worse.”
The Stauffers spent months trying to find a solution for Huxley, finally finding his “forever family.” She added, “We saw that in family time with other people, he constantly choose [sic] them and signed and showed tons of emotion to show us and let us know he wanted this.”
She explained, “He is thriving. He is really happy, doing really well. His new mommy has medical, professional training and it's a really good fit.”
However, while some followers were supportive of the couple’s decision, others found the situation to be troublesome, especially since the Stauffers knew Huxley suffered from some particular conditions—and because he was integral to the family’s monetized channel. Many have demanded that those videos be removed.
