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BOUNTIFUL — When a Utah couple traveled to Haiti to bring home their adopted son, they had no idea their journey was only beginning.
For Janelle and Darin Hartvigsen, the deadly earthquake that struck the impoverished country in 2010 was the catalyst they needed to expand their family through adoption. Within months of the quake, the couple was matched with a little boy — James.
Now 4 years old, James has a presence, and style, that is undeniable — right down to his ever-present necktie.
"When he first got here he'd see grandpas wearing ties, he'd see dads wearing ties," said Janelle. "From the first thing in the morning until late at night, the tie is on all day. He has his own dress code."
Darin and Janelle learned the details of James's story on their first orphanage visit to meet their little boy.
He's been more than amazing. I just don't know any other child that would act that way.
–Janelle Hartvigsen
"He's got a pretty good sized scar on his head from trying to find a place to put an IV because he was so malnourished and dehydrated," said Janelle. "His birth mother brought him when he was 4 months old."
James's mother had HIV and hepatitis, among other things, and knew she couldn't take care of her son.
"She knew the only way to save him was to give him up," said Janelle.
The Hartvigsens have a photo of the woman from the day she left James at the orphanage — the only known picture of her. She passed away just months later.
"When I look at that picture," said Janelle, "I see the sadness in her face."
At the orphanage, James thrived as Darin and Janelle navigated the labyrinth of adoption paperwork. One Saturday, they got a phone call.
"They said James is very sick and they've taken him to a hospital in Port-au-Prince," said Janelle.
A large tumor was growing in his belly. Soon, the Hartvigsens were on a plane bringing him home to Utah, where doctors at Primary Children's Medical Center confirmed he had cancer.
"He started chemo within a week of being home, had four cycles of chemo, then had surgery to remove the left lobe of his liver," he said. "They hit him with two more rounds of chemo after that."
At home, his new family had to administer the shots.
"He wanted to hold their hand while he got it," said Janelle. "He cried for a split second while I did it."
Surrounded by new people and places, back and forth from the hospital, his parents said James seemed to embrace everybody.
"He's been more than amazing," said Janelle. "I just don't know any other child that would act that way."
Today, James is cancer free. Except for some hearing loss caused by the chemotherapy drugs, he's a typical preschooler.
"He's defied all odds and everything he's gone through," said Janelle. "He's a fighter."
Was James always so brave or has adversity built him into such a tough kid? The answer, for the Hartvigsens, is in a painting that now hangs in the kitchen — done by a family friend — of that singular photograph of James's birth mother.
"The thing I love when I look in this painting is that the sadness I saw in the mother's eyes is not in this painting," said Janelle.
Darin shared that sentiment.
"There's a little smile there, a joy that isn't in the picture," he said. "We think of James's mother in a very special way, very grateful way. We know that she's watching somewhere."
The story doesn't stop here for the Hartvigsen family — they're expecting the arrival of their new adopted daughter and sister, also from Haiti, this week.
