All any child wants is a loving and nurturing home. For children looking to get adopted, this can sometimes be a challenge. Older children and those with behavioral problems have the hardest time finding a home. Terminally ill children, though, have the hardest time of all.

Fortunately, terminally ill kids in California have an ally in a 62-year-old single dad.

A mission to make a difference in the lives of terminally ill children

Mohamed Bzeek, of Azusa, California, has made it his life’s mission to make a difference in the lives of terminally ill children. Born in Libya, Bzeek has been serving as a foster parent since 1989. Back then it was Bzeek and his then-wife, Dawn.

The couple would take in sick children to care for, and even experienced the death of one of their foster children in 1991. It was at this point that they decided to foster terminally ill and sick children exclusively.

The couple couldn’t bear to think that there were terminally ill children out there with no hope of finding love and care in a home setting.

“The key is, you have to love them like your own,” Bzeek told Los Angeles Times. “I know they are sick. I know they are going to die. I do my best as a human being and leave the rest to God.”

Some of his adopted children have died in Bzeek’s arms

Even after the couple split in 2013, Bzeek continued to foster terminally ill children in California. In total, he has lost about 10 children, with some of them dying as he held them.

His current charge is a six-year-old girl who is blind, deaf, and paralyzed in her arms and legs. Her condition is caused by a brain defect that leaves her with daily seizures and the need for continuous care.

His current charge requires round-the-clock care

While seriously ill, she does deserve love like any other child. Bzeek feels strongly about his commitment to her. He has cared for her since she was one month old.

“I know she can’t hear, can’t see, but I always talk to her,” Bzeek said. “I’m always holding her, playing with her, touching her. … She has feelings. She has a soul. She’s a human being.”

When she was two years old, Bzeek was told there was nothing else doctors could do to help her. Still, Bzeek continued to care for her and she is still alive four years later.

“When she’s not sick and in a good mood, she’ll cry to be held,” Dr. Suzanne Roberts, the girl’s pediatrician, said. “She’s not verbal, but she can make her needs known. … Her life is not complete suffering. She has moments where she’s enjoying herself and she’s pretty content, and it’s all because of Mohamed.”

Bzeek is a hero to many in the California adoption community

While caring for a terminally ill child is emotionally straining and time-consuming, Bzeek says that the alternative is much worse. Without people like Bzeek, many terminally ill foster children would pass away without a home.

Bzeek has been recognized for his efforts by the California adoption community, and he has earned a reputation as someone on who the community can always rely.

“If anyone ever calls us and says, ‘This kid needs to go home on hospice,’ there’s only one name we think of,” said Melissa Testerman, a DCFS intake coordinator who works with sick children. “He’s the only one that would take a child who would possibly not make it.”

The fate of many terminally ill foster children

In many cases, terminally ill children are placed in a hospital-like environment. But thanks to Bzeek, at least some of them spend the rest of their days in a loving home.

For more on Bzeek and his mission to adopt and love terminally ill children, watch the video below.

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Source: PBS NewsHour, Los Angeles Times, YouTube – PBS NewsHour