He was called a "curse" by his own family but there was a loving family just waiting for him to come home.
When baby Adam was born, it seemed like there was no hope for him to live a normal life. Abandoned by his mother soon after his birth, Adam was norn with severe physical deformities that included a cleft lip and palate, no eyelids or nose, fused legs, and hand malformations. No one in his family wanted him and was called a "curse," according to Live Action.
The family even threatened to end his life if they were forced to take him in. Faced with such a heartbreaking situation, the doctors contemplated the innocent baby's future. Little did they know that one visit would change everything.
A nurse who worked in the hospital where Adam was, Jessica Cooksey Paulraj, and her husband, Raja Paulraj, decided to pop over and see the baby. Married for six months, they met Adam and knew that they had to bring him into their small family after hearing about his situation. They were aware that the baby was diagnosed with Bartsocias-Papas and didn't seem to have a life span longer than a few weeks. But that didn't change their mind. They stepped up to adopt him and finally, Adam was in a home where he was loved and cherished.
Both Raja and Jessica, with help from friends in the United States, were able to reach out to various specialists at UNC Hospitals regarding Adam's condition. Before long, multiple surgeries were conducted which helped fix his cleft lip, build his eyelid, create a palate to help him eat, and removed the cysts from his eyes and nose. But while physically Adam was better, that was not the true miracle that occurred.
"In September 2014, we will celebrate our oldest son’s 3rd birthday. His name is Adam and from what medicine and logic predicted, he was not supposed to live past 2 months. Three years? How quickly they seem to have passed as I look back," wrote Jessica for the Michaela Evanow blog on July 16, 2014. "Fourteen surgeries have come and gone for Adam. Nearly $300,000 was given on his behalf. Two brothers, Elliot and Rohan, joined the ranks of our family, and Adam became an older brother. Our family has traveled from India to America and back again."
While most babies suffering Adam's disease die in the womb or shortly after birth, the young boy outlived all the doctor's expectations. And that might be credited to the fact that he was surrounded with love, warmth, and joy. Though his body was put through rigorous experiences, his cheerful spirit never broke.
"There have been setbacks. But, still, he has amazed us. Adam crawls and bounces across the room when he hears his dad come home. He loves to look at books and inspects toys incredibly closely. He has the most adorable glasses and looks quite dapper in all the caps that have been given to him over the years," wrote Jessica. "He is learning to make sounds with a valve over his trach tube and he is slowly learning to eat by mouth. Throughout all of this, he is wrecking people’s lives (mine and my husband’s most of all) with the Truth of the Gospel, namely, our own adoption and the power of love and life."
Finally, at age five, Adam's body could take no more and in 2016, the beautiful boy passed away. "Our little bird met his Maker and Sustainer…the Shepherd of his soul early this morning. There was incredible peace that enveloped his fragile, swollen body," wrote Jessica for her blog, we: unformed. Though Adam's time in the Paulraj family was short, his impact will remain. Jessica added, "He will be missed by so many. It’s indescribable to explain this ache. Yet to imagine his body restored and to imagine him surrounded by glory and welcomed by his Father…it’s a pretty good balm to our weary souls."
Watch the joyous family share in the love:
References:
http://michaelaevanow.com/2014/07/15/this-is-motherhood-too-a-very-special-needs-adoption-journey/
http://weunformed.com/2016/06/meeting-his-maker.html
Cover image source: Youtube | CBN News
