A woman adopts a seriously ill child – and then a miracle happens

29-year-old Silvina Avellaneda was determined to become a mother. Lacking a partner, the woman from Catamarca province in northern Argentina first considered artificial insemination. But during a conversation with her mother's friends, the topic of adoption came up – Silvina was immediately attracted to the idea. She registered with the local family court.

On July 11, 2007, her phone rang: A boy put up for adoption was in the intensive care unit and might die soon, they said. “What do you think? Do you dare?” asked the officer. Silvina had a clear answer: “Yes!” 17 years have passed since then, and for his mother, Francisco is “the best thing that ever happened to me”.

The story of both began the morning after the call: Silvina had several hours of conversations with a psychiatrist, a psychologist and a social worker. Finally, experts issued the necessary documents, in which Silvina could identify herself as a foster mother for 30 days. The woman rushed to the hospital.

Doctors there said the child was suffering from severe malnutrition. “I know the child is serious. If it doesn't survive, it will be loved by a mother at last,” he tells the “Infobae” portal.

Sylvina was admitted to the intensive care unit. The nine-month-old baby looked like a newborn and weighed almost 2.7 kg. “He was so small,” she recalls. She gave him the name Francisco and for the next four weeks did not leave his side – and then a miracle happened. As Francisco began to grow, he also learned to laugh. The child was soon released from the hospital.

Silvina took all necessary precautions at home to protect Francisco's delicate health. “We didn't know if he would survive his first year,” says the now 47-year-old. “But we celebrated his second and third birthdays and he got better and better.”

Francisco turned 17 last October 13th. The young man lives with a mild intellectual disability and currently attends a special school. Silvina is proud of him. “From our first meeting in the intensive care unit, he was my driving force, my driver, my everything,” she says.