Elena 
I blog a lot on this blog about the importance of honoring life from the moment of conception to its natural end, whether that be an early fetal demise, or a gentle passing from old age. All life is precious.
So I was concerned and saddened to read about the Godfrey Family.
As you have been reading, we discovered on June 1, 2006 that the baby I am carrying has Potter’s Syndrome, also known as Renal Agenesis.What this means, is that our baby does not have kidneys and will not survive more than just a few hours after delivery. We have chosen to carry the baby to term and let the baby come into this world on the Lord’s timing not ours.
Amen.
I find her view so refreshing, brave and also encouraging, very rare in our current culture.
Our baby is due on September 23, 2006, so I will be carrying this this child for 4 more months, with the knowledge that he/she will not survive. We will be participating in a Potter’s Syndrome research study through the University of Michigan, as this is the 2nd baby we’ve lost from Potter’s Syndrome. Thankfully, insurance will be covering all the medical costs, so we will just be needing to raise the money for the baby’s final expenses, approximately $500. We’ve had many people asking if there was anything they could do or any way they could help us. We’ve decided that we would like to take donations in honor of our baby to help fund the research being done at the University of Michigan and to help pay for the baby’s final expenses. If you would like to donate, we are taking donations via Paypal. All donations above and beyond whatever the baby’s final expenses come to, will be donated to the University of Michigan to help fund their Potter’s Syndrome research.
There are a couple of ways you can help. First of all they need financial assistance for the practical things, such as burial. You can make your contribution via PayPal.
More importantly, as you can imagine, they need the prayer support. The blogger at Dandeline Seed is organizing a round the clock prayer vigil so that the family is blanketed in prayer during this time of joy and deep grief. I have signed up for 5:30 a.m. on September 12. Please consider giving a bit of your time for this cause. A well said scriptural rosary should take about 30 minutes and would be so helpful in supporting this family.
Susan Godfrey blogs here. You can offer her kind words and thoughts there. Thanks!
ADDENDUM: I found these words on Susan’s blog:
A: First of all, this child does not belong to us. This child is God’s, as are all children. God is just generous enough to loan them to us for a while. Sometimes that means a lifetime and sometimes that means just minutes. I will treasure every minutes that I spend with this child. And if the time comes that I need to give this child back to God, then I will do it gladly, knowing that someday I will see this precious baby again. This child is a gift! How can I even consider terminating a child that doesn’t even belong to me, a child that’s being loaned to me as a very special gift. Everytime I feel this child move within me…I feel love. God has granted me this child for a reason and I’m not going to waste one minute of it…I’m going to enjoy him as long as possible.
Abortion is wrong, period. I’m in an unique situation. I am carrying a baby with birth defects incompatable with life. My baby is going to die. But while in my womb my baby is alive…how can I choose to terminate a life that I know is there…that I feel moving everyday. For whatever reason, the Lord gave us this child and I’m going to spend every moment that I have with him/her that I can and make sure that he knows that he was loved. If the Lord does not want me to carrry this baby to term, then HE will end the pregnancy. When you abort a child, you take away the Lord’s control. You are telling God that you don’t trust Him or His desicions. Trust the Lord with all your heart! I don’t know why this is happening to us, but I know that all things work for the Glory of God! I wouldn’t trade a minute of this baby’s life for anything! Just my humble opinion…may be hormonal/emotionally induced 🙂
A brave, strong, wise woman.
Related Tags: Potter’s Syndrome, carrying baby to TERM, EIFWAIL, Prayers, Intentions, Godfrey Family
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