Meet our July
Friends of the Month!
We love celebrating these amazing kids all month long through our social media pages and special gifts through the mail. Read their amazing stories below!
Cara-
I am nominating my daughter Cara Shrum for a friend of the month. She was born with cystic fibrosis and she was in the Nicu for six months before she was able to go home. She went home with a G-tube. She is so extremely brave and strong and is a fighter for sure. She’s never let her CF get in the way of her life. She’s the most loving sweetest little girl I’ve ever met despite all her challenges. She’s happy and positive even when things are going wrong and she’s always smiling through everything She is the true meaning of strength
Willow-
Willow turned 2 on May 28. She is the only girl and therefore our princess in our family of six. She has two older brothers, Micah who is 15 and Judah who is 9.5. They absolutely adore her, are over the moon *still* about her, and she definitely has them wrapped around her little finger.
Willow came from our second IUI, but during the second ultrasound her twin brother made his surprise debut! We found out a few weeks later Riley would have Down syndrome, but that didn’t change anything for us as we knew these two twinkiedinks would be the rainbow babies destined to complete our family. They were born 7 weeks early, and while Riley needed almost 6 months in the NICU, Willow came home after 26 days. She weighed 4lbs 15oz, and Riley weighed 3lbs 11oz. Now they both weigh 23lbs!
Willow has always been fiercely independent and motivated by a challenge. While in the NICU, we got a phone call Willow had pulled out her NG tube for the 3rd time, so the charge nurse told Willow, “Alright, Little Lady, let’s see what you’ve got then,” and from then on, Willow took a bottle every shift and came home a week later! Willow loves Bluey, Winnie the Pooh, Elmo, Miss Rachel, swinging, exploring, learning, bubbles, is obsessed with yellow school “buh-shes,” hugging kids her own size to make friends, squeezing animals because they’re “aww, so coot!” and singing the start of the SpongeBob SquarePants (“PungeBob PairPants”) song. Willow LOVES reading books and I often find her sitting quietly with a book in her crib in the morning. Willow decided last month to start potty training and asks several times a day to “Twy? GO! Cmon! Hurry!”She graduated from PT just before Christmas and from speech two weeks ago, which means she has also completed the Virginia Early Interventions program. Her certificate is on our fridge!
It’s mind-blowing to be starting over in our 40s with two more kids, but we wouldn’t change a thing. Daniel and I are so thankful for our Willowbee, Baby Cakes, Little Miss Willowpants, our fearless Parkour Princess. She is the best parts of us and 100% her unique, incredABEL self. I cannot wait to see who she grows up to be, and I am soaking up each day at home with her and Riley, our rainbow twinado babies!
Waylon-
Waylon was born via C-section and his pediatrician was listening to him and noticed irregular heart beats. They rushed him to the nursery and had the nurse put him on oxygen. They tried to wean oxygen but it just wasn’t working. That evening, the Dr. came back and decided we needed to send him to Baptist Hospital. About a few hours of being at Baptist nicu, they did an echo which is where they diagnosed him with a heart defect HLHS. They decided to send him to Arkansas Children’s Hospital to the heart surgeon. Waylon was a week old when he had his first open heart surgery. Waylon ended up on ECMO at 3 and a half weeks old. They attempted the clamp off trial of ECMO but Waylon continued to desat. On July 5th, Waylon went back for another open heart surgery so he would get enough blood oxygen to his lungs. Waylon has had 8 cath labs. Waylon has had blood clotting 3 times. On ECMO he had quite a few seizures. Waylon’s had a few infections and nec 3 times. Waylon was post diagnosed with HLHS. Waylon will have at least 3 open heart surgeries, but had 2 norwoods and two glenns. Waylon had a total of 4 open heart surgeries all together. January 6th he was reintubated due to desaturations and fluid overload. January 7th they put a pigtail (chest tube) under his right lung. He was treated for a cylus infusion. From there we were working on low diet feeds but his drainage was too much so they stopped his feeds and was NPO for a few weeks. On March 8th, Waylon had a chemical plureldesis done and he tolerated so good. He was healing from that the next few days. On Wednesday March 13th, Waylon went down to get his gj feeding tube. Friday the APRN came to assess him and noticed his belly was distended and we needed an abdominal xray. The jport showed it wasn’t in the proper spot so they took him down for imaging of his abdomen. He was then rushed for emergency surgery. He was in the OR about 6 and a half hours. His jport was by his kidneys. waylon was fighting for his life on the vent and on 3 antibiotics. On april 11th waylon came home and was home for a month and 3 weeks until the Good Lord called him home. Waylon baby you’re never forgotten and i’ll continue to tell your story. we love you so so much and miss you so so much!!
Please nominate your Born Abel child as a Friend of the Month! We would love to feature them on our social media pages, illustrate them, make a reel with their story, and send them a special gift in the mail!
FIll in this form to nominate your child today!
