Attorney William Anzalone’s paralyzed brother was bedridden his entire life and dependent on others round-the-clock, but he believes his sibling’s life was still a “miracle,” a story he documents in a new book.

James, who wasn’t expected to live more than three years following a birth injury, cried all night long and had seizures until his parents brought his baby brother William home from the hospital right before James’ fourth birthday and they laid the two next to each other.

“He didn’t cry another day in his life. That relieved a little bit of the stress from the household. That’s one of the reasons I call it a miracle,” Anzalone recalled.

Anzalone, a partner in Anzalone Doyle Trial Lawyers in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. recently released “The Miracle of James,” a 200-page book about his family’s care of a beloved special needs child.

Angelo and Rosarii Anzalone, of Pittston and later West Pittston, had the financial means to do almost anything they wanted, but dedicated their lives to taking care of their son James, never taking a vacation, Anzalone recalls.

Attorney William Anzalone recently wrote a book called “The Miracle of James” about his brother who was bedridden his entire life. In this photo, William and his wife, Tina, visit James at a personal care home. (Courtesy of William Anzalone)

James suffered an injury at birth that resulted in hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, causing total paralysis.

Told by experts that James wouldn’t live more than three years, he lived to age 54 before he died in March 2002. Rosarii died in 2007 at age 90 while Angelo died in 2011 at age 96.

“They dedicated their lives to this young boy. Then he lived a long time and they lived a long time. It’s a beautiful story,” Anzalone said. “In his 54 years, laying flat on his back, he never had a bedsore. He never had a flu, a bad cold or cough. He had to be spoon fed. He never aspirated. He defied the odds. It was miraculous.”

James was able to talk to his family, who felt joy in making him happy and laugh.

“His days were consumed with watching TV shows from 7 a.m. to 11 at night. You find ways to entertain him and have fun. There were days there was so much laughter and fun and love in our household. It was overwhelming,” Anzalone said. “For anyone who came in contact with my brother, it was very emotional being with him. There was peace and contentment. Being with him, you realized all of your problems weren’t that bad. Being with him, you’d have a moment of perspective.”

Anzalone called James the “model of patience.”

“He never ever asked for or demanded anything. He would lay there and wait to be changed, wait to be fed or wait to get his milk,” Anzalone said. “To me, he was a model of courage.”

Anzalone worked on the book project with the Book Baby publishing company and it is available for purchase on the company’s website. It also will be available on amazon.com toward the end of the month. He is donating all proceeds to causes for special needs children and adults.

“I wrote this book because I wanted the story of my brother to be told because I genuinely believed his life was a miracle. I wanted to provide inspiration to other young parents who might be in a similar situation and are questioning what they should do in life and how they should handle it,” Anzalone said. “People often don’t think about what it’s like for the families who live with these children 24 hours a day. It’s a family project of love. I want to let people go beyond the doors and see what happens in a household like this.”