Well, folks, have I shared recently that I’m one blessed momma??? If I haven’t, or in case you might have missed the last time I said it – I’m SO VERY BLESSED!
As some of you might have already seen, yesterday (August 21) the Lord granted us another unique opportunity to share the story of our precious Amalya Nathaniel. We were highlighted in our local newspaper, The Dayton Daily News, in the Life section’s “Focus on the Positive”. It was printed in the actual paper, published on-line, and shared on the Dayton Daily News Facebook Page.
I was very pleased with the write up and how the journalist portrayed our story. And, although it was nice to have my story featured, what I’m more excited about is the fact that people were able to read about the importance of choosing life, the importance of building a legacy for a baby’s life which might be brief, and that even the shortest of lives can have an impact on our world. I’m thrilled that there has been some awareness and attention drawn to anencephaly as many people do not know it exists, yet it has impacted so many of us. I’m ecstatic that people have now heard about neonatal organ donation and that some of those people might stop and ponder what choice they would make if faced with the heartbreak of a child passing at birth. I feel that this article was able to do so much more than just share my story… I feel like it might have given people a glimpse into many of our stories.
Although I realize that most of the people who read the article will most likely quickly forget what they just read and go about their daily lives, I hope that for a few moments that the concepts in the article might have resonated with them. I hope that for a few moments they might have imagined what it would be like to carry to term, or to donate, or to say goodbye to a child… and… that maybe they will have compassion the next time they meet a loss momma or papa. Or better yet, that they can use this story as a tool to help the loss momma or papa that they meet. I hope that people will view our stories a little differently, and see that our babies are a blessing. I hope they have a new understanding that there can be joy along with the sorrow. I also hope and pray that the article might touch the heart of a family who is currently walking this road, and that maybe something in the article will help them as they make choices for their baby, or that it will simply serve as encouragement.
Folks, once again I am blessed: blessed to represent the infant loss and organ donation communities, blessed that our story has touched others, and blessed that the Lord has chosen me to me Amalya Nathaniel’s momma!
If you would like to read our article in the Dayton Daily news you can click here.