Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope

Carla

Mom to Jody Michael April 10, 2009 8:57 p.m. - 9:57 p.m.

Gilbert, Arizona

On February 4, 2009 our lives took a tragic turn after hearing the word "I wish I did not have to give you this news." That day we learned our son would not survive, he was classified as "not viable" a condition which is 100% incompatible with life. We learned our sons condition was caused by a rare genetic disorder called Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD).

Eight weeks earlier we told that very same doctor given the opportunity we would not terminate no matter the situation. Never did we expect to hear our little guy had 0% chance of survival, 0% chance of making it to term or a 0% chance of surviving delivery. On February 4th we shut the world out, closed the curtains and our hearts to others as we tried to come to terms with the diagnosis. After a few weeks we were ready, we shared with others, went to all the specialists we could and after hearing more bad news we prepared to love our little guy in the time we had him.

Between February 4th and April 10th we relished each appointment we had, planned our sons funeral and prepared as much as possible to deliver our son sleeping. But on April 10, 2009, Good Friday, Jody Michael arrived with a cry, holding on for the most beautiful 60 minutes of my life. It is hard to physically love a child for a lifetime in 60 minutes, I know in my heart he is with me always. On that day we were given our greatest gift, those 60 minutes we held and love our sweet Jody will forever be etched in our minds.

Carla blogs at http://www.carlajoe.wordpress.com/

and can be contacted at jodysangelwings@aol.com