Mohamed Bzeek came to the United States from Libya to study engineering. He ended up becoming, according to Los Angeles County, the only foster parent willing to take in terminally ill children, the ones no other home wants.
Since 1989, he has cared for 80 children. Ten died in his arms. Many arrived from the hospital without a name, with only “Boy” or “Girl” written on the paperwork, because their own families had abandoned them. Bzeek gave them names. He gave them a bed, a kitchen where the smell of food filled the house, and final days in which someone held them calmly.
Today he is 65 years old and facing his own colon cancer. He says he felt the same fear those children feel when they realize they are alone. And even so, he keeps opening the door.
