Day Four - Mom & Dad

I can’t express enough how grateful I am for everyone praying for us. So many people have contacted us to let tell us that they have been praying for us. Many of you are sharing the blog or social media posts with your friends. We don’t want you to think we overlook that. Honestly, so many people are sharing and posting comments that we can’t keep up with them all (which is a good thing). Please know that we appreciate EVERY prayer and message sent. We’re right in the middle of the 7 days of prayer. Here’s a recap of where we’ve been: 

·      Day 1: Was a day of thanksgiving and praise

·      Day 2: We prayed for Duke University as they attempt to better understand anencephaly and other neural tube defects

·      Day 3: We remember and prayed for the countless families that have lost loved ones due to acrania, anencephaly or a similar diagnosis.

This past Tuesday night we had the opportunity to FaceTime with my cousin in Lynchburg, Virginia. He told us that their small group, from Brentwood Church, has been praying for us ever since they found out about Truett. It was a beautiful thing to see faces we’ve never seen before and listen to them pour out their heart in prayer on our behalf. Brett, a guy we’ve never met, prayed first. I’ll never forget one thing he said. He prayed, “God as much as Harry and Kristen love Truett, you love him more.” I immediately began crying when I heard that. It was a gentle and beautiful reminder for me that God is so much bigger than me. He really does love Truett more than I do. I love Truett and my heart breaks for him. God loves Truett more than me so His heart must break more than mine. It’s a reminder to me that I’m not in charge. I don’t have to carry the burden of heartache for Truett. That’s a huge relief for me. I find comfort knowing that God really does love Truett more than I do.

Today, day four, I’d like to ask that you pray for Kristen and myself. We are normal parents and normal people. We wake up to life just like you do everyday. God has already been faithful and true. We know He will continue that way. I can honestly tell you that I am so excited about seeing Truett. I can also tell you, in the very next breath, that I am nervous and anxious about Tuesday. Pray for Kristen and I to be of one heart and one spirit. God has been so good and faithful (even when we are not) to us. Pray that God will renew our strength over the next several days. Physically, we are both exhausted. Emotionally, we’re all over the place. We will definitely be relying on power of Jesus to get us through the next week. Thank you again for all you have done!

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God” (Isaiah 43:2-3, ESV).

Incompatible With Life

Here we are at day three. Kristen and I have been blown away by the support we continue to receive. We cannot begin to express our sincere gratitude. With everything that is within us, we say thank you!

Have you ever experienced a day, week, month, or even a season where things didn’t turn out the way you had planned? Of course you have, so have we. It wasn’t in the plans (at least not ours) for Truett’s skull not to develop. We didn’t plan on having a baby born without the majority of his brain. Maybe you didn’t plan on getting cancer. Maybe it wasn’t in the plans for your spouse to pass away unexpectedly. Maybe you always dreamed of growing old with your husband and now you’re a single mom. I’m not sure what your story is or how life has treated you. There are things I don’t understand nor will I ever understand. But, this is what I know, “I say this because I know what I am planning for you, says the Lord. I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NCV). I may not know the plan(s) but the God that intricately formed Truett absolutely knows the plan(s).  He knows the plans for my life and he knows the plans for your life.

On September 25, 2014, Kristen and I became a part of a family we never knew existed. We joined other parents that our hurting, parents that were given a fatal diagnosis for their child. We’ve joined a couple of support groups on Facebook. To read some of the stories is absolutely heart wrenching. I remember reading the story of a mom that had 3 pregnancies with 3 babies suffering from anencephaly. I could not imagine going through that process 3 different times. Just tonight I read the story of a mom who gave birth to twin girls 11 years ago. Marley was born first and her sister, Grace, was only one minute behind. Two hours later Grace had breathed her last breath. The mom writes, “This year will be 11 years and their birthday is the best and worst day of my life... I have found a way to grieve and celebrate, early in the morning I leave on horseback I ride to a special spot and I grieve. Then I come home and celebrate no tears for Marley she deserves to have a happy day!” What a roller coaster of emotion for this mom to experience on their birthday.

