“The nurse came to get us and took us to a different room. The doctor then came in with news that quickly turned our cloud 9 experience of joy and excitement to fear. There was a concern.”
‘She ran her hand across his sweet face. ‘No eyebrows and eyelashes,’ she said. I hadn’t noticed his lack of hair until that moment. Nor any other ‘abnormalities.’ Fear consumed my mind.’
‘He opened his eyes, and held my hand. ‘I love you too, but this is ridiculous.’ He proceeded to remove his oxygen mask. It was such a Dan thing to do, to choose his time.’
“‘How did you meet Becca?’ I was sitting with my nose in a book when he plopped himself down. ‘Hi, my name is Dan,’ he said, matter-of-factly. I will never forget that night. Little did I know – he’d become my future husband. He passed away just 16 days after we said ‘I do.'”
‘I’ve never had real parents before. I’ve waited my entire life to be treated the way y’all treat me.’ Couple adopts 18-year-old who was ‘abandoned by his birth mother with no name’
“‘So you are the people that want teenagers… are you crazy?’ I said, ‘Something like that.’ She replied, ‘Well, I got a phone call in your driveway for a 16-year-old male who needs a home by tonight.’ I told her, ‘Bring him home.’ My husband looked at me like I was crazy. But he agreed. ‘She’s right, bring him home.’”
‘My mom rushed in shouting, ‘Get up! Get up! I need you to keep your dad from getting out of bed.’ I sprinted to their room. ‘911? This must be serious! My mom is running, she never runs!’
“My dad was a zombie. He groaned this horrendous noise. As tears rushed down my cheeks, I ran over. There was a surprise guest waiting to pick me up. ‘They are not sure your mom is going to make it,’ he said. ‘But everyone said it wouldn’t be like my dad!,’ was all I kept repeating.”
‘I rushed to the hospital. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’ the surgeon said. Our pregnancy checkup had gone well. There was never a reason to believe something was wrong. Our excitement turned to disbelief.’
“Her skin was pulled so tightly that her eyelids had flipped inside out. We were informed her limbs could suddenly detach on their own. Every day, we faced a new challenge.”
‘I didn’t cry. I didn’t panic. The adrenaline made me clear headed. He was so incredibly wrong. Avery’s condition was much more complicated than any of the photos led us to believe.’
“He left the room for 45 minutes while I chatted with my mom, who had come to the appointment just for fun. We were unaware as the minutes ticked by, the doctor sat calling other specialists, having only diagnosed ONE other baby with this condition in his entire career.”
‘There is no rush. They may never get to do this again, holding their baby like this.’ As we admired him, there was a quiet heaviness. He looked different. My husband already knew.’
“Had we delivered at a hospital, he would have been taken from me immediately. My heart also aches in pain but I could not possibly foresee what was to come.”
‘An airline employee quietly asked about ‘my rash,’ and if I had a letter from a doctor stating it was ‘OK for me to fly.’ I explained to him it was a genetic skin condition.’
“He walked up to talk to the crew. He also Googled it during that time. He came back and said he apologized, but we ‘wouldn’t be able to fly,’ and we ‘had to get off the plane.’”
‘Your baby doesn’t have eyes.’ What do you mean she doesn’t have eyes?! I know people are born blind, but to actually not have eyes seemed impossible to wrap my brain around.’
“After sharing concerns with my husband, I told her doctors I thought something was wrong. They blamed her blindness. I insisted it was deeper than that. She slept all the time, I had to wake her to nurse her, and I’d never seen her smile. Crazy, I know.”
‘It’s a bambino!’ I was like, ‘what??’ All I saw was all the HAIR she had! Then 5 seconds later, she was whisked way to the NICU.’
“When I first looked at her, I knew something was different. I asked my husband, ‘What did you think when you went to see her?’ He replied, ‘She’s just so perfect and beautiful.’ I couldn’t shake what was in the back of my mind.”
