Where's the hope in that?
This jolt to the Trisomy community reminded me of another recent bitter loss. On the 4th of July I saw photos of smiling Maddy radiating sunshine in her red-white-and-blue, and the next day she was gone. Just...gone.
Where's the hope in that?
My sweet friend Kirsten was forced to say goodbye to Heath, a special needs boy who left her womb early to join brother Gavin (who had Trisomy 18) in heaven.
Losing two special boys back to back. Where's the hope in that?
Fernando went to heaven on Good Friday, just before getting to celebrate his 4th birthday. He left behind loving parents and a proud big brother who wanted to tell his new class last week all about how special his brother in heaven is.
A grieving family left with only memories. Where's the hope in that?
As I sit reflecting on what is happening in our little Trisomy world, I ponder and pray for families who are facing chemo...getting tests done and waiting for answers...preparing for open heart surgery...caring for their little ones through sicknesses at home and in the hospital. (We ourselves are on the tail end of a fight with aspiration pneumonia that landed Verity in the hospital for a brief stay.)
In the midst of it all...in the midst of tests and sicknesses and therapies and surgeries...we hope.
Hope for Trisomy? Yes. Yes, there is.
Our own Trisomy journey has taught us that hope looks different at various points along the way. During pregnancy, I hoped I would meet Verity alive. Now, 18 months later, we have hope that someday Verity will sit up by herself, move herself around (whatever that looks like), and communicate with us (whatever that looks or sounds like).
We have hope that we will have many more experiences with our girl this side of heaven.
And yes...even though we don't really like to think about it...our hearts still hold onto the truth that ultimately, we DO have the hope of heaven awaiting us, an eternity in which Verity and her Trisomy brothers and sisters will laugh, sing, dance, and play without hindrance.
I can't pretend to know how it feels to lose my child. I only know how hard it hits me, every time it happens, even though in most cases I've never met the family in person. But the death of a Trisomy child affects everyone in the community. It's all too easy to put ourselves in the place of the grieving parent, because it's something we've all imagined happening, whether we admit it to others or not. But does the threat of death remove all hope in life?
What about this? Does the reality of a difficult life remove hope FOR life?
It's worth pondering. I remember the point during my pregnancy when I realized it was time to stop preparing for Verity to die and start preparing for her to LIVE. And I had to face the fact that her LIVING would look much different than any of our other children's lives.
Where's the hope in that?
Where's the hope?
I'll tell you. I see hope every day. I see it in the smile of a little girl who didn't smile for months. I see it in the giggles and grins she now gives her brothers and sisters. I see it all over her face when her daddy comes home and sings her special song. I see it in the twinkle in her eyes when she pushes against me wanting to be rocked. I see it in the kicking of her legs, the workings of her fingers, hands that used to be clenched so tightly. I see hope in motion as Verity rolls herself and works hard during therapy, doing things we never dreamed she could do a year ago.
I see hope in the form of a wheelchair that will grow with her. I see hope in the form of a committed family chipping in to make sure Verity has what she needs when she needs it. I see hope in the love and care her nurses have for her as they cheer her on each day and night they spend with her. I see hope in a medical community at large that is finally starting to understand the potential our kids have to grow and thrive with proper interventions.
I see hope everywhere Verity's life shines.
And it's a beautiful thing.
"...and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." --Romans 5:2b-5
*Hope for Trisomy's Addy Grace gift is inspired by the life of Addalyn Grace, who lived for 26 months with Trisomy 18. Sweet Addy was one of the "older" children I connected with through my newfound online community. Her mom, Erin, did a special post every day in March (Trisomy Awareness Month), which I looked forward to every day since at the time I was in the NICU with our newborn Verity. Erin's love for her only daughter was so evident...even more, her love for Jesus shone in every post. My heart broke when Addy unexpectedly went to heaven. Through the heartbreak, Erin and Jay continue to express the hope found only in Jesus Christ. They continue to be active in the Trisomy community and have touched far more lives than they will ever know.
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