Bernie and Diane are a couple who raised five boys together, but once their sons were all grown up, they decided they wanted to have a daughter.

When they were attending an adoption event together, Diane noticed a grainy black-and-white photo of a little girl pinned to a bulletin board. Diane was immediately drawn to the little girl’s dark eyes, and she knew right away that the child was meant to be her daughter.

As Bernie and Diane asked caseworkers about adopting the little girl, they were told to explore other options over and over again. Though the caseworkers kept telling them “There’s something wrong with her,” the couple was determined to learn more about her.

Finally, Bernie and Diane learned that the little girl was named Danielle, and that she had been horrifically abused as a child. Danielle was found in a Florida home at the age of seven back in 2007 as a feral child, and she had never left her house. She had spent years locked in her room with nothing but a soiled mattress, and she was not able to talk or eat solid food.

“I’ve been in law enforcement for 27 years now, and this is by far, bar none, the worst case of child neglect I’ve ever come across in my career,” Detective Mark Holste said at the time.

Danielle’s parents lost custody of her and she was sent to a group home, which is how her photo ended up at the adoption event. Even though Danielle had severe developmental and behavioral issues, Bernie and Diane were determined to become her parents.

Find out more about their journey to adopting her in the video below.