A rare adoption story: Marcus giggles as his mom Kelly Lively reads a book to him at home on Feb. 16, 2019. Nurses and doctors who thought Marcus would never make it past the hospital after he was born with serious health conditions, has thrived since Kelly began fostering and eventually adopting him. Kelly felt called to adopt Marcus after seeing a photo of him. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune

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The full story of a rare adoption is here:

Kelly Lively always wanted to be a mom but she could not have kids on her own.

While she was a case manager for a terminally-ill foster child, she said she overheard a foster agency speaking about a little boy named Marcus.

She found out he was on a ventilator. They were praying he would find a home because adults were not interested in adopting kids like him.

Marcus was born at 25 weeks, addicted to heroin. He weighed 1 pound. His mom abandoned him at the hospital.

Doctors did not expect Marcus to live past his 2nd birthday.

She knew it would require medical qualifications in order to be his mom but that did not stop her. She became his foster mom in 2017 and adopted Marcus in December of 2018.

“There was just no life in his eyes,” she said. “He was not thriving. He was so sick and it broke my heart he did not have anyone to love him.”

Lively said when she kissed Marcus and asked him if she could be his mom, he smiled big.

Marcus is now 3 years old. He is off of the ventilator and he can walk. Doctors did not think he would be able to do either.

“As a nurse, I had been given a gift and it is important to give it away,” Lively said.

She hopes they will be able to take out his tracheostomy tube this spring or summer. A rare adoption indeed.