What an amazing story, and...I have to admit I couldn't do it. I am in awe of people who can be as selfless as you are being. One of my closest friends from highschool (also over twenty years of friendship--am I really that old? I don't feel that old!! lol!) has a sister who fostered for many years, and time after time I watched her heart be broken as she had to give them up. And just observing as an outsider was enough to crush me!
I do have two step sons that I helped to raise since they were young and I love to the moon and back, but the only way that's similar to your story is that the elder of the two was the type of child you help to counsel. He and his mother had a terrible (and frankly abusive) relationship which caused a great deal of emotional problems within him. But I'm happy to say that I was able to break through barrier after barrier. Even though he's not much more than a decade younger than me and in many ways more like a little brother than a son (my husband's a bit older and he was a teen pregnancy). He's now a grown man of twenty-seven with a family of his own, and they live right around the corner. We're all super close and I'm super blessed :)

I'm glad you're here and sticking it out! It's great that you aren't one of the follow for follow newbies, that's a terrible way to go about it. Leaving thoughtful comments like the one (or ones) you left me is the right way. And I will be following you back now :)