An update on our Snowflakes adoption story....
We had another ultrasound this week, and our baby's condition has not changed since the diagnosis of acrania. We're still holding out for our miracle, through the prayerful intercession of Pope John Paul II, because nothing is impossible with God. And what our baby needs is the impossible. Bone where there is no bone; a total and complete healing.
We did receive a tremendous blessing, though, in coming to discover the baby's sex. So we welcome to the world, though still hidden in the womb, our little girl, Grace Elizabeth.
And she is a dancer. In our 22nd week, the images seem so clear. She came waltzing out of the murky shadows of the ultrasound screen, in a dimly lit room at the perinatal testing center. We could see her hands waving, the bones of her tiny fingers, her heart pounding strong and fast. When the technician, Janene, said "It's a girl," I felt such a swell of emotion. Coming to know someone's name has a power in it. It's a privilege actually. And now it strikes me as so much more personal than before... We have a little girl... and we will always have a little girl. Sixteen years from now, come what may, we'll be celebrating her birthday. We'll speak of her, dream of her, talk to her, and if the miracle doesn't come (though in a certain sense it is here already) we'll ask her to wait for us in Heaven. And we'll all look forward to meeting her in that Perfect Place where everything is whole and every tear is wiped away.
But here below, this new knowledge is a two-edged sword; even as it helps us cut through a section of the sadness by our naming and knowing our little girl, it tears at us because we must consider all ends; we might have to say goodbye just as we say hello. I know it's not by coincidence that we found this all out on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Feasts of Mary and the saints have been curiously aligned with our visits and appointments throughout the past couple of years. A comfort on this way of the Cross.
Grace Elizabeth.... be strong, be whole, be healed. We love and wait for you. Keep dancing in your watery world as we treasure every second of this journey.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Amazing Grace
An update on our Snowflakes adoption story....
We had another ultrasound this week, and our baby's condition has not changed since the diagnosis of acrania. We're still holding out for our miracle, through the prayerful intercession of Pope John Paul II, because nothing is impossible with God. And what our baby needs is the impossible. Bone where there is no bone; a total and complete healing.
We did receive a tremendous blessing, though, in coming to discover the baby's sex. So we welcome to the world, though still hidden in the womb, our little girl, Grace Elizabeth.
And she is a dancer. In our 22nd week, the images seem so clear. She came waltzing out of the murky shadows of the ultrasound screen, in a dimly lit room at the perinatal testing center. We could see her hands waving, the bones of her tiny fingers, her heart pounding strong and fast. When the technician, Janene, said "It's a girl," I felt such a swell of emotion. Coming to know someone's name has a power in it. It's a privilege actually. And now it strikes me as so much more personal than before... We have a little girl... and we will always have a little girl. Sixteen years from now, come what may, we'll be celebrating her birthday. We'll speak of her, dream of her, talk to her, and if the miracle doesn't come (though in a certain sense it is here already) we'll ask her to wait for us in Heaven. And we'll all look forward to meeting her in that Perfect Place where everything is whole and every tear is wiped away.
But here below, this new knowledge is a two-edged sword; even as it helps us cut through a section of the sadness by our naming and knowing our little girl, it tears at us because we must consider all ends; we might have to say goodbye just as we say hello. I know it's not by coincidence that we found this all out on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Feasts of Mary and the saints have been curiously aligned with our visits and appointments throughout the past couple of years. A comfort on this way of the Cross.
Grace Elizabeth.... be strong, be whole, be healed. We love and wait for you. Keep dancing in your watery world as we treasure every second of this journey.
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9 comments:
God bless your little Grace Elizabeth. I said a Divine Mercy chaplet for her and prayed for the intercession of St. Faustina so that she might be healed. Thank you for sharing your story.
thank you Maria!
Another wonderful entry. Thank you for sharing your journey. Grace Elizabeth-- what a beautiful name for a beautiful baby. Rebecca's and your faith is an inspiration. Thinking and praying for a miracle with you everyday. KT
Trey and I will be praying with the power of a name now. Grace Elizabeth. God Bless both you and Rebecca.
Peace!
Wendy
Oh Bill, I think of you and Rebecca every day. Thank you for sharing this journey; Luke and I pray for you often. God has a very, very special place in heaven for you and Rebecca and all of your beautiful children, especially Grace.
Peace,
Mrs. Szymanski
Thank you all for these prayers... It's Grace that's giving us grace, I know it!
amazing Grace.
I was stunned to hear of your having adopted these little ones and having had the unfortunate situation of not having a baby born alive. I am so sorry for your loss - you and your wife are very very generous people! God love you.
Does the fact that these embryos are previously frozen make it difficult for them to develop to term?
My girls and I were discussing the other day just how strange it would be to have been created and then have your development stop - for years- and then suddenly to be born. It's hard to get one's head around it.
God bless you both!
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. You asked "Does the fact that these embryos are previously frozen make it difficult for them to develop to term?"
That is sometimes the case, but usually it's due to the condition of the embryo before their cryo-preserved. The chances are almost the same as the chances of a normal conception. The major hurdles for these little ones are surviving the "thaw" and then implanting safely in the uterine wall. It is so sad to think of them living frozen for years, in a kind of limbo, until they are offered the warmth of a mothers love. And so few people even know there are half a million souls out there in fertility clinics waiting for their lives to "begin"! We hope to shed more light on their plea through our own adoption.
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