TLC has launched a series on albinism, and the first family to share their story is the Grabowskis. They adopted a girl with the condition.

Jon and Liz Grabowski’s adoption journey started when they received an inbox referral, and immediately fell in love with a girl they named Lily.

The couple’s entire story is followed on Born With Albinism, which is set to first hit our screens on Tuesday, May 18th, at 10/9c.

So, who are the Grabowskis and what is their story? What led them to take the adoption route? Let’s meet the TLC star’s family.

Who are the Grabowskis?

Jon and Liz Grabowski met at college, and were friends for eight months.

They then started dating, and were married one year later.

The Grabowskis have two biological children, the oldest being Mika, 21, and their second eldest Alex, who is 19.

After having their two sons, they tried to have a daughter for a while, which didn’t work out. They started looking into adoption in China.

Knowing there were “so many little girls who were in orphanages”, they applied to adopt and waited more than six months to get a referral.

Meet the Grabowski children

After a long wait, Jon and Liz were matched with a young girl who they named Lily, who was the first to be adopted.

They later decided to adopt five children from China.

Four of their adopted children have albinism, a condition that causes light hair, light skin, and vision problems.

In total, Jon and Liz are parents to five adopted children – four girls and one boy – and two biological sons.

Where are the Grabowskis now?

Jon and Liz now look after Nathaniel, who recently turned 13.

They are also adoptive parents to Emily, who can only count fingers from about three feet away. She has been described by Liz as her “hero”.

They are two of their adopted children, alongside 3 others.

The TLC parents recently hiked to the top of El Capitan in Yosemite, which involved an 18-mile hike with over 4,000-ft elevation gain.

Liz wrote on Facebook about their appearance on Born With Albinism.

She said: “We said yes to a production company to make a show about our family. We had three reasons for saying yes. Our reasons for saying yes to opening ourselves up to public scrutiny were because we could educate about albinism, advocate for adoption, and share our faith.”

Liz added:

We aren’t perfect parents and fail often, but if just one family is encouraged to adopt then it was worth sharing our highs and lows of family life. We are positive that our references to our Christian faith were cut out, but maybe it will shine through anyways.

WATCH BORN WITH ALBINISM ON TLC FROM TUESDAY MAY 18 AT 10/9C

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