For Hannah

Several days ago, I received a request on behalf of a mom who was due to deliver her baby this month. This woman, her husband and family had known for some time that their child had anencephaly and would not survive long after birth. Yesterday, I received the update that baby Hannah was born at 10:05am and was still alive, though struggling to breath, at 3:00pm. The update said that Hannah's parents and grandparents from both sides were there, spending their last precious hours with her.

Right after reading this message, I found myself looking at the clock and picturing in my minds eye this family lovingly surrounding their beautiful baby girl. It took me right back to the day that I found myself in the position of Hannah's mother, holding my own little girl and trying to stretch every minute into an hour. We knew that when the sun rose on another day, Elena would be gone and there wouldn't be another opportunity to spend time with our daughter.

Throughout the day I was busy. I had brought some bookkeeping work home with me and Isaiah was feisty as ever (he doesn't seem to want to nap much these days). But I kept thinking about Hannah. She won't ever crawl, walk or run. She won't get to taste a pickle, chase a butterfly, make a Christmas card to hang on the fridge. There won't be photos with a blue backdrop from each passing schoolyear. But she was here, she touched hearts, she changed lives.

God bless you, little Hannah.

Thanks for listening.