Todd Daniels' favorite place is in his mother's lap. It's the place he goes to calm his anger, to watch "Wheel of Fortune," and to be reminded that, yes, his dream of a family actually came true.

Last week, flanked by three of his new brothers, Daniels was recognized on the House and Senate floors at the State Capitol for being the Montana representative of a Children's Miracle Network program called Foresters Champions Across America. His mother, Becky Barrus, stood behind him hugging his small figure in her ample arms.

Daniels travels to Washington, D.C., later this week with 49 other kids from across the country who are representing the 17 million hospitalized children in the U.S. After visiting Capitol Hill and the White House, the young ambassadors will be honored at Disney World.

It sounds like the trip of a lifetime for an 11-year-old. But the lifetime that earned him the ticket has not been an easy one.

After more than 20 psychiatric hospitalizations between the ages of 4 and 9, Daniels was admitted into a residential treatment program at Shodair Children's Hospital in Helena in 2002, followed by a second admission in 2003. Before his discharge in 2004, Daniels' biological parents turned him over to foster care.

Staff at Shodair compared Daniels treatment to taming a wild wolf. He was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Daniels' diagnosis of bipolar disorder is unusual since the manic-depressive illness usually doesn't develop until late adolescence or early adulthood. Doctors believe that Daniels' difficulties are due in part to birth trauma and perinatal hypoxia.

With the complicated diagnosis came a complicated treatment. According to Dr. James Killpack, the drugs that help bipolar disorder actually increase the severity of ADHD. But once a successful schedule of medication and therapy was established, Daniels improved. Of course, none of it would have worked if Daniels didn't want to get better himself.

"No one will forget how you never gave up," Killpack told Daniels at a ceremony at Shodair last week.

Indeed, Daniels' tenacity is legend among Shodair staff. That's why he was selected for the Children's Miracle Network Foresters Champion program.

"Todd had a piece of everyone's heart," said Shodair teacher Teri Malmberg. "He wanted to succeed so badly, tried so hard, and gave so much back. I'm so happy for him."

One of the things Daniels wanted so badly to succeed in was finding a safe, happy family to be a part of. Shodair nurses recall him concocting magic potions to make good things happen. And it must have worked.

"I got a call (from Shodair) about a special 10-year-old boy with special needs," said Barrus, who has a house full of foster and adopted kids. "They said his biggest wish was to have a family."

Last June, Daniels was released into the care of the Barrus family in Trout Creek. He rides the school bus 34 miles round-trip to his fifth-grade class. And every day when he gets home, he's greeted by too many brothers to count, a sister, three dogs, some peacocks, four horses, a grandpa, a dad, and a mother with a very comfortable lap.

"I felt like I was part of this family since the day I was born," Daniels said.