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I know information has been scarce here on the blog and it just occurred to me that I hadn't shared about one of the big surprise answers' to prayer. At about 1am Friday morning our wonderful nurse came back into the room and told us that in the course of doing the required paperwork for Sammy she had contacted LOPA - an organ donation organization. Because of Sammy's size and age he was eligible to donate his heart valves! Our first question was when would they need him? Translated - how much time would we have with him? Since it allowed for us to spend the night with him we agreed to it. Sammy baby has the potential to help out 4 other little babies.
****SMILE****
Way to *grow* baby!
Dear Melissa, I just wanted to thank you for sharing your beautiful little big Sammy with us. It means a lot to me! May God provide you with everything you need on this special journey... Sammy even touches People's lives on the other Side of the world - thank you for letting him!
ReplyDeleteIko
That is just so awesome!! So many of our little ones don't get big enough to do that. I'm so proud of you guys for making an amazing gift that someday hopefully will save other babies' lives!
ReplyDeleteOh, Melissa, my heart goes out to you. We went through the same loss to the same diagnosis 1 week ago today. And I have checked in on you. I hope your birth went so much better than mine. But one thing I had hoped was that Sammy would also be a donor like our lulu. Doesn't it bring comfort and healing? Yet, I wished they could take more from lulu. I keep holding onto the gift of hope tightly bc it does hurt and even though I seemed to have been doing better than I thought, it has been getting harder each day. I'm so sorry this happened to your firstborn, your first pregnancy. This was my 3rd. It's just such an amazing gift from God to have our children live on in the lives of others, to give hope to more families.
ReplyDelete((HUGS)) & prayers
kimberlee
SO THANKFUL that God allowed sweet Sammy to be a saving grace for some other babies. It is still so hard, but awesome to see such a TANGIBLE blessing. There are plenty from these babies, but that is amazing to know he lives on in that way!!! Praying for you today, friend!!
ReplyDeleteLove to you!!
When we lost Desmond, we had the choice to donate him to Wayne State University for Infant Cornea Research. We did. A year later at the Wayne State Memorial service, they had the students be part of the service. My brother recognized one of the female students as being a friend from his church in Windsor. I got to meet her. To me, it was a HUGE comfort to know that God would even orchestrate having someone on the team who was in a way connected to our family. I know the students worked on a bunch of bodies, but something within me knew that God did that just for me! Hard to explain, it was just comforting!
ReplyDeleteI am glad our babies can be used to help save the lives of others! It truly is a way to allow our precious angels live on.
God bless!
Dear Melissa, I heard of you through a friend whose child will be born in January.
ReplyDeleteI just want to let you know that I am deeply touched by what happened to you and your husband. May your beloved Sammy bring deep learning, wisdom, love and strength to you.
I am sending you my heartfelt wishes and thoughts!
kimberlee - We had given up hope of donating any organs so it was an excellent surprise when we found out we could. We also hold on to hope to help us get through - that's all we have...I feel like in some ways we have it easier because Sammy was our first baby. I'm anticipating delayed grief when one day we realize what we missed out on with him.
ReplyDeleteLaurie - I have been reminded in all this how much God is a God of details. It's pretty much amazing how He loves us.
Theresisa - I absolutely believe Sammy has brought deeper learning, love and strength to us. I hope we can keep growing in those things so Sammy's short life was not in vain.
Melissa, that is an interesting POV on him being your first and you not knowing what you're missing. I think for me, it was the hardest birth I've ever had, it was frightening, and I am one who prefers homebirth/waterbirth/no drugs. And what happened to me was scary. God spared me from my pelvis being broken by the drs, she was that stuck. :( And she was nowhere as big as my first 2.
ReplyDeleteAnd we too had given up hope on donating! We had heard about it when we got the diagnosis at 13 weeks, I did research, only to not go anywhere bc it seemed controversial. So the first time OB tried induction, she asked if we were interested, I was surprised she asked, then she came back and said no one knew how to donate her. sigh So a week later we go for round 2 induction and after her birth the nurse surprised us to say she was the first baby they ever heard was a candidate for donor (bc of her size! God is amazing, she wouldn't have been big enough the week before, thank you God for your perfect timing!). Don't you just love those surprises? Also, your Sammy is adorable, you are so fortunate he took breaths and has normal color. lulu was purple and the frog eyes. broke my heart, but made it easier to let her go bc this is not how God intended for any baby to be and she is now whole in Heaven! :) Probably playing with Sammy and cuddling in Jesus' arms right now. It makes you long for heaven even more, doesn't it? May you see more details unfold the rest of your life through Sammy's shortlived one. ((HUGS))
If Sammy is anything like his parents, the babies getting his valves are getting parts of a very special heart. I can't wait to hear the update when other babies lives' are saved because of his/your gift.
ReplyDeleteOh, and have I mentioned that he is just so cute? I love his cheeks and his perfect little nose! I hope you're doing ok, praying for you. love, Stacy