,type=downsize)
Mia Farrow has broken her silence following the death of her son. In a statement on her Twitter, the veteran actress took the time to thank fans. "We're devastated by the loss of Thaddeus, our beloved son and brother," the message posted on Thursday read. "He was a wonderful, courageous person who overcame so much hardship in his short life. We miss him. Thank you for the outpouring of condolences and words of kindness."
Mia adopted Thaddeus in 1994 Photo: Getty Images
Thaddeus, 27, was found by police in his car at 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday "suffering from life-threatening injuries." He was rushed to Danbury Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Connecticut ruled his death a suicide as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the torso. Mia's post continued with a link to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website: "If you or someone you love needs help, or if you want to support a group doing life saving work, please visit https://afsp.org/."
Thaddeus, who was a paraplegic after suffering from polio, was adopted by the actress from an orphanage in Calcutta, India in 1994. As one of Mia's ten adopted children and 14 kids in total, the late 27-year-old had previously spoken about his adoption in an interview with Vanity Fairin 2013. "It was scary to be brought to a world of people whose language I did not understand, with different skin colors," he said. "The fact that everyone loved me was a new experience, overwhelming at first."
Thaddeus passed away at 27 Photo: Getty Images
The Rosemary's Baby actress, who adopted Thaddeus shortly after her split from Woody Allen in 1994, led a campaign to end polio following the adoption, telling the New York Post: "I perhaps am more motivated than most people because I had polio myself and it was a real struggle to come through it, and what I saw will never leave me – in the hospitals and in the public wards for contagious diseases. Perhaps even more so because I have a son who is only 12 years old and who is paralyzed from the waist down because of polio."
The 71-year-old has tragically lost three of her adopted children. Her daughter Tam Farrow died aged 19 in 2000 after a long illness and daughter Lark Previn passed away in 2008.
