LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- The long-awaited journey for 17-year-old Jose to find his forever family has now come to an end.
Cheering and crying filled the Ninth West Judicial Circuit Court and the Arkansas Department of Human Services conference room today as the judge declared Jose was now adopted.
11-year-old Arkansas boy finds forever home after years in foster care
Jose suffered from shaken baby syndrome at the hands of a caretaker when he was just a baby.
His birth family took him to a care facility for the 24-hour care that he needed, and soon after his family began to abandon him, which is when the state’s foster care stepped in.
His life began to change when Mary Zhang stepped in.
“When I first visited my intention was to be an advocate for him medically speaking, Dr. Zhang said.
Jose suffered severe brain damage, is mostly paralyzed, is verbally and visually impaired, and requires a feeding tube, common symptoms of shaken baby syndrome, which is why Zhang was introduced.
“As we visited him more and more we just knew that we wanted him a part of our family,” Zhang said.