(Twitter/MiaFarrow)
On Wednesday, TMZ revealed that Thaddeus Farrow, Mia Farrow’s son, died.
Here’s what you need to know about him.
1. He Was Paraplegic
Thaddeus was paraplegic due to polio– something Mia, herself, was all too familiar with. When the actress was just 9-years-old, she lost the ability to walk and breathe on her own, according to a New York Post article from 2000. The outlet writes, “She can still recall the anguishing pain in her spine and legs, spending three weeks in a Los Angeles hospital’s isolation unit and living in an iron-lung breathing apparatus for several days.” Although the pain of the disease eventually left Farrow’s body, its memory lingered, and was intensified by the sight of Thaddeus struggling with it everyday.
Fortunately, Thaddeus’s condition improved by the time the New York Post published their article. “Thaddeus walks with leg braces, attends the fourth grade at a school near their Bridgewater, Conn., farmhouse and speaks at events about his bout with the disease.”
2. He Was 27-Years-Old
Thaddeus died at the age of 27. When Mia Farrow first brought him home after the adoption, she was struck by how few people really knew about polio, and subsequently spearheaded a campaign that aimed to rid the world of the disease.
According to news outlets, state troopers arrived at the scene around 12:45pm Wednesday, where they found Thaddeus in his car, suffering from a life-threatening injury. He was pronounced dead at 2:30 pm, at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut.
3. He Died From a Gunshot Wound to the Head
Mia Farrow’s Son Thaddeus Passes Away At 27 t.co/N3UQByyYNd #celebs
Thaddeus died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to an article released by the News Times on Thursday. “It was not immediately known whether a gun was found in or near the car.”
4. No Foul Play Was Involved
(Getty)
Police are currently investigating the death of Thaddeus, who, in the words of The Courant, “was found gravely dead injured in his car along Route 67 Wednesday afternoon.” The statement released by the state police on Wednesday evening also said that there was “no criminal aspect to the case.”
5. He Was One of Mia Farrow’s 10 Adopted Children
My son Thaddeus is paraplegic due to #Polio (before I adopted him) Photo of his brace by @RonanFarrow #Vaccineswork http://t.co/ewgpKQ4LD0
Thaddeus was adopted from an orphanage in Calcutta, India, in 1995. The New York Post writes, “An acquaintance saw him slithering on the floor without use of his legs and suggested to the humanitarian that she help him. He likely would have died otherwise.”
Mia Farrow is mother to 14 children– 10 of whom were adopted. Three of those adopted children– Tam, Lark, and Thaddeus– have passed away. In 2008, Farrow’s adopted daughter, Lark, died in the New York Methodist Hospital on Christmas Day.
