Doctor's compassionate response to Facebook plea leads him to become dad to an orphaned teen

Sometimes compassion can lead to unexpected bonds for people. Something like that happened with a doctor who adopted a teen after his parents died. The man had seen a Facebook post where his former patient was asking someone to adopt her friend's 13-year-old son after her death. The doctor had never been married and really wanted to be a dad. So he felt that his prayers had been answered when he saw the post, as per PEOPLE.

The doctor, James C Wittig, would often joke that he wanted to start being a father to a 13-year-old and ended up getting exactly that. He was scrolling Facebook when he saw a post from his former patient and volunteered to raise the kid. "I wanted a child. I must have been sending these messages out to God and in prayer and everything," Wittig expressed. He also shared a very special connection with the boy, something he came to know after adopting him. Around 25 years ago, the man's fellowship director gave him a photo showing two women who had some form of bone cancer. One had her leg amputated while the other one had a limb-sparing surgery. "It shows the difference between a person who has their legs saved from cancer, versus one who has an amputation for it. It gives a visual when you talk about limb-saving surgery and talk about osteosarcomas."

Wittig cared for the woman who had a limb-sparing surgery when he was a fellow and became her doctor when his director retired. He never met the other woman, but ended up adopting her son years later. The man had used that photo for years in his class to explain the case to his students. The boy, Ronnie, had lost his mom to complications caused by her amputation. His father had also died recently. "I reached out to her and I said, 'I really want a child in my life,'" Wittig recounted. He even drove from Morristown, N.J., to northern Virginia and instantly liked the boy. "He was an adorable, kind, caring, energetic kid who was very loving."

On his second visit, the man learned that the boy had chosen to live with him. "He is one of the strongest and kindest and most courageous kids that I know." He added, "I see this whole thing as a synchronicity. The coincidence of my getting his mother's photo handed to me when I was just starting as a fellow, to me looking back at everything: It was meant to be." Ronnie's legal guardianship was transferred to the doctor in March 2015. Since then, the boy has graduated from both prep school and welding school, as per an Instagram post by @drjameswittig. The doctor hadn't legally adopted the 20-year-old till 2023 and hoped to complete the process in some time. "It's really just a paper. He thinks of me as his dad."

The dad feels that caring for a child has been a really fulfilling journey for him. "I can help him, and guide him through life, and help be his coach. And in the same regard, he's my coach. He teaches me every day," the oncologist pointed out. "Whether they're adopted or blood, they're still your children and it's still the same exact thing," the man suggested, wanting to encourage old, unmarried people to adopt kids if they want one.