Will you help support Elijah’s legacy?

Your generous giving allows Abel Speaks to support families like ours. Thank you for your partnership as we seek to ensure that every family will cherish their child’s life and have hope in the midst of sorrow!

We were married two months when we found out we were pregnant. All of the emotions flowed over me (Kati) when we found out. It was something I waited a long time for. We had decided not to find out baby’s gender unless it was medically necessary (ignorant us couldn’t think of a medical reason we would need to know before baby was born, but this is what we decided).

We opted out of a genetic test at the beginning because we knew we were going to love this baby no matter what. Everything seemed to be going perfectly until we got to our anatomy scan. Being my first pregnancy, I didn’t know what was normal and what was not. We got seated in a separate room after the anatomy scan and was told baby had a possible cleft lip. So, we were referred to the MFM doctor for a more detailed scan. A week later, we were seeing our baby again, by a different doctor. The wait and silence was unnerving. The discussion after the scan with the doctor was extremely emotional. Possible genetic issues. Heart issues. Full cleft. All the things that make parents cry because they want to protect their baby.

A week later, we had an amniocentesis and it confirmed that baby had Trisomy 13. We decided to find out baby’s gender so we could give baby a name. “It’s a boy…” the doctor said on the other end of the phone. We wept. It was a blessing, but also heartbreaking to hear those words.

Immediately when we got off the phone with her, we went over names and within an hour, our boy had his name. Elijah River.

Elijah means “The LORD is my God” and River, well, we can’