{"id":5240,"date":"2025-06-09T16:48:34","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T16:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/?p=5240"},"modified":"2025-06-09T16:48:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T16:48:34","slug":"colin-farrell-shares-emotional-reason-for-placing-his-21-year-old-son-in-long-term-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshstoryes.lol\/?p=5240","title":{"rendered":"Colin Farrell Shares Emotional Reason For Placing His 21-Year-Old Son In Long-Term Care"},"content":{"rendered":"

In order to maintain control over his care while he is still living and to provide him with a feeling of belonging, Colin Farrell has disclosed why he intends to place his adult crippled son in a long-term care facility.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The actor previously detailed how medical professionals tragically misdiagnosed his 21-year-old son James as having cerebral palsy before determining that he actually had Angelman syndrome.<\/p>\n

A rare genetic illness that mostly affects the neurological system, Angelman syndrome results in severe intellectual and physical disabilities.<\/p>\n

Colin, 48, disclosed in an interview with\u00a0Candis Magazine<\/a> that he and his former partner, Kim Bordenave, have decided to place James in a long-term care facility.<\/p>\n

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He said: \u201cIt\u2019s tricky,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>some parents will say:\u00a0\u201cI want to take care of my child myself.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0And I respect that.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cBut my horror would be\u2026 What if I have a heart attack tomorrow, and, God forbid, James\u2019 mother, Kim, has a car crash and she\u2019s taken too \u2013 and then James is on his own?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThen he\u2019s a ward of the state and he goes where? We\u2019d have no say in it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He and Kim are hoping to\u00a0\u201cfind somewhere we like where he can go now, while we\u2019re still alive and healthy, that we can go and visit, and we can take him out sometimes.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Colin continued,\u00a0\u201cWe want him to find somewhere where he can have a full and happy life, where he feels connected.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

When James missed developmental milestones and had trouble sitting up or crawling as a newborn, the Phone Booth actor previously talked about his first-born son\u2019s ailment and revealed that he sought medical guidance.<\/p>\n

Colin explained that because the symptoms of both disorders are identical, many people with the rare illness receive a mistaken diagnosis of cerebral palsy.<\/p>\n

He told\u00a0People<\/a>,\u00a0\u201c[James] couldn\u2019t sit up. He wasn\u2019t crawling. I think he was a year and a half when we took him to get really checked out, and he was diagnosed as having cerebral palsy.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cerebral palsy is the collective term for a group of disorders affecting movement and coordination that occur before, during, or shortly after birth.<\/p>\n

In addition to learning challenges, other symptoms may include trouble speaking, swallowing, or seeing.<\/p>\n

Colin said,\u00a0\u201cIt was a common misdiagnosis, because it shared a lot of the same characteristics. And that was a downer for sure.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Oscar contender disclosed that a pediatric physician recommended that James be evaluated for Angelman syndrome when he was just around two and a half years old.<\/p>\n

Recalling the moment he received the diagnosis, he shared,\u00a0\u201cI remember the first two questions I asked were, What\u2019s the life expectancy and how much pain is involved?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

And the doctor said,\u00a0\u201cLife expectancy, as far as we can tell, is the same for you and for me, and pain, no.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

A physician conducted a test for Angelman syndrome after observing an unusual symptom.<\/p>\n

Colin explained,\u00a0\u201cOne of the characteristics of Angelman syndrome is outbreaks of laughter. And the doctor saw that James was laughing a lot and doing this movement [he waves his hands],\u2019 the father-of-two shared.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seizures are another characteristic of Angelman syndrome, which Colin, who also has a 15-year-old son named Henry Tadeusz with 41-year-old Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus, described as\u00a0\u201cone of the things that parents struggle with greatly.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He added,\u00a0\u201cThankfully, James hasn\u2019t had a breakthrough seizure now in about 10 or 11 years, but I\u2019ve been in the back of ambulances, I\u2019ve been in the hospital with him.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done Diastat [a sedative] up his rectum to get him out of a seizure that lasted longer than three minutes. Finding the right amount of medication that doesn\u2019t have adverse effects \u2014 that\u2019s all very tricky business.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

To support, educate, and advocate for persons with intellectual disabilities, the actor is now starting the Colin Farrell Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time I\u2019ve spoken about it, and obviously the only reason I\u2019m speaking is I can\u2019t ask James if he wants to do this,\u201d<\/strong> he said.<\/p>\n

The proud dad stated that his eldest son\u00a0\u201chas worked so hard all his life, so hard.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He said,\u00a0\u201cRepetition, repetition, balance, his jerky gait. When he started feeding himself for the first time, his face looks like a Jackson Pollock by the end of it. But he gets it in, he feeds himself beautifully. I\u2019m proud of him every day, because I just think he\u2019s magic.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Colin also discussed how, shortly before his fourth birthday, he saw his son take his first steps.<\/p>\n

Detailing the\u00a0\u201cprofound\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0moment to People, Colin said,\u00a0\u201cI knew they [James\u2019s carers] were working on walking. And I stood over there, and she let him go, and he just came to [me].\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so profound. It was magic.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget just the face of determination on him as he walked toward me. He took, like, six steps, and I burst into tears.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

James needs the assistance of a live-in caretaker to complete his daily tasks since his illness is so severe that he is nonverbal.<\/p>\n

Colin revealed his Angelman Syndrome to the world when James was four years old, claiming that his kid had shown\u00a0\u201camazing courage\u201d<\/strong> despite his illness.<\/p>\n

James still required assistance with dressing and cooking, so Colin and Kim applied for conservatorship of him shortly before his 18th birthday.<\/p>\n

Later on, he disclosed that he and James\u2019s mother make sure to celebrate his milestones at any age, including James\u2019s first words at age six, his ability to feed himself at age 19, and the control of his seizures.<\/p>\n

Although Colin told InStyle that he initially made the decision to\u00a0\u201ctalk publicly about the pride and joy I had in our son\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0when attending the 2007 Special Olympics, he has kept a fairly private existence and has not discussed his son in great depth until recently.<\/p>\n

He said,\u00a0\u201cHe has enriched my life, but I don\u2019t want to minimize the trials that so many families go through; the fear, consternation, frustration, and pain\u2026 When you\u2019re the parent of a child with special needs, it\u2019s important to feel that you\u2019re not alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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