Our beloved friends and family,
After meeting with the doctor today, we have some sad news to share: our precious Naomi has a serious genetic condition called Trisomy 18. Most infants with this condition never make it to live birth, and of those that do, 90% do not make it to their first birthday. Some live for a few years, while others live only a few days. And from what we can tell, there is no way to predict how long Naomi will live.
This is sad, devastatingly sad. All of our expectations and hopes for Naomi are now being re-arranged as we walk down a much harder path than we ever anticipated. But we keep coming back to Jesus, the author and perfecter of both our faith and Naomi’s life. We know that God wanted us to have this baby, and she is exactly who God wanted her to be. Her life on earth is a blessing from our heavenly Father, and every day is a precious gift from His compassionate and caring hand. And nothing can take that confidence from us!
You may be wondering about the details of upcoming surgeries and other procedures that we have mentioned previously, as well as our overall treatment strategy. Well, we are too. The long and short of it is that there is just no way to know what she will need, so we are determined to seek God’s wisdom at every step of this journey and to do our best for Naomi one day at a time.
We want to express how immensely grateful we are for all of the love, care, and support that you have already showered on us. From the very hour of her birth and beyond, you have sent us messages of encouragement and hope, ministered to us by providing meals, and even taken care of our three boys so we can visit Naomi in the NICU. We simply cannot thank you enough; you have no idea what a blessing all this help has been to us in this difficult time.
Going forward, the biggest earthly need will likely continue to be childcare for our three boys. At this point, we think we have childcare scheduled through mid-May, but if you live in the area and feel called to pitch in, you can contact Joanna Calvert, our dear sister and care-coordinating superhero. Her email address is [email protected].
Whether you are 10 minutes away or 10 time zones away, the best thing you can do is pray. Here are some things you can pray for:
- Pray that God would be pleased to grant Naomi an unusually long life for someone born with this condition, that He would heal her frail body and cause her to live.
- Pray that Naomi’s life, whether short or long, would be an undeniable and powerful testimony of God’s goodness and grace before a watching world.
- Pray for wisdom for us as parents to make the right decisions at the right time for our little daughter.
- Pray for God to grant us new mercies each day as we walk this sad path that has been set before us, and to sustain our hearts and the hearts of our children.
We love you all. Thank you for praying for our precious baby girl!
-Mike & Jen
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