I have had a very proud and excited momma heart all weekend for several reasons. I’m happy to have a place to share them. The biggest reason is that milestones are being made in the world of neonatal organ donation.

IIAM (International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine), the organization who placed Amalya’s organs and whole body with various researchers around the country, has just announced their new Neonatal Donation Program. This program has been created to serve families who have received a terminal diagnosis during pregnancy, have chosen to carry to term, and have decided to participate in donation for research. Until now, the likelihood of a family actually being able to donate for research (or transplant) was very slim. Not many organizations are willing to work with neonates, and even fewer are willing to place organs for research. After helping our family, and working with Amalya, IIAM has decided to extend themselves by offering a hand of support to other families in situations similar to ours. They have created this new program in order to partner with families, and help them create a lasting legacy for their child through the gift of donation.

Eric and I were very blessed to be a part (albeit, a small part) in helping this new program take form and become a reality. We are SO thankful for everyone at IIAM who has dedicated time and effort in making this happen. Many families will be blessed because of this program. You can learn more about the program by visiting their website at http://www.iiam.org/NeonatalDonorFamilies.php. (And yes, the silhouette at the top of their page is a picture of Eric and I!!!! Totally geeked!)

IIAM also had an amazing opportunity to display and present a poster presentation this past week at a conference for transplant coordinators highlighting the new program, sharing most of our story, and explaining how the program has evolved since. You can view the poster presentation by clicking here.

Eric and I are simply in awe of what the Lord has done in the past eleven months. We have been blown away by the number of lives our sweet Amalya has touched. We shed tears of joy when we learned how researchers were able to use his tiny organs to make medical discoveries and advance medical procedures which will save hundreds of lives. We have been elated to share Amalya’s story publicly, encouraging medical staff, and members of the organ recovery world to help more neonate families. We are now in utter shock and joy to see this new program take form. We know first hand what a blessing it is to participate in donation and how it brings a unique healing. We pray that many more families will be able to feel that blessing and healing.

As a mom, one of the hardest parts of having my child die shortly after birth was knowing that I wouldn’t be able to watch him grow, that I wouldn’t be able to celebrate him reaching milestones, that I wouldn’t be able to see him achieve special things in this world, and that I wouldn’t be able to see his dreams come true. Although I haven’t been able to do those things in the typical way, I am proud to say that I have been able to celebrate milestones, see him achieve special things, and watch how he has help OTHERS dreams come true. I am so very blessed and proud to be called Amalya’s momma.

Thank you Lord for blessing me with a special boy. He truly has been a “Work of the Lord, Given by God”