He stopped breathing before his third birthday and had to be revived on the way to the hospital. Years later, he gave a surprise wedding toast that moved a room full of adults to tears. His journey in between was anything but ordinary.

By the time he was three, he had stopped speaking, lost interest in his surroundings, and no longer responded like the child he once was. The diagnosis explained some things, but it didn’t offer a clear way forward. While professionals gave their opinions, his mother began taking matters into her own hands.

She found others like her — parents trying different approaches, sharing results, and refusing to give up. Slowly, she began to see change. It wasn’t instant or complete, but it was progress. Years later, that same boy would take steps most people never imagined possible, and he continues moving forward today.

He was just two and a half when the

first emergency

happened. That morning, his mother noticed something unusual — he hadn’t woken up at his usual time. When she went to check on him, she found him in his crib, convulsing, his lips blue and his eyes rolled back. She screamed for help and called 911.

When paramedics arrived, they told her he had suffered a febrile seizure, something they described as common. But he didn’t have a fever, and he hadn’t been sick. Still shaken, she tried to move forward, trusting what the doctors had said. But two weeks later, another episode occurred, this time far more severe.

While visiting his grandmother in Palm Springs, her son suddenly collapsed again. His eyes rolled back, he went stiff, and then stopped breathing entirely. He had gone into cardiac arrest. Paramedics were called once more and performed CPR.

The boy’s mother, a

model and actress

, said she sat in the front seat of the ambulance, watching helplessly as they worked on him, praying for him to come back. A paramedic gave her a thumbs-up through the back window — he was breathing again.

But on the way to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles — a three-hour drive made longer by the unavailability of air transport — he seized again. By the time they arrived, he had experienced multiple more seizures. Over the next seven hours, he had seven seizures in total. The experience left her overwhelmed and full of questions.

“I was dying because he kept seizing the whole way,” she

recalled

. “So this was my big red alert — there is something big going on with my son.” Doctors eventually told her that her son had epilepsy. When asked if seizures ran in the family, she replied that they did not. She knew every branch of her family, she said, and no one had epilepsy.

But something still didn’t feel right. The diagnosis didn’t explain everything she was seeing. So she scheduled a follow-up with a neurologist in Los Angeles. After spending just twenty minutes observing her son, the doctor gave her a different answer: her son had autism.

Hearing the words was devastating. She later recalled the neurologist

telling

her, “Don’t forget — this is the same little boy you came in this room with. He’s not any different.” But for her, everything had changed. “I believe my son is trapped inside,” she

told

him. “I’m not settling for this.”

Looking back, she realized there had been

signs she didn’t recognize

at the time — hand flapping, an intense focus on spinning objects, and growing social disconnection. Others had noticed as well. A woman at a local play gym asked her if her son had a brain problem. Her mother-in-law said he didn’t show affection.

She dismissed both comments immediately, believing her son was simply perfect the way he was. But now, those moments took on new meaning. Around this time, she and her husband filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Their son was three.

She would now face the realities of single motherhood while trying to understand and respond to a condition she still barely grasped. In the weeks that followed the diagnosis, she began

searching for answers

on her own. The internet was limited at the time, but she came across an unfamiliar phrase: autism is reversible.

She clicked, unsure what to expect, and was directed to a site run by Generation Rescue, a parent-led organization that shared recovery stories and treatment approaches outside of mainstream medicine. The ideas she encountered there were simple but unorthodox.

Parents described eliminating gluten and casein from their children’s diets, introducing vitamins and supplements, and using strategies like video modeling. She decided to try it all. “We’re not talking about crazy things,” she

said

. “It’s organic food. It’s vitamins. These are things that moms are sharing with each other.”

The changes were swift. Within two to three weeks of adjusting his diet, her son doubled

his vocabulary

, began making eye contact, smiled more often, and showed signs of affection again. She also began working with him on how to play — something that no longer came naturally.

At home, she modeled behavior using videos and toys, teaching him basic interactions that other children picked up more easily. “If this didn’t work,” she

said

, “I’m going to the next one.” With every small step forward, she felt more convinced that progress, though slow, was possible.

As her son continued to improve, she began to share their journey publicly. In 2007, she appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and spoke openly about the challenges they had faced and the steps she had taken after his diagnosis. By then, her son was showing significant signs of progress.

