Truett's First Birthday

It's hard to believe that it has been a year since Truett was born. I'm sure many of you reading this are saying the same thing. Truett is, and always will be, a part of our lives. We do our best to adjust to him not being here. Anniston constantly talks about her "brudder." Sometimes it brings joy to our hearts to hear her speak about him. Other times our hearts crumble. Even though we miss our son dearly we can look back on our time and emphatically proclaim, only God. Only God gave our son, whom we almost terminated, 85 hours and 3 minutes to live. Only God could have surrounded us with friends who bent over backwards to walk alongside us. Only God could orchestrate the relationships that were built because of Truett. Only God could give us a genuine peace that really does transcend anything we can understand. Only God!

When we were planning Truett's funeral we chose some songs to be sung at the funeral and also created a playlist for the viewing. We selected about 14 songs for the playlist. They are all very special to Kristen and I, as well as Anniston. The songs were put on a CD for us. When we would listen to those songs in the car Anniston would scream out, "Tru-Tru's song!" She did that for pretty much any song that sounded similar to the songs on the CD. Something happened about two months later though. She picked one song that she still refers to as Tru-Tru's song. Out of all the songs she could choose, she chose a song by Rend Collective entitled, Immeasurably More. The song is taken from Ephesians 3:20 which reads, "now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." When we play the song Anniston literally sings along which is such a beautiful thing! How appropriate it is that this song is now known as Tru-Tru's song in our family. What truth it speaks to the circumstances of Truett's story and life. Only God could do what He did for our family during this time. There is no other explanation to be considered. Only God can do immeasurably more in our hearts and in our lives.

When we started writing about Truett's story we did so for several reasons. One reason was because it was therapeutic for Kristen and I. We also wanted people to join us in praying for our son to be healed. Another reason was for us to be real and be able to voice how we felt or what we were thinking. We didn't want to try and pretend that everything was okay or that we didn't have doubts and fears. As we were discussing Truett's birthday we had different thoughts and opinions. We never came to an agreement on what to say in this post so I asked my wife if she would grant me permission to speak freely. She graciously agreed to do so. Thinking about Truett's birthday caused me to look back on Anniston's two birthdays. Kristen planned so much for those parties. Truett doesn't get to have a birthday party, a smash cake or have lots of pictures taken. However, we can still honor our son. Like many of you, we had never heard of acrania or anencephaly until we received Truett's diagnosis. We didn't have anyone to turn to that could offer information on what this would look like or what to expect (other than Google). Only later in the pregnancy did we learn about Duke University and their research for Neural Tube Defects (acrania is a NTD). We have asked you before to donate to Duke and now we're asking again. You can be the difference in someone's life. You can help scientists and researchers better understand acrania and anencephaly. If you would like to get Truett a birthday "gift" I'm asking you to give to Duke. Here are some suggested amounts (but feel free to give according to your financial situation): $10.55 (Truett was born at 10:55am), $32.27 (Truett's verse was Jeremiah 32:27), $47 (Truett was born on April 7th), $85.03 (Truett lived for 85 hours and 3 minutes). If 500 people give $50 that's $25,000 raised for research! That is enough money for 8 families to have their DNA sequenced! Donations can be made online by clicking here.  Click on "make a gift now" and then "make a credit card gift." Under designations click on the field called "add an unlisted designation" which is located near the bottom of the page. Donors must write in 391-2359. There is also a place toward the bottom where donors can dedicate the gift. Checks can be mailed to: Duke University Medical Center, NTD Research Fund, 300 N Duke Street, Durham NC 27701. Duke University is the only organization doing research for children like Truett. You can follow their Facebook page here. Please give as you can so that we can prevent other moms and dads from the heartache of losing a child. We can't thank you enough for the love and support you to continue to show us. We are truly humbled and grateful for your generosity and encouragement! May God bless each of you and your families.

Much love,
Harry, Kristen, Anniston and Truett