Nurse adopts baby boy with incurable disease after foster families refuse to take him

'He looked straight into my eyes. It was that moment I felt love like no other'

Sarah Ruane and her son Josh who suffers from congenital myotonic dystrophy. (Benjamin Paul SWNS.com)

A nurse adopted a baby boy who was admitted to her her hospital ward with an incurable disease after no-one else offered to take him home.

Several foster families rejected Josh Burdall who has a life-limiting, muscle-wasting disease, so mum-of-nine Sarah Ruane, 54, began the adoption process when he was one month old.

Seven years on and she is trying to raise funds to find a cure for his condition known as congenital myotonic dystrophy.

Josh grew up like any other child up until the age of two and could walk and talk. But he now needs a wheelchair and can no longer speak.

Sarah said: “When he was born he was only given a year to live, maximum. But I just looked at him, and because we thought he was born blind, he looked straight into my eyes. It was at that moment I felt love like no other.

"Despite knowing he might not live longer than a year due to being no cure for congenital myotonic dystrophy and the heartbreak that would bring, I still took him. I just walked into the ward and said ‘I’ll take him with me’.”

Sarah knew that Josh’s biological mother had the same condition, which she describes as “wicked and relentless", before he was born and that he would also have it.

Congenital myotonic dystrophy breaks down muscle matter and affects his cognitive and organ functions.

She is now determined to help more funding be pumped into research of the disease.

She added: “As a nurse it is extremely painful that I can not fix my poorly boy like the hundreds of kids that I have helped get better in the past. We need research into this utterly devastating condition so that we can find a cure.

“I wish so badly that I could change places with him and that he could have my years – but I cant, I can only fight on his behalf and I’ll do it for as long as it takes.”

Sarah, who has six biological children and three adopted children said more needs to be done to highlight the rare ailment.

“Josh’s friend who has the same condition picked up a cold, which resulted a mucus plug in his lung, had a heart attack and died,” she said. “That’s why I am always panicking and worried that could happen to Josh."

The community paediatric nurse from Driffield, East Yorkshire, spent the last week driving her 30-year-old motorised trike from Lands End to John O’groats to raise money

She was joined by other bikers who had heard about the rare disease and was supported by the biking community across the country and has set up a Just Giving web page for those who wish to donate.

SWNS