by Brooke Keith According to the American Heart Association, for every one thousand babies born, eight will have some form of congenital heart defect. That’s approximately thirty-five thousand babies each year. Sometimes detecting the signs of heart defects in a child can be difficult. Even a doctor may not be able to identify certain…
Author: nowwhat
Ready or Not
The empty nest and an unprepared parent. by Sharlene MacLaren There is something to be said for the realities of the empty nest syndrome and its deep sense of loss. I experienced it and can attest to its validity. My husband and I had successfully raised two wonderful daughters. One had already left “the…
Place of Sacrifice
Giving up what is dearest in life togain what is most important. by Terry Arries Christianity is a farce, I raged silently as I bent over my little girl’s crib. I watched my exhausted baby sleep — my precious little girl, Kim, whose hair glinted gold in the sunlight and whose eyes rivaled the…
Nicky: A Life and a Legacy
A brief, struggling life has a lasting impact. by Sondra Brunsting From the moment of conception, he entered a combat zone, every cell of his body at war with toxic poisons, imperiled by an inadequate supply of oxygen and faulty nutrition. His was the womb of compromise, more than a warm cocoon in which…
More on Down syndrome
Down syndrome is the most common genetic anomaly, occurring once in every 800 to 1,000 births. Down syndrome is a genetic characteristic, like skin color and hair type. It is not caused by parental drug use, environmental conditions, or birth trauma. 5,000 children with Down syndrome are born each year in the United States. Although…
My Little Extra
What a child with Down syndrome has taught his mother. by Barbara Curtis My son Jonathan has a little extra. A little extra enthusiasm, a little extra innocence, a little extra charm. Oh, and did I mention an extra chromosome? The one on the twenty-first pair that inspires so much fear in parents-to-be. I…
Choose Life
The medical prognosis for Sarah Young is not good. Still in her mother’s womb, Sarah suffers from complications that threaten to impair her life. Her parents, Alan and Kendra, have chosen to keep their daughter and give God a chance to do a miracle. Here are some of the words from the expectant parents: We…
Love Big Enough to Share
Gaining more through letting go. by Mary Roedema as told to Sharon M. Knudson “I think I know who Kristin’s birth mother is.” These words hurtled at me during a telephone call from my new friend, Pam. My daughter, Kristin, had become best friends with Pam’s daughter, and she’d called our house asking for…
I Couldn’t Change My Son
by J. Grant Swank, Jr. When my wife and I adopted Jay, he was two-and-a-half months old. The only details we knew about his birth parents were some medical specifics provided by his birth mother to the social worker. Bringing Jay into our family was such a joy. We were rightly proud the first…
Lessons from Shela
We’re never too old to learn from our children. by Lettie Kirkpatrick Burress “Your daughter has a terminal muscle disease. She will never walk or gain strength but will weaken progressively. She has only six months to a year to live.” This pronouncement came from a doctor on Shela’s first birthday. As it turned…