“It’s like having a piece of him with me all the time,” he said. “It’s almost like, if I wanted to talk to him, I can call her.”
‘Their hearts were broken, but they were thinking of someone else.’ Heart transplant recipient reunites with donor’s family
‘Her birth, which was supposed to be beautiful and intimate, was traumatic. I couldn’t stop shaking and vomiting. I had no idea if I would ever see my baby girl alive.’
“We had just gotten news, bad news. I sat in shock. I turned to my husband and told him it was clear what her middle name should be – Hope.”
‘Hey Dad, I haven’t been feeling too well. Could you take me to the doctor? I think I might have a sinus infection.’
“‘Sure baby, I’ll pick you up after school.’ My daughter’s sinus infection was anything but.”
‘I found this picture the other day. Life felt incredibly difficult and overwhelming at that time. I was still in my 20’s, trying to survive and make it through each day.’
“I used to care what others thought. But I know now, none of that matters at all.”
‘Dear NICU Mom, I see you. This moment isn’t at all how you envisioned, but you are determined to embrace it anyway.’
“I see you carefully wash your hands before you lean over that tiny plastic crib to touch your baby’s face. I see you with a special heirloom dress and milestone blocks commemorating her first month of life.”
‘It was the coroner, I knew the number by now. Five months after my wife had died in her sleep, and we still didn’t have any answers.’
“There were so many questions surrounding her death. My healthy, 36-year-old wife of nearly 13 years was gone. I was suddenly a single dad to 4 young boys. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
The dementia is taking her away. He leans in to kiss her. Ever so quietly I hear her say, ‘I love you,’ before staring into a place only she can see.
“‘Is she OK? Who is watching her?’ Who could possibly love her like he does, to know what being apart is doing to his heart? He doesn’t understand why no one will listen. Why no one realizes how much she needs him, and more importantly, how much he needs her.”
‘There is nothing normal about cemetery shopping for your baby. My daughter gasped, ‘Mama, it’s beautiful! Look at all the flowers.’ I saw no beauty.’
“At the time I didn’t understand why losing my daughter was a part of my story. It seemed so unfair and cruel. Only when I found the courage to no longer focus on my pain, but instead put my energy towards others, did I find meaning in my loss.”
‘My 12 year old son coded. They found a clot. It caused a stroke and heart attack. They brought him back. Miracles.’
“He fought and fought. On this special day, he got to meet one of his favorite super heroes in the form a window washer. Batman is cool and all, but Noah is truly the superhero in this picture.”
‘As I held you for the very last time before you passed away, you glanced at me with a tranquil stare. You smiled ever so softly.’
“Your curious eyes opened wide and never wanted to close. Your eyes darted between nurses and back to your family, not wanting to miss the world around you.”
