Colin Farrell has revealed why he has decided to put his son in long-term care.
The Penguin actor‘s son James, 21, suffers from Angelman syndrome, and was diagnosed as a child.
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Angelman syndrome is rare genetic disorder caused by a missing or faulty UBE3A gene on chromosome 15, with Mayo Clinic saying it “causes delayed development, problems with speech and balance, mental disability, and, sometimes, seizures.”
Farrell and his ex-wife Kim Bordenave have recently come to the decision to settle their son into a long-term care facility, with the star speaking to Candis Magazine about the difficult dilemma.
“It’s tricky, some parents will say: ‘I want to take care of my child myself.’ And I respect that,” the 48-year-old told the outlet.
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“But my horror would be… What if I have a heart attack tomorrow, and, God forbid, James’ mother, Kim, has a car crash and she’s taken too – and then James is on his own?
“Then he’s a ward of the state and he goes where? We’d have no say in it.”
The Irish actor said he and his model ex-wife are trying to “find somewhere we like where he can go now, while we’re still alive and healthy, that we can go and visit, and we can take him out sometimes.
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“We want him to find somewhere where he can have a full and happy life, where he feels connected.”
Before this, his son had a live-in caregiver to help accomplish his daily tasks. At age 18, Farrell and Bordenave filed to obtain a conservatorship as James still needed help with simple tasks like getting dressed and making meals.
The Batman actor only recently opened up about life with his son in an interview with People.
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Farrell said watching his son accomplish milestones throughout his life has provided him with perspective and left him “proud.”
“He works harder than I’ve ever had to work on myself,” Farrell said.
“If anything, he also gifts me with the ability to look at the human being and the human body and life as a marvel because I see how much he struggles with things that I would never have give a second’s thought to – that I would just, like many of us, take for granted.”
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“He has a good life, James. He’s a happy young man, I’m glad to say,” he said.
In his son’s honour, the actor has opened up the Colin Farrell Foundation to help adults with intellectual disabilities by providing support, education, and advocacy.
Farrell and Bordenave dated from 2001 to 2003, with James being born in September 2003. he also shares son Henry, born 2009, with Ondine co-star Alicja Bachleda-Curus, whom he dated from 2008 to 2010.
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