He Weighed Just 3kg at Age 7—What Happened After His Adoption Will Leave You Speechless

At just seven years old, Ryan weighed only 3 kilograms (about 8 pounds). Doctors said he was too frail to survive. But when a photo of the starving Bulgarian boy appeared on Priscilla Morris’s Facebook feed, everything changed — and what followed was nothing short of a miracle.

Priscilla and her husband David were no strangers to adoption. They had already welcomed a daughter with Down syndrome and a heart condition into their loving home, along with their two biological sons. But they thought their family was complete — until they saw Ryan.

“When I looked at him, I just knew,” Priscilla said. Despite their agreement to only adopt from underrepresented countries, both she and David were moved to take action.

In September 2014, they began the adoption process. A year later, in November 2015, they traveled to Bulgaria to meet Ryan — a skeletal boy whose tiny frame shocked even seasoned medical professionals. “He was barely alive,” Priscilla recalled. His body had grown hair as a response to extreme starvation, and he had developed survival habits, like regurgitating food.

Back in the U.S., they rushed him to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Doctors were so stunned by his condition that they cried upon seeing him. “They thought he wouldn’t make it,” Priscilla said.

But Ryan did more than survive — he thrived. With a feeding tube and round-the-clock care, he gained 15 pounds in just over a year. Surgeries corrected his club feet and scoliosis, and his motor and speech abilities steadily improved.

By May 2020, Ryan was celebrating his 12th birthday, surrounded by his adoptive siblings, including Gigi, another child with special needs the family adopted from Ukraine. His transformation was remarkable — a testament to the healing power of love.

Now thriving in school and family life, Ryan’s journey is documented on the Facebook page Saving Baby Ryan. Priscilla hopes his story inspires others to consider adopting children with special needs.

“These kids are worth it,” she says. “Every child deserves love and a family. With the right support, anything is possible.”