Today, I want you to pray for all of these hurting moms and dads across the world that have received a diagnosis of acrania, anencephaly or any other diagnosis that is “incompatible with life.” Pray that these families will find hope and comfort during their darkest days. These families need all the love and support they can receive. Thank you for interceding on their behalf.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the Father who is full of mercy and all comfort. He comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Duke University - Day 2

A lot of people have been asking us about Duke University. Well, Kristen and I have become huge fans of Duke and we hope you will too. Duke University is the only organization (that we know of) researching neural tube defects, such as acrania and anencephaly. The research dates back to the 90’s and focuses on the genetic factors associated with neural tube defects. You can find out more information about the study by clicking here. Kristen and I have agreed to participate in the program. Kristen and I both will donate blood as well as donate blood from Truett’s umbilical cord. We hope that by participating in this study Duke will be able to prevent and/or treat families facing similar diagnoses.

This is why I’ve become an outspoken Duke fan. I’ll never forget watching the Duke men’s basketball team on TV after we found out about this study. I cried like a baby watching the game. All I could think about was a university that cares about my son. I felt an immediate connection to the school. Please join us in praying for Duke University. Pray that the researchers will be able to learn more about acrania and anencephaly; what causes them and how to prevent them from occurring. One of the biggest drawbacks to the study is funding. Would you consider donating to the study? Pray for God to provide funding for research. Thank you for praying for Duke today!

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you” (James 1:5).

7 Days of Prayer for Team Truett

 Beginning today, I’m asking and inviting everyone to join with us in prayer for the next 7 days. These 7 days will take us to April 7^th, which is Truett’s scheduled arrival. As April 7^th approaches Kristen and I become very excited. In the very next breath we become very anxious and afraid. The purpose of these 7 days is to put all of our energy together. I’ve heard it said before that prayer is the hand that moves the hands of God. Let’s get this team fired up over the next week and watch the hands of God move over Truett, Kristen and I, and of course, you! Hold on cause it’s gonna get good!

People constantly ask us how they can pray for us. These next 7 days will have a specific request for each day. Be sure and check back daily for each request. Also, please feel free to share this with your people, your church, your friends and your social media. We want the world to know about Truett. When they hear his story, hopefully they will hear His story as well.

 We’ve been using the hashtag #TeamTruett on all our social media posts and have asked others to do the same. One of the definitions for the word team is a group of people working together. If you are reading this post, you are on the team. If you’ve sent us a text, you’re on the team. If you’ve prayed for us, you’re on the team. If you’ve offered or given anything for the benefit of us or Truett, you are on the team. We’ve got the best team in the world! Thank you for everything that has been done for us. Let’s do this!

You can pray at anytime that is convenient for you and your schedule. I do want to share a few dates and times that have been significant to us during this journey. If these times help you remember to stop what you are doing and pray then certainly use them.

• September 25, 2014 / 9:30am / This was the time of our first appointment with Dr. Million and when we were referred to Dr. Fareed.
• September 25, 2014 / 2:00pm / This was the time when we met with Dr. Fareed and were told of Truett’s diagnosis. 
• April 7, 2015 / 10:00am / This is the time of c-section for us to meet Truett.

Alright, here we go!

Day 1: Today is a day of thanksgiving. I want everyone to thank our Lord for the family He has given us. Thank him for Kristen being an amazing wife. She has shown me such strength and honor during this time. Thank Him for our precious little Anniston. She is a little piece of dynamite. Her mommy and daddy love her more than we are able to express. She has certainly been a source of comfort for us. Finally, thank Jesus for giving us the honor and privilege of calling Truett our son. Thank Him for making Truett just the way he is. He is perfect little boy who is fearfully and wonderfully made. Praise God for a beautiful little boy named Truett!

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, everyone of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:13-17)

13 DAYS!!!!

13 days!! Lord willing, Truett will be making his appearance in 13 days! EEEEK!!!!!

