LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- The long-awaited journey for 17-year-old Jose to find his forever family has now come to an end.

Cheering and crying filled the Ninth West Judicial Circuit Court and the Arkansas Department of Human Services conference room, as the judge declared Jose was now adopted.

Jose suffered from shaken baby syndrome at the hands of a caretaker when he was just an infant.

His birth family took him to a care facility for the 24-hour care that he needed, and soon after his family began to abandon him, which is when the state’s foster care stepped in.

His life began to change when Mary Zhang stepped in.

“When I first visited my intention was to be an advocate for him medically speaking, Dr. Zhang said.

Jose suffered severe brain damage, is mostly paralyzed, is verbally and visually impaired, and requires a feeding tube, common symptoms of shaken baby syndrome, which is why Zhang was introduced.

“As we visited him more and more we just knew that we wanted him a part of our family,” Zhang said.

Zhang shared with her husband her calling to adopt.

“You know you had kind of gotten to where he needs someone and I was like let’s do it,” Patrick Sullivan said.

“He’s lived his entire life in a facility like I mean how do you,” Zhang said.

Zhang and Sullivan said Jose was an answered prayer.

“We want to be his support system, we want to be just a constant presence in his life, we want to pray over him all the time consistently and we just want to try to do everything that we know that Jesus would do,” Zhang said.

Thursday under oath, Zhang and Sullivan declared their intentions to the judge to adopt Jose, and it was granted.

After nearly 17 years in the foster care system, Jose now has a family.

“When we look into his eyes and rub his face, he knows that we love him,” Zhang said.

Jose will remain in the facility to get the care that he needs, however this time it will be with the support and daily loving visits from his new mom and dad.