A mother who has been rendered infertile due to her case of Turner syndrome recently adopted a four-year-old girl from China who shares the disorder.

Dr. Catherine Ward-Melver, who works as a geneticist at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio, is a new mother to Zoe, who shares her mother’s condition. Fortunately for Zoe, her future with the condition is more promising than her mother’s was. Growth hormone therapy allows Zoe to grow taller than she would under normal conditions, unlike her mother, who stands at 4-feet-8-inches and was diagnosed at age seven, when growth hormones were still in their experimental phase.

"We are having a lot of fun," Ward-Melver told ABC News. "Overall, it's been relatively very easy for this little girl, especially her age. She has opinions and she is not afraid to voice them. She bonded with us very quickly, much more quickly than we expected."

Ward-Melver and her husband, Kevin Melver, visited China last November to meet Zoe. By December, the adoption papers had been formally approved. Ward-Melver said the process happened so quickly because a member of the Turner Syndrome Society knew two American foster parents in China who wanted more information on Ward-Melver and her husband.

"It was backwards from the usual way you apply and get approval late in the process," she said.

What is Turner syndrome?

Turner syndrome is a genetic disorder that is characterized by girls and women missing all or part of their second sex chromosome. The resulting physical effects include short stature, infertility, incomplete sexual development, and ovarian failure. The condition was named after Dr. Henry Turner, who first described its features in the 1930s.

Approximately one out of every 2,500 female births results in a Turner syndrome diagnosis, according to the Turner Syndrome Society (TSS).

Modern medicine has made great leaps in combating some of Turner syndrome’s effects, even if there is no known cause or cure. One of these leaps is in growth hormone therapy, which will allow Zoe to grow well past her mother’s status as a little person.

"Hopefully, we will see a lot of growth," said her mother, who was once the president of the TSS and still actively participates. "You can see it at the meetings. You look at the women who did growth hormones and those who didn't, and you can see a significant height differential."

Zoe must also see a cardiologist and a hearing specialist, who found fluid in her ears and will need to drain the fluid by inserting a tube. Ward-Melver and her husband have also decided Zoe may receive speech therapy at her new pre-school. Because of her condition, Zoe’s organs face a much higher risk of complication.

Some autoimmune diseases have been associated with Turner syndrome as well.

"But we are trying not to overwhelm her,” Ward-Melver told ABC, adding that she and her husband hope to give Zoe a brother or sister one day.

"We are looking to start with a foster child who is available for adoption," she said. "Zoe loves being with other kids."

For the time being, Ward-Melver said she is elated to be a new parent. "It was a confluence of events," she said. "There are a very small handful of families in the Turner Syndrome Society where Turner syndrome moms have adopted Turner syndrome girls – only four we know of."

Now, she is counted among them. “I am loving it,” she said.