Adam Ross to be remembered at special gathering

Though he was gravely ill, Adam Ross could often be seen with his hands firmly on the shoulders of others as he inspired them to have hope while fighting their personal struggles.

When not confined to a bed, he would visit hospital patients to provide inspiration.

“He was always encouraging people to live a faith-filled life,” Jeannie Ross said of her son, who died of a heart attack at age 22 on Feb. 24.

Many of those who supported Adam in his battle against numerous health problems and were inspired by him will come together Sunday at 3 p.m. at Max Fitness Elite on Tower Road, a place where Adam enjoyed exercising and where the staff had honored him with a party. His mother and his father, Timothy Ross, who own Precision Optical, will be present to show appreciation to those who received orange T-shirts with the words “Team Adam #Pray for Adam.”

They were produced during Adam’s final hospital stay.

His mother believes the Bible verse best describing Adam’s legacy is from 2 Timothy 4:7, which reads “I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I kept the faith.”

She is writing a book called “Faithful Warrior” about his journey.

Adam suffered from multiple autoimmune disorders in which his immune system mistakenly attacked and destroyed healthy body tissue.

He had Addison’s disease, a disorder occurring when the body produces insufficient amounts of certain hormones produced by the adrenal glands. The result was muscle weakness and weight loss.

As a sophomore at Calvary Christian School, he weighed 160 pounds, but through the years he lost 70 of them.

An Addisonian crisis — acute adrenal failure —produced low blood pressure, severe vomiting, diarrhea and pain in his back and legs.

He was on dialysis because of poor kidney function, needed blood transfusions because of aplastic anemia and had an enlarged liver.

His last two weeks alive were spent in a coma following a stroke.

“Adam had been in a coma before,” his mother said.

Adam graduated from Calvary Christian School and received a standing ovation at the ceremony. He briefly attended Columbus State University and, at the time of his death, was studying to be a minister, taking online classes from Liberty University.

The night before his massive stroke, the Ross family said Adam read what a professor had said about his final assignment at the dinner table.

“Adam, in my 15 years of being a college professor, I have never given a student 100 in all four modules. Adam, your knowledge and mastery of the subject is above anything I have ever seen.”

“When we are faced with problems, we have two choices,” his mother said. “Either we can lash out in anger, go into self-pity and despair or we can use the pain and problems as an opportunity to see God at work and serve him with joy and gladness. When we do the latter, our problems become a stepping stone and ladder of faith to point others to the one that enables us to soar above our circumstances. Adam had this kind of faith.”

She quoted James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

The Rev. Bob Hawkins serves at Cascade Hills Church, which the Midland family attends. He first met Adam in the hospital.

“We hit it off right away,” he said. “I loved the sweet spirit he conveyed to me when we first met. When he had some good days we would meet at certain hospitals and would go to patients’ rooms together to talk and pray with sick members of the church.”

On one visit, Adam told Hawkins he was called into the ministry and sought Hawkins’ help, which he gave.

“He was very gifted in evangelism and connecting with people who were very ill in the hospital,” Hawkins said. “The patients would draw toward Adam as soon as he walked in the room.”

And the people could “sense and feel God’s comfort and peace.”

Jose Marrero of Columbus said he was inspired by Adam, who “radiated a tremendous positive energy.”

He said Adam was a giver and not a taker.

“Adam lived what people would consider a short life, but he lived it to the fullest,” Marrero said. “Many people just appear in our lives and don’t leave their footprint. Adam inspired many of us with his genuine smile and with his behavior.”

Ross said, “We have heard from many people. Some we didn’t even know would visit him in the hospital.”

Wherever Adam went, he took his Everyday Life Bible. He liked Psalm 90, which says, “Our lives are brief but God can ensure that our work endures.”

In a segment based on Jeremiah 29:11, it was written, “God has a good plan for my life. I am going to fulfill my destiny and be all I can be for His glory. I have God-given gifts and talents and I intend to use them to help others.”

At the end, Adam wrote, “through my sickness.”

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 8:53 PM with the headline "Adam Ross to be remembered at special gathering."