I know it’s been awhile since Harry or I have blogged, but as you can imagine, life has been crazy and isn’t slowing down. So I may repeat some things I’ve already said, but I’m going to try to update y’all the best I can!

We have a cesarean scheduled for Tuesday, April 7 at 10am. Having a day set was reality for us. This is really happening. We had something to look forward too. I had an urgent cesarean with Anniston so that, plus the circumstances with Truett are why I’m having another one this time.

We’ve continued having our routine doctor appointments with Dr. Million. We cannot express enough how amazing she has been! Each visit she encourages us and lets us know that yes, this will be difficult, but in the end, everything will be okay. And she’s right, it will be! We have faith that the Lord will get us through this.

On February 22, my amazing friends and family threw us a “Shower of Love.” I’m going to be honest I was SUPER nervous about the shower. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t want people to feel awkward or uncomfortable. My friends did an outstanding job and everything was perfect. Thank you for each hug, prayer and word of encouragement. Often times we don’t know how to respond, other than saying ‘thank you.’ So, THANK YOU for all your love and support shown to us.  

I’m feeling lots of different emotions these days! As if I didn’t think about it everyday before, it often overwhelms me. I think about checking in the hospital, them taking me back into the OR room, how Harry will handle seeing him, how am I going to handle seeing him. What will happen when we go back to our room? How emotional will our family and friends be? What will little Anniston think when she sees her “babay?” We are so excited but also very nervous because we have no idea what to expect.

This past Sunday, our church, LifeSpring Church (www.lifespring.cc), had a Life, Love, Acrania Day in honor of sweet Truett and us. It was overwhelming to see so many people in their “Team Truett” t-shirts supporting us and praying over us. Harry shared, as well as his Dad. The words spoken were so sweet and sincere. A service I will never forget. On everyone’s way out they were encouraged to take home a luminary to light that evening in honor of Truett and use the hashtag, #teamtruett or #lifeloveacrania. Harry & I were in tears at all the pictures that flooded social media that night. We seriously couldn’t keep up with all the notifications. We are so grateful for LifeSpring Church!

Today was my last routine doctors appointment, bittersweet for sure. We got to hear Truetts heartbeat and he put on a little show for Dr. Million, dancing and kicking all around! Next time we go to North Florida we will be entering Labor and Delivery! I’m not really sure how I feel about that at the moment but I know the days ahead are going to fly by!

Many people have asked how they can pray for us specifically. First and foremost, please pray for little Truett. We want him to be with us as long as the Lord allows, but we also want him to experience as little pain as possible. Pray for me that on the morning of April 7th I will be calm and experience God’s peace that can transcend all my understanding. Pray for Harry that God gives him the strength, wisdom and peace that he will need to be there for Truett and myself. Pray for Anniston that she will always remember meeting her little brother and the impact that he has had on the lives of others and that she will one day be able to share his story too. Pray for our doctors and nurses that day also. Dr. Million and Dr. Hatfield will be with me along with lots of nurses and staff. Pray the Lord gives them the knowledge and wisdom to do what they know is best and also that someone’s life will be touched because of Truett. Lastly, pray for our family. Sometimes I feel like they’re overlooked. Our parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins have all been here for us since day one and I know that this has affected them too. Pray that Lord comforts them during this time in a way that only He can. Pray God gives them the strength and energy to be there for us and each other.

I know we’ve said this numerous times before, but thank you. Thank you to this little small town, that we call home, that has bent over backwards for us since our diagnosis on September 25, 2014. We wish we could thank each one of you personally. We will never forget how you’ve touched our lives during this time.

I apologize, I know this is getting long, but one last thing…. We would LOVE if everyone who has a “Team Truett” shirt could wear theirs on Tuesday, April 7^th and even post a picture using the hashtag, #teamtruett or #lifeloveacrania. We want to do whatever we can to share awareness about Acrania and show our love for baby Truett that day!

Much Love! <3

Kristen