“He’s doing amazing,” she

stated

. “He’s considered recovered.” She documented their story in two books, “Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism” and “Mother Warriors.” The books detail everything from his seizures to the treatments she implemented.

She also joined other parents in advocating for more research, better support, and broader awareness of alternative interventions. In her public statements, she addressed the ongoing debate around childhood vaccinations. While emphasizing that she and other parents were not anti-vaccine, she said they wanted them to be safer.

“We are an intelligent group of parents that know the importance of having vaccines,” she

explained

, “but we do believe it’s about time we have safe ones.” She urged caution and supported testing children’s immune systems before following standard vaccination schedules.

Meanwhile, medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics have maintained that vaccines are not linked to autism, but acknowledged frustration over the lack of defined causes and treatments. Still, she remained focused on what had worked in her own household.

Her son’s improvements, she believed, were the result of early intervention and persistent effort — practices she hoped would encourage other families to explore all available options. Nearly a decade after her son’s diagnosis, a

new chapter

began.

On August 31, 2014, she married

Donnie Wahlberg

in a ceremony held at the historic Hotel Baker in St. Charles, Illinois. Her son, who was 12, played a central role in the wedding, not as a bystander, but as the one who walked her down the aisle.

Before the ceremony, he approached her and

said

, “I have the most important job at the wedding.” Later, dressed in a tuxedo, he met her at the door, offered his arm, and walked her forward. When the officiant asked who was giving the bride away, he raised his hand and

said

, “I am.”

Later at the reception, he surprised everyone by picking up the microphone to give a spontaneous speech. “I love my stepdad, I’m so glad for my mom, we’re going to make a great family,” he

told

the room. His mother later described the moment as deeply moving, noting that it hadn’t been planned at all.

What stood out most to her wasn’t just the gesture — it was the emotional comfort her son seemed to have found in his new home life. “I could tell that he had a comfort level of safety now in the house,” she

said

. Seeing him take those steps with confidence marked something she hadn’t always been sure would come.

By the time he turned 20, Evan Asher was beginning to explore his own interests and creative voice. He had developed a passion for writing, filmmaking, gaming, and music. In early 2023, he released his

first original song

, “It Doesn’t Matter,” inspired by his admiration for Selena Gomez.

Initially, he had only planned to write the lyrics and asked his stepfather if he could help get the song to Gomez. Instead, Donnie encouraged him to try recording it himself. Though hesitant, Evan agreed and began working on the project with the support of his stepbrother, Elijah Wahlberg, the frontman of the band Pink Laces.

Elijah collaborated with him and other songwriting partners to help him record the track. When it came time to create the music video, he turned to his filmmaker father, John Asher, for help behind the camera. “It was a joy to help Evan make his song a reality,” Donnie later

revealed

.

“He is such an incredibly sincere young man, who really has the heart of a saint and the spirit of an artist, but none of this was handed to him — he had to put in a lot of work and prove that he was committed to the process,” he

added

.

Following the release of his song, Evan began to take more independent steps.

He turned 21

in May 2023, and not long after, he

started working

as a production assistant on season 10 of “Masked Singer.” According to his mother, Jenny McCarthy, his first day on the job felt like watching him head to kindergarten.

She kept praying that he was okay even though she was on the “Masked Singer” set. Within days, he was already talking about future plans, including buying a house in Pacific Palisades. That same year, Evan

completed college

. Rather than moving out on his own, he returned to live with his mother and stepfather in Chicago.

“I keep telling Evan, ‘I want you to live with me forever! I love having you here,'” Jenny

told

People magazine in 2024. Evan, then 21, had a different timeline in mind. “He keeps telling me, ‘I’ll give you two years,'” she

said

with a laugh. Evan is now 22, and his next birthday is just weeks away.

A photo shared by his mother drew strong reactions online.

“Your son is so grown up very [sic] handsome. Great picture of you both,”

one person

wrote

. Another

commented

,

“Ohhh, I haven’t seen him for a long while, very handsome young man! 🙌❤️”

A third

added

,

“When did he grow up? I was expecting him to be like 9 or 10 😂😂🤦🏼‍♀️”

Jenny has remained vocal in her pride. In a February 2023 interview, she

described

Evan as “the kindest, sweetest, most loving human being on this planet,” and said she was excited for whatever came next for him.