When Tasha adopted Andrew, a young boy with life-threatening health challenges, she did it out of the goodness of her heart. However, after a year, everyone was shocked because they hadn’t expected him to turn into a completely different child.
Tasha arrived at the court an hour early, filled with hope and excitement. All the necessary legal requirements had been met, and today was the day she had eagerly anticipated. She was here to finalize the adoption of Andrew, a 5-year-old sick boy. She couldn’t wait to bring Andrew to his new home, which she had lovingly prepared. His bedroom had been adorned with blue wall paintings, artwork, and an array of toys. She hoped these would make him feel welcomed and cherished, and she was hopeful that he would quickly settle in and truly feel at home.
For a long time, it had been Tasha’s desire to adopt a child. At first, she hadn’t been sure about the child’s gender, but she had decided it didn’t matter. The most important thing to her was being able to call a child her own. To bring this desire to reality, Tasha had met with reputable adoption agencies, and they had recommended many orphanages. Out of the long list of local establishments, Tasha’s heart had been drawn to the orphanage where Andrew was.
She had carefully gone through the pictures of those children and selected her top choices. She had been contemplating on which child would be the one when they brought in more portfolios, explaining that the ACT children had special cases, and she could ignore them.
Tasha had thought of ignoring the portfolios as suggested because she had no experience with children with special needs, and she feared she wouldn’t be able to properly care for one. However, something had tugged at her heart, and she had told herself to take a peek. She hadn’t thought it would make any difference, but it did. The first special case portfolio she opened had been Andrew’s, and she had known there and then that she had found her child.
Andrew was a scrawny child with large curious eyes and a beautiful smile that melted Tasha’s heart. He had several health challenges, including partial blindness. He couldn’t see well and had difficulty recognizing faces, reading small print, and noticing details. Even after his caretakers at the orphanage had provided him with medicated glasses to help with his eyesight, there were times his vision got blurry, and he couldn’t make out the full form of objects or people next to him.
As a result, he had gotten into accidents several times. For instance, there was a time when the floor had been wet, but he hadn’t noticed it. He slipped, broke his arm, and had to wear a bandage for months. He knew he was sick, and his health worsened as he got older. He had often overheard his caretakers at the orphanage whispering about his poor health. Multiple times they had said he survived jaundice as a toddler, battled anemia, and easily got infected with whatever flu was in season.
His immunity was low, so they had always given him drugs to either prevent or treat an infection. As he grew, Andrew realized that he wasn’t as energetic as his peers. He easily got tired after playing for a short time. Sadly, as a result, he suffered from low self-esteem.
Each passing day, he believed he was undeserving of love and that no one would ever find him worthy enough to adopt him. Whenever people had come to adopt a child, he had been skipped over. They had given him gifts and treated him kindly, but no one had wanted to bear the responsibility of having a sick boy as a child. He had watched many of his friends get adopted and leave the orphanage with their new parents while he remained behind, terribly sad every single time.
He hadn’t liked that no one wanted to be his parent because he was sick, and he also felt hopeless because his body always felt tired. He couldn’t play with the other children for a long time. In the end, he had no parents and no friends and was afraid that his life would never have meaning.
But unbeknownst to him, his luck was about to turn. On the day he was informed that he was getting adopted, Andrew had been suspicious. He had thought his caretakers were trying to raise his spirits because he had been dull and quiet for weeks. But they had assured him that they weren’t pulling his leg. When he finally met Tasha and she told him she was going to adopt him, he broke down in tears.
When Tasha was leaving, Andrew pulled her back and made her promise that she would come for him and finalize the adoption procedure. With a big smile on her face, Tasha promised him. Over the next few weeks, she had visited him at the orphanage, and they spent ample time getting to know each other. They had both looked forward to becoming a family. So, when the judge approved the adoption that morning, their joy knew no bounds.
When they got home, Tasha showed Andrew to his room, and he loved it. To her relief, he had few belongings, so she arranged for them to go shopping to buy more things he needed. Before they left for the mall, Andrew told Tasha that he had a headache. She gave him some pain reliever, and he felt fine enough to go out. However, at the shopping mall, Andrew’s breathing became shallow, sweat broke out on his forehead, and he became dizzy. All of a sudden, he fainted and was rushed to the hospital.
At the hospital, the doctors ran tests and discovered that he had a benign brain tumor. This was the reason why he was having frequent headaches, especially in the morning, and eye problems because the tumor was near his optic nerves and led to visual disturbances. It was also why he was weak and couldn’t stand or play for so long.
Tears sprang to Tasha’s eyes when she heard this. She looked at Andrew’s pale form lying on the hospital bed, asleep, and her heart ached. He was only a little boy who deserved a chance to live a full, healthy life. She wanted to provide him with that chance, so she asked the doctors what could be done for him to be well. They recommended surgery, some medications, and a holistic approach.
When Tasha broke the news to Andrew that he would undergo surgery, he gripped her hand tight and tried to put up a bold front. Still, Tasha could see he was terrified. She looked into his eyes and promised to be right beside him the entire way. She wouldn’t leave his side for one second. Thankfully, the surgery went smoothly.
Tasha kept her word and never left Andrew’s side. She decorated his hospital room with balloons and toys so their sight would cheer him up. She brought some drawing and painting materials so he could have something to do with his hands. Andrew drew and painted often with her during his recovery. He was good at it, and Tasha often complimented his skills. But she didn’t know that his true calling was about to come knocking.
A few days before he was discharged from the hospital, a TV in his hospital room was on and showed someone playing the piano. Andrew’s eyes were glued to the screen for the duration of the performance. He applauded with the audience when it was over and continued staring at the screen in awe. Tasha asked if he wanted to play the piano too, and he eagerly nodded. She enrolled him in piano classes.
A few weeks later, he was a fast learner and was constantly catching up to those who had started learning long before him. He was exhilarated about whatever they taught him and talked about his lessons endlessly to Tasha.
She was so glad to see him thrilled and brightened up. Weeks later, she surprised him by buying him a piano so he could practice at home too. Andrew ran into her arms and hugged her tight. “You are the best mom in the whole world. I love you,” he said, and Tasha beamed with joy.
As time passed, Andrew also started going to school, per his request. Tasha didn’t enroll him in a special school. She had been fearful that she had made the wrong decision, but he soon proved her wrong. At school, Andrew was lively and easily made friends. He and his friends had lots of fun playing and studying together.
At home, Tasha and Andrew’s bond grew even stronger. They did everything together, from cooking to studying and taking evening strolls. His eyesight improved too, and he hardly needed the medicated glasses anymore. Tasha always fed him fruits and vegetables and made sure he was drinking enough water and sleeping well. She was truly taking the best care of him and was thrilled by the results.
However, a year later, she got an even more shocking surprise. Andrew was doing well in school, and his health was steady. Then his piano teacher called Tasha to inform her that he had entered him into a piano competition.
He was the youngest contestant, and there was no guarantee he would even win the first round because the other contestants were exceptionally good. But his teacher just wanted to give Andrew a chance. Natasha agreed, and that day, she sat among the audience with her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
This was her son, the child no one had ever thought would amount to anything because of his poor health. Yet, Andrew blew everyone away with his performance at the competition. The judges marveled when they discovered that it had only been a year since he started playing the piano.
He emerged the winner and won the prize money and a trip to Disneyland with his mom, Tasha, who was beaming in her chair. She had always known that her son was special, but now the world knew it too, and she couldn’t be prouder.
What a beautiful ending! Would you have adopted Andrew despite his poor health? How would you react to seeing such a young boy perform so well? Tell us in the comments below.
