I really try to limit my complaints and worries, but sometimes, it just gets the best of me – if I don’t pay attention. I have the same worries as anyone else, concerns about paying bills, wondering if I look too fat in this or doubtful of how I appear when I go dancing and bust out a new move I picked up off YouTube. I’ve got good days and bad days, and can feel like I’m not enough or I could do better.
Then there are inspirational people, like Gabe Adams, who wipes away all my doubts. Everything he does is with such joie de vivre and gusto, I can’t help but be grateful for everything I have and grateful that he’s still here to give us all a reality check.
Gabe was born in Brazil to a mother that panicked and abandoned him right after she gave birth. The baby boy was brought into this world without limbs – no arms, no legs – and ended up in an orphanage. His story quickly spread like wildfire. In fact, so fast and so far, that Janelle Adams from Utah, USA, already with 13 children, caught wind of his story while shopping in a grocery store, and knew she had to do something. That is the beginning of everything.
It was as if everything aligned because all the paperwork, every single qualification was taken care of when they applied to adopt the boy. It was one miracle after another and Gabe was able to safely make it to America and be with his new family. And while there’s no doubt that his family loves him, they have made sure to provide him with everything he needs to grow and succeed, including tough love.
Gabe is a teen now and has learned to live the most normal life as is possible. He can climb stairs, shower, and dress, even comb his hair, write, dance, sing and act! This kid even works out by climbing the stairs 20 times a day and doing crunches so he can improve his strength and flexibility to be as mobile as possible. He’s got a chair that is activated by head movements, and he’s able to take notes in class by using his mouth to hold a pencil. Gabe is an outstanding kid, a shining example of never giving up, and always remaining hopeful about what’s to come.
Click below to see more of Gabe’s incredible life. I hope he gets to live out his dream of becoming an art teacher one day!
