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Twelve Years....

July 6, 2005. 

He came six weeks early while they were on their traditional July 4th family beach trip. After a calm day on the boat, things quickly turned from peace to panic when her water broke and labor began. Ready or not, their first born boy was coming. She was transported alone to a hospital equipped to care for preemies where she labored with no familiar support and with no pain medication until her precious baby entered this world. His Daddy rushed to join them, and the three were reunited. Grateful that, in spite of things going so differently than they planned, Mama and baby were healthy and safe. 

Tommy and Stefanie settled into life as first time parents. Naps and night time sleep, feeding schedules, and dirty diapers were all recorded in a small three ring binder that spoke to how important they viewed this new and blessed calling. As Stefanie's maternity leave drew to an end, she and I began planning what Joseph's days would look like once she returned to work. And I felt privileged that my life long friend would entrust her most precious gift into my care.

Our children Olivia and Jack were three and two at the time. They enjoyed having a baby in the house to love and "help" care for. And I so loved having my arms filled with this precious boy. 

None of us knew what God had planned. That He had chosen for Joseph to live such a short while on this earth. That on October 18, 2005, at just one week shy of four months old, He would choose for Joseph to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. That He would choose for him to die in my care. None of us could have prepared for the grief Tommy and Stefanie would have to face. The grief their family would have to face.

None of us could have known the lessons we would learn from loving and losing Joseph. None of us could have imagined the lives that would be forever changed, because God chose to use this little one. 

Twelve years later, there is still rarely a day that I don't think of Joseph in some way. This past week, he has consumed my thoughts.

Jeremy and I have a college friend who lives in Australia. We have maintained ties with Tamara via Facebook over the years. Nine months ago, Tamara found out she was expecting, and it was determined that the baby boy she was carrying had Down Syndrome. Because of our experience with being special needs parents and because of the knowledge we have gained from loving our nephew Joel who has Downs, we reached out often to try and encourage her. Tamara was strongly urged to have an abortion, but she stood her ground and started prepping for her little Hunter. As the pregnancy progressed, she and Hunter's dad Brett and her other three sons along with so many friends and family grew in excitement about Hunter's anticipated July 3rd birth. On June 28, 2017, Tamara gave birth to Hunter after finding out that he had suddenly passed away in her womb just days before his scheduled delivery. 

Our hearts have been so grieved for this family. Our prayer is that the same comfort that God gave Tommy and Stefanie will be the comfort that He uses to sustain Hunter's family. The Australian site "My Cause" is similar to the US "gofundme." An account has been set up on this site to cover Hunter's funeral expenses. The goal of $5,500 has been met, but I would love to see the family receive a lot more donations so that Brett and Tamara can perhaps take some time off of work to help process all they have endured. Tamara will most likely not receive her maternity stipend and there are a lot of medical bills that have yet to be paid due to Hunter having extra monitoring and testing due to his Downs. The family has some very significant financial needs that I am praying get covered. If you feel compelled to give, you can reach their page by clicking HERE. Thank you for considering giving!

We praise the Lord for the little ones like Joseph and Hunter that God uses to change and grow us all. I have said it before, but God used Joseph to prepare me for mothering Josiah and Jalen. As heartbroken as I am for all that these families are enduring, I know that God has a divine and good plan for each and every life He creates. 

Because of His grace,
Christy