Nurse Adopted Baby She Cared For In PICU After Birth Mom Asked Her To

Feb 25, 2022

If one thing is for certain about life, it’s that quite often the entire process can be surprising and unexpected. Many people never know what path they’ll end up taking until it happens abruptly.

In this story from 2019, one woman's job as a nurse took her life into the most unexpected place. She had never thought that she would become a mother in such a shocking way, but life has a funny way of surprising us with what we need before we even know that we need it.

The woman’s name is Angela Farnan, and her career as a primary charge nurse started off at her place of employment, OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois. Although everyone that she came in contact with left some sort of mark on her, little did she know that she would meet a patient that would change her life forever.

The nurse was working her shift when one of her patients, a baby named Blaze, got some unfortunate news. Blaze was born with some abnormalities, such as a heart defect that is known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This defect caused Blaze to have to undergo surgeries while he was extremely young. His first surgery occurred while he was only 3 days old.

Months later, he had to undergo his second surgery. Babies like Blaze need a lot of love, care and attention to grow up to be happy and healthy children. His heart defect meant that he needed intensive care, and the hospital assigned him with a team of nurses that were to tend to him after his surgeries. 

Farnan was on Blaze’s caretaking team, and she became enamored with the little boy’s charm. She told Inside Edition:

"He truly captured my heart."

As Blaze began to recover from his first two surgeries, Farnan would always come to check up on him. She told the news outlet:

"I did find myself drawn to coming down here as much as I could."

In fact, one of Farnan's coworkers even noticed the bond that had started to form between her and Blaze. Cynthia Read, a fellow nurse, said:

"When she had a down moment here or there she'd be in there holding him or rocking him or feeding him, taking care of him."

But then something unexpected happened. Blaze’s mother realized that she would not be able to afford all of the medical treatments and care that he required following his surgeries. This is when she had a heartfelt talk with her favorite caretaker, who was Farnan, and asked if she and her husband would possibly be interested in adopting little Blaze. Farnan told CBS:

"She made a heartfelt decision to ask us if we'd be willing to keep him on a permanent basis. And it was also a very emotional time. She was in tears."

Although the nurse had always had the desire to have kids, she never could have known that it would have happened this way. Farnan and her husband Rick were more than happy to take on the role of parents to Blaze, but the nurse was also heartbroken for the mother that gave up her child in an obviously difficult decision. 

Farnan was more than willing to provide Blaze with the care that he needed, and she ended up adopting him with her husband who was also thrilled at the idea of having a child. The nurse told CBS:

"Internally we are ecstatic, but sad for this mom that, you know, is feeling a loss."

Rick was incredibly enamored with his new son. He spoke about Blaze to Inside Edition after he became a father. He said:

"You look at him and you fall in love with him. I don't know when it happened. I don't know if it was a week in or a month in. I don't remember the time but I knew I loved him."

Meanwhile, Farnan added:

"I thank God every night for allowing me to be his mom."

In her interview with CBS, she said:

"I've always wanted to be a mother. And then you just have to realize and trust in God and believe that he has a greater purpose for you." 

One person commented on the CBS interview the parents did and said:

"Kindness like this gives me hope for humanity."

It's a touching message and it's true that Farnan and her husband's love for Blaze and their wish to adopt him into their family is a truly wonderful thing to behold. This story shows that actions coming from love are so incredibly important.

Inside Edition reported that Blaze would need one more surgery before the age of 5, however, doctors had said that the little boy's prognosis was good.  

What do you think about this story of a nurse adopting one of her patients? Let us know, then pass it along to your friends and family so they can read it too.