A nurse from Peoria, Illinois became more than just a healthcare provider to one of her littlest patients. Angela Farnan works in the pediatric intensive care unit of OSF Children’s Hospital as a primary charge nurse. It was in this position that Angela met Blaze, a little boy with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a type of congenital heart defect.
Blaze’s life has been fraught with difficulty as he underwent his first surgery at only three days old and another just a few short months later. While only time will tell, Blaze may have to undergo a third surgery at a later date that might require a heart transplant.
Speaking with reporters from People, Angela says that she became more involved in Blaze’s day-to-day care when his parents faced financial difficulties. Living far away from OSF Children’s Hospital, Blaze’s parents didn’t have the resources to travel back and forth to the hospital. As such, Angela and her husband, Rick, assumed temporary guardianship of little Blaze. Angela and Rick soon fell in love with the sweet child, watching with joy as he grew and got better.
As Angela and Rick counted down the days to when they would have to return Blaze, his biological parents made a heartbreaking decision. After Blaze’s second surgery, Angela was told by Blaze’s mom that she and her husband wanted Angela and Rick to formally adopt Blaze. In the tearful exchange, Blaze’s biological mom said that she wanted to do what was best for her child and didn’t want anyone to think that she was a bad mother. Angela recalled telling Blaze’s mom that there was no question that she had great love for her little baby and that she was acting in Blaze’s best interests.
Now, the new addition to the family is settling in and bringing joy to his parents.
“I really feel that he has blessed our lives,” People reports Farnan said. “He’s full of joy. His smile lights up the room.”