So often Bill and I are asked how we can possibly get through everything we have with such grace. Our response is typically the same, we don't have a choice but to walk this path. When we found out Daniel had this chromosomal mutation, we didn't get to chose his life's journey. We couldn't say for the doctors to change it, they couldn't "fix it". So we turned to the only person who could decide his path, we fell to our knees in prayer. To us, Daniel's life as a testimony to God's love and mercy. For it's through Daniel's life and death that we are touching the lives of others. Our son didn't died when his body did, his life was just beginning. Although Daniel's life is carried on through us, I think it's a pretty beautiful life. Through his life we have been able to place TWO Cuddle Cots in local hospitals in about 8 months time. Daniel is touching more lives than we ever imagined. I miss Daniel every single day. I sit in his nursery sobbing for him, I walk through a silent house noticing the absence of a crying 8 month old, I spend time beside my child at his grave (not in our home where I want him to be). Yet, for all the things I have had taken away from me, if I was given the choice, I would never ask for him back from heaven. Eternity is our ultimate goal in life. We all live our life out on earth waiting to join our Lord in heaven. How could I dare to take that gift from Daniel. So we choose instead to focus on the beauty of his life, not the losses. Placing the Cuddle Cots is so much more than donating a cooling device. It's about healing some of the ache in a parent's soul when they hold their deceased child. It's about letting that mother and father, who feel so alone (regardless of how much support they have), know that someone else can relate to their suffering. It's about giving time and hope to them as they dread facing each day that comes next. And most of all, it's a ministry that we know God laid before us to encourage others to turn to Him in their pain. I know in my soul that what we are doing through Daniel's life stretches so much further than we can even envision, and we will use each day to heal and carry on this path with grace. Our Second Cuddle Cot is Placed!!!!! We placed our second Cuddle Cot on July 18, 2016 at St Clair Hospital in Mount Lebanon, PA. The women in the labor and delivery department were so gracious in accepting our donation and so touched by it. The staff is already planning an in-service training to teach the nurses about using the Cuddle Cot which is wonderful news. Seeing how much the staff values this gift for parents shows me that God truly placed this in the right hands. We also donated a Moses Basket for the parents to rest their child while using the Cuddle Cot and a pair of rosaries with a pamphlet on how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The rosaries we included were from my recent trip to Medjugorje where I purchased them and a priest blessed them. This donation also gave us a chance to meet some great people, some of which we hope to work with as we move forward with our fundraising and community out-reach efforts. We are so blessed to have so many support our efforts and devote time and money into honoring Daniel's life and memory. I thank God every day that he chose me to be Daniel's mommy and for surrounding us with so many people who love our son.
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NicoleI became a mommy in 2015 to a beautiful baby boy, Daniel John, who taught me the depth of a mother's love and the sorrow of neonatal infant loss. Archives
November 2021
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