UPDATE: This Man Adopted His Sister’s Kids When He Was Only 21 a Decade Ago—Now We Have ANOTHER Surprise For Him
What do we do when we love a family who's been featured on our show — like, really, really love 'em?
We make sure to check in on them — and then we make sure to make them cry!
That was the goal when we check in on Joey DeMocko, the uncle who, at just 21 years old, made the incredible choice to adopt the three young sons of his twin sister when they were taken away and about to be placed in a foster home.
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Ten years ago, Joey came on our show to tell us all about his story. And we visited him, too, sending our buddy Valerie Bertinelli out to his home, where she gifted him $3,000 in gift cards so he could go Christmas shopping for the boys without thinking about their extremely tight budget.
Val also gave him $1,000 for each of his best friends, Hector, Jill and Nicole, who helped watch the boys while he worked night shifts to support his young family.
And THEN we gave him the biggest gift of all — $50,000, courtesy of American Express, which he used to help raise the boys.
And indeed, 10 years later, all three boys are doing amazing!
"Taking on the kids has been hard, [but] I wouldn't do anything different," says Joey. "The boys are everything to me."
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He said that despite his spina bifida, Chris, now 16, is "absolutely amazing. He has pushed the envelope every single day."
Meanwhile, Anthony, 15, is "a little on the shy side at times. But he loves to play instruments, such as the guitar, [and] he loves to bike ride."
As for 13-year-old George, the baby of the group, he "likes to be a little jokester," says Joey. "I think it's his way of finding himself out of two older brothers."
And the love is mutual! "Joey's funny, he's positive, and he's like your best friend because he'll always be there for you," says George.
But while all four of the DeMocko men have been flourishing, there's been one small snag: as finances have been tight, they haven't been on a vacation in 10 years — since they came to visit Rach a decade ago!
Watch the video above to see the incredible way Rach made sure to change all that!
(Joey was fighting back tears — and we think you'll be, too!)
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