In December Tim and I found out that we were expecting our second child. Our son Noah was just 16 months old at the time. We were elated that we would soon be adding another member to our growing family. It was the best Christmas gift ever. I remember my heart so full of joy as I listened with new wonder as the Christmas story was read aloud during the Advent church services.
The weeks passed and with each doctor's appointment we were overjoyed that our baby was growing and that all appeared to be well. It wasn't until a routine ultrasound at 20 weeks that we had any clue anything was wrong.
On March 15th, 2010 everything changed.
We went in for our "gender" ultrasound at 20 weeks gestation armed with only a list of baby name's to challenge us. I was convinced that we were having a baby girl. So convinced in fact, that I had already purchased white nursery furniture with delicate floral accents. I had resisted purchasing the crib and bedding, just in case. I had no idea that just in case would end up being just in case we would not be bringing her home.
The ultrasound that discovered our daughters condition and the confirmation ultrasound done following seem a bit of a haze to me looking back. We were told that our little girl had a condition called Anencephaly and would not survive outside the womb. Anencephaly is a neural tube defect that occurs in the first few weeks of pregnancy when the skull does not close resulting in abnormal development of the skull and damage to the developing brain tissue. It is always fatal.
We were given three choices that day. Terminate the pregnancy. Carry to the point of viability (24 weeks) and induce labor or carry to term. Our doctor's encouraged us to take our time assuring us that my health was not in danger and that the decision did not need to be made immediately.
We left the hospital that day changed parents, changed people and a changed husband & wife.
That evening we decided on a name for our daughter. Her name is Amelia Grace Lorang.
She was with us just a short time on this earth, 2 very precious and wondrous hours, before she was welcomed home by her Heavenly Father.
This blog is her story
and our journey as a family.
This is where Amelia's story begins.
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