X
TAP top app download banner
theAsianparent Philippines Logo
theAsianparent Philippines Logo
EnglishFilipino
Product Guide
Sign in
  • Money Tips
    • Savings
    • Insurance
    • Loans
    • Investments
    • Government Benefits
  • Building a BakuNation
  • Becoming a Parent
    • Trying to Conceive
    • Pregnancy
    • Delivery
    • Losing a Baby
    • Project Sidekicks
  • Ages & Stages
    • Baby
    • Toddler Years
    • Preschool Age
    • Kids
    • Preteen & Teen
  • Parenting
    • Parent's Guide
    • News
    • Relationship & Sex
  • Health & Wellness
    • Diseases & Injuries
    • Allergies & Conditions
    • Vaccinations
    • COVID-19
  • Education
    • Preschool
    • K-12
    • Special Education Needs
  • Lifestyle Section
    • Celebrities
    • Contests & Promotions
    • Home
    • Travel and Leisure
    • Fashion
    • Fitness
    • Wellness
    • Money
  • Become a VIP
  • Press Room
  • TAP Recommends
  • Shopping

This man chooses to take care of dying children

4 Jul, 2017
This man chooses to take care of dying children

This man with a heart of gold has fostered dying children for over two decades. Here's the story of his incredible and heartrending journey.

Ten of his children have died in his arms.

Mohamed Bzeek has spent more than twenty years as a foster dad, caring for ill and dying children in his home. A Libyan-born man living in Los Angeles County, California, Bzeek has provided love and care for over 40 terminally-ill children.

An angel for dying children

This man chooses to take care of dying children

Image Credit: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times, PBS Newshour

At any given time, nearly 600 children in LA County’s foster care system have severe medical needs. Though there is a grave need for foster parents to care for them, many shy away from taking in dying children.

Bzeek is the only guardian angel these children have. “He’s the only one that would take a child who could not possibly make it,” Melissa Testerman, intake coordinator from the Department of Children and Family Services, tells the LA Times.

When new parents learn their babies don’t have long to live, they often can’t afford to take care of them — or choose not to. “They put them in a facility or a hospital… they never have family,” Bzeek says in an interview with ABC News.

As a foster dad, Bzeek is a pillar of strength for these vulnerable little ones. “We take them and they have family… and when they die they die with their family.”

Currently, this dad with a heart of gold cares for one foster daughter, a 6-year-old girl with a rare brain defect.

This man chooses to take care of dying children

Bzeek and his foster daughter. (Screenshots from PBS Newshour)

In her short life, the bedridden girl has braved an unthinkable amount of bodily suffering. She is blind and deaf, has daily seizures, and her four limbs are paralyzed.

Bzeek has cared for her tirelessly since she was a month old. Being a dad is a full-time job — in six years, he’s never had a single day off. He sleeps next to her and gets up as soon as she moves, for fear that she is choking.

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

Loving them like his own

This man chooses to take care of dying children

Image Credit: PBS Newshour, Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times

Bzeek first began fostering thanks to his late wife Dawn, who was a foster mum well before she met Bzeek. She was herself inspired by the kindness of her grandparents, who had been foster parents.

This amazing mum opened her doors to all foster children who needed immediate placement, and her heart to every child who sheltered with her. Though she was scared of tiny things like bugs, she was never afraid of her fosters’ illnesses, Bzeek says.

This extraordinary couple married and began fostering together. They had a son, Adam, born with brittle bone disease and dwarfism. Currently 19, he is unfazed by his illnesses — he studies computer science at Citrus College and zooms about on an electric wheelchair.

This man chooses to take care of dying children

A pillow stitched with the words, “Dad is like duct tape holding our home together”.

(Screenshot from PBS Newshour)

Inevitably, these long years of selfless toil have taken their toll. Bzeek confesses that he can never remain unaffected by the pain of losing his kids, adoptive or not. The deaths of some kids “hurt me so hard, I was crying for three years,” he says.

But asked whether this grief ever made him think of stopping, the dauntless dad said no. “Because I know these kids need me, I can’t say no.”

“The key is, you have to love them like your own,” Bzeek says. “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.”

It’s incredibly humbling to know such angels on earth exist — parents with so much love in their hearts. How hopeful it is to think, as parents, that many of the weakest and most ill children among us won’t find themselves abandoned, even in their darkest moments.

Republished with permission from: theAsianParent Singapore

Be sure to check out theAsianparent Community for more insightful stories, questions, and answers from parents and experts alike. If you have any insights, questions or comments regarding the topic, please share them in our Comment box below. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Google+ to stay up-to-date on the latest from theAsianparent.com Philippines!

Partner Stories
This Mommy Welfare Month, Absolute Gives Back The Love to Moms #SelfLoveIsBabyLove
This Mommy Welfare Month, Absolute Gives Back The Love to Moms #SelfLoveIsBabyLove
3 Amazing Possible Stories that will leave you smiling, crying, and inspired
3 Amazing Possible Stories that will leave you smiling, crying, and inspired
Motherhood away from home
Motherhood away from home
Bathing is bonding with Cetaphil Baby
Bathing is bonding with Cetaphil Baby

Got a parenting concern? Read articles or ask away and get instant answers on our app. Download theAsianparent Community on iOS or Android now!

img
Written by

Jolene Hee

Become a Contributor

  • Home
  • /
  • News
  • /
  • This man chooses to take care of dying children
Share:
  • Facing Cancer and the Filipino Health Care Struggle

    Facing Cancer and the Filipino Health Care Struggle

  • Bayanihan Beyond Borders: PH Sends Medical Team to Aid Myanmar Quake Victims

    Bayanihan Beyond Borders: PH Sends Medical Team to Aid Myanmar Quake Victims

  • Road Rage in Antipolo: A Tragic Reminder for Filipino Parents to Stay Calm on the Road

    Road Rage in Antipolo: A Tragic Reminder for Filipino Parents to Stay Calm on the Road

  • Facing Cancer and the Filipino Health Care Struggle

    Facing Cancer and the Filipino Health Care Struggle

  • Bayanihan Beyond Borders: PH Sends Medical Team to Aid Myanmar Quake Victims

    Bayanihan Beyond Borders: PH Sends Medical Team to Aid Myanmar Quake Victims

  • Road Rage in Antipolo: A Tragic Reminder for Filipino Parents to Stay Calm on the Road

    Road Rage in Antipolo: A Tragic Reminder for Filipino Parents to Stay Calm on the Road

Get advice on your pregnancy and growing baby. Sign up for our newsletter
  • Money Tips
  • Building a BakuNation
  • Pregnancy
  • Parenting
  • Lifestyle Section
  • FAMILY & HOME
  • TAP Community
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Become a Contributor


  • Singapore flag Singapore
  • Thailand flag Thailand
  • Indonesia flag Indonesia
  • Philippines flag Philippines
  • Malaysia flag Malaysia
  • Sri-Lanka flag Sri Lanka
  • India flag India
  • Vietnam flag Vietnam
  • Australia flag Australia
  • Japan flag Japan
  • Nigeria flag Nigeria
  • Kenya flag Kenya
© Copyright theAsianparent 2025. All rights reserved
About Us|Team|Privacy Policy|Terms of Use |Sitemap HTML
  • Tools
  • Articles
  • Feed
  • Poll

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it