Psalm 127:3-5
"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court."
"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court."
Today, my first born daughter would be 42 years old. I know that she is in heaven, she was only 16 days old when she left this earth. She lived a hard sixteen days, for in the first five days she had five surgeries. Our daughter was born with Ectopia Cordis.
Ectopia cordis is an exceedingly rare defect in which the heart, in part or in its entirety, forms outside the chest cavity. It is considered as one of the less common cardiac malpositions (defects characterized by the heart or great vessels developing in the wrong place). When I say rare, I mean rare. Ectopia cordis occurs in 5-7 per one million live births and is associated with an extremely high mortality rate. It is not genetic or chromosomal.
It was our first child and we had no idea until she was born. It was a shock and yet we hoped and prayed that one day we would bring her home. That never happened. I think about her often and when I do I often still cry. This time of year is particularly hard for me. This year I am away writing my third book to be released in September. I am enjoying warm weather and sunshine. That may not seem like a big deal but on the day of her burial it was cold and snowy. It's never a good day for a mother to bury her child but I remember wishing it was a warm and sunny day. I hated putting her in the cold ground though I knew she wasn't there.
I am grateful that I have two beautiful healthy daughters here on earth, but I look forward to one day seeing my other one totally healthy.
ACTION STEP: Take time to celebrate those that are important in your life. We never know how long we will have them. Take lots of pictures regardless of what others tell you. We were told not to take any pictures so we wouldn't have the bad memory. But now, we have no pictures at all. Don't listen to others about what you should and shouldn't do. Make your own decision. We were told to have a closed casket. If I had it to do over again I would have left it open. She was a beautiful and strong little girl. I am glad I can still see her in my memory.
Ectopia cordis is an exceedingly rare defect in which the heart, in part or in its entirety, forms outside the chest cavity. It is considered as one of the less common cardiac malpositions (defects characterized by the heart or great vessels developing in the wrong place). When I say rare, I mean rare. Ectopia cordis occurs in 5-7 per one million live births and is associated with an extremely high mortality rate. It is not genetic or chromosomal.
It was our first child and we had no idea until she was born. It was a shock and yet we hoped and prayed that one day we would bring her home. That never happened. I think about her often and when I do I often still cry. This time of year is particularly hard for me. This year I am away writing my third book to be released in September. I am enjoying warm weather and sunshine. That may not seem like a big deal but on the day of her burial it was cold and snowy. It's never a good day for a mother to bury her child but I remember wishing it was a warm and sunny day. I hated putting her in the cold ground though I knew she wasn't there.
I am grateful that I have two beautiful healthy daughters here on earth, but I look forward to one day seeing my other one totally healthy.
ACTION STEP: Take time to celebrate those that are important in your life. We never know how long we will have them. Take lots of pictures regardless of what others tell you. We were told not to take any pictures so we wouldn't have the bad memory. But now, we have no pictures at all. Don't listen to others about what you should and shouldn't do. Make your own decision. We were told to have a closed casket. If I had it to do over again I would have left it open. She was a beautiful and strong little girl. I am glad I can still see her in my memory.
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