“It seemed like a match made in heaven. ‘We’re still kids,’ we can remember her saying. And then we got THE CALL.”
‘It all seemed wonderful. We’d found the birth parents of our future child, and then lost them. The birth father told his mom about the baby, and she decided to ‘come for a quick visit.’
‘I walked into his house. When I saw the bags from Victoria’s Secret, I knew what he had in store. It was Valentine’s Day, and it’s pretty obvious what a grown man had on his mind.’
“I gave him the coy smile, in an attempt to be sexy. I probably tried to wink at him, and did my best to slither over to the bed. One long stride in front of the other, knocking my hips from left to right, hoping to look like Marilyn Monroe but most likely – didn’t. He slowly sat down next to me.”
‘He locked me in the basement for days. I asked him to help with baths for our kids that night. He turned off the power, so I went down to turn it back on – and he left me there.’
“I was hungry, and had nothing to eat. There was a sink down there I used to drink water. I was so done dealing with things. I sat and hoped he was taking care of our children upstairs. I kept wondering how I would get out.”
‘Oh! You’re a 7. Let’s see what happens if you push.’ We were hurried back into the delivery room because this baby was coming RIGHT NOW.’
“We got the call. THE CALL. A baby had been born the day prior, and his birth mother had chosen us to raise him. We spent the next 12 hours frantically rushing around. And then, literally on our way out the door, we got another call: she had changed her mind. This wasn’t our baby.”
‘She even asked, ‘Do you still want to proceed with the pregnancy?’ She told us, ‘he could have major health issues he’ll have to ‘deal’ with as he grows up.’
“Now when I think back to that moment, I can’t help but wonder why she didn’t tell us just how much joy and happiness Asher would bring us. Or how much closer our family would be because of him. Why didn’t she tell us it would be a HAPPY ending, and that Asher would change the world?”
‘How are the kids?’ I gave her a puzzled look, wondering if I heard her correctly. My heart began to race and my breathing became faster. Tears erupted as my mind instantly flashed back to 3 years ago.’
“I was at a routine appointment. As the lady walked into the room, she smiled, repeated herself, and that’s when I realized, she didn’t know two of my children died.”
‘Unfortunately I see something here that could be a problem. I saw my mother-in-law’s face. She knew. We both knew something was off. I wanted to disappear.’
“I kept saying to myself nothing was wrong. I had seen the baby move and he looked perfectly beautiful and strong. When the doctor came in, I saw her face. With a serious look she asked me if I was alone.”
‘We were going to be parents of two children and we weren’t sure if one would survive. As the doctor pulled Vivian out of me, we held our breath as we waited to hear if she would cry.’
“We were happy because we were finally going to find out the genders of our sweet babies, but we were terrified because this appointment would confirm if something was truly wrong.”
‘Who should wear the mommy bracelet?,’ the nurse asked our birth mom. ‘Jessica. She’s her mommy.’ She placed the bracelet around my wrist, and handed me my daughter.’
“I wanted to be able to tell my daughter that she threw her head back when she laughed. How she dipped her fries in mayonnaise, but mostly how much she loved her. How she begged me to make sure my daughter always knew.”
‘Am I ever going to walk again? Will I survive this?’ I couldn’t see it coming or avoid it. I never saw the man who did it. I just felt the shattering vibration in my leg and collapsed.’
“There was no fight, no scuffle. Just bone-crushing shock. For years, I imagined him as every man I saw – walking down the street, opening my office door, pushing through a crowd. Every victim I heard about on the news was me – helpless and broken – life as they knew it taken from them in one moment.”
