Gabi

Several months ago a family came into my unit with their precious daughter, Gabi. She had a heart defect along with the diagnosis of Down Syndrome. Sadly, after an amazingly valiant fight, Gabi went home to be with Jesus in August. Her parents, Jason and Micah are amazing testaments to perseverance in the face of tragedy. They have remained an active part of the Down Syndrome community and have started a foundation call Gifts of Gabi's Grace which will help families of children who are in the hospital for long periods of time. Tomorrow would be Gabi's one year birthday. Sadly, I have to work and cannot participate in the celebration, but in Gabi's honor, people are going to be releasing hot pink balloons. Inside will be notes for Gabi, as well as the blog site for people to find out more. Micah and Jason are expecting baby Kinsley in May and I'm so excited for them. So far, it appears Micah is having a perfectly healthy pregnancy...praise God! Anyway, I was looking at their site today, and something that Jason said made me cry.

I want to say thank you so much to all of you that are still following along with our journey. Any one with kids knows that whether you're children are 4 or 45 the journey as a parent never ends. Gabi is no longer with us but our journey as her parents will never end until the day we join her in heaven. So our goal is to continue and be the best parents to Gabi and her memory that we can!

So to everyone following along that is a parent. The next time your child gets on your last nerve. The next time you get frustrated with them being annoying little monkeys. Be thankful that you have that opportunity with your children to experience that particular phase of their lives. Give them their timeout, smack on the tooshy, or take that favorite toy away...then kiss them hug them and smell them as if you need to hold on to that touch, scent, or feeling as if they weren't going to be there tomorrow.

It's funny the older we get we read things like "Live today as if it were your last!" or "Live today as if there was no tomorrow." The crazy thing is no one ever puts a quote out there that says "Parent today as if your child wasn't going to be here tomorrow!" or "If today was the last day of your child's life...how would you spend it with them?" Ok...I'm rambling...haha. In short, love your kids, keep your head up, and love as much as you can today...you may not get to share that love tomorrow!

Jason and Micah, you are my heroes.

The link to their blog is over on the side, or just click on www.gabrielesheridan.blogspot.com.
They have touched so many lives and will continue to make an impact with their big hearts. Gabi will not be forgotten. I only hope that I can love my daughter while I have her in a way that honors Gabi's memory.

~V~