A woman who bounced around 23 foster homes after spending six years in care asked her therapist to adopt her - and said it was "fate".

Mikaila Hopper, 25, entered the foster system in 2010, aged 12, and was placed with 23 different sets of foster families over the years.

When she first went into care, Deborah Harris, 46, became her therapist and advocated for the reunification of Mikaila and her family.

After eight months, Mikaila was moved from her first foster home in Cleveland County, North Carolina, to Boone, North Carolina, US, after her foster mum was diagnosed with cancer.

From then, Mikaila and Deborah's relationship grew stronger as her therapist took on a mentor role and continued to support her.

Unfortunately, Mikaila ended up continuously moving around foster homes - through no fault of her own - until Deborah applied to be a foster mum in 2015.

In 2017, Mikaila "aged out" of the foster care system and asked Deborah to officially adopt her - with the adoption finalised in October 2017.

Mikaila, a family recruitment specialist, from Charlotte, North Carolina, US, said: "Deborah went along the journey with me.

"We got really close - her passion was to help people.

"Deborah ended up being that mentor and that connection for me. I was isolated with no support - but she was that for me.

"Before the adoption was even finalised, Deborah vested so much into me.

"No paper could finalise what we had but it gave me a sense of freedom in the sense that I was no longer tied to my biological family."

Deborah added: "I didn't know that Mikaila had consent to be adopted.

"She had gone through the process without me knowing and gave me the adoption papers on Mother's Day.

"I was so shocked, I could now take the second step to legally adopt her.

"I now have a daughter who is a close friend, it has been wonderful and I wouldn't trade it in for anything."

Mikaila said her biological family were unable to look after her.

She said: "From the age of nine to 12 I was in kinship care - where a child is looked after by different members of her family."

When she entered the foster care system, Mikaila met Deborah who became her therapist.

Deborah was advocating for Mikaila to be reunited with her biological family, but it didn't happen.

After eight months, Mikaila was moved out of town after her foster mum was diagnosed with and later died of cancer.

Mikaila said: "I was strung out longer and longer in the foster care system.

"I had 23 sets of foster families.

"The move was very difficult for me - I was two hours away from my biological siblings.

"I was away from my friends that I had made, and I was two hours away from my foster family that I invested a year of my life in.

"Deborah ended up being that mentor I needed, whenever I felt isolated and had no support, she was always there for me."

Right before her 17th birthday in 2015, Deborah applied to become a foster parent and take care of Mikaila.

After a legal battle, Mikaila moved in with Deborah and started the next chapter of her life.

Mikaila said: "I opened up to my social workers about the connection I had made with Deborah.

"They ended up reaching out to her and told Deborah how I had missed her, and I was thinking about it.

"That is when Deborah reached out to my social workers and asked permission to contact me - which they approved.

"That's why I think Deborah played such an important role in my life.

"With all those failed connections, I could always rely on my connection with her."

Deborah then filed paperwork to become Mikaila's foster mum in January 2015.

On Mother's Day in 2017, Mikaila surprised Deborah by handing her adoption papers and asked her to adopt her.

Deborah said yes and became Mikaila's mum in October 2017.

Mikaila said: "Before the adoption was even finalised, my mum [Deborah] invested so much time into me.

"We both cried when I handed her the papers.

"I am 25 now, that is how long it has taken me to come full circle and share everything.

"She has never been any different - she is an amazing person, an amazing mum, a grandmother to my kids and supportive of my husband - her family has taken us in.

"Even if my birth mum was standing in front of me, I would have love for her, but she would never have the feeling to me that Deborah has.

"It was almost like a rebirth, the fight that we went through to be together and the pain and suffering we overcome was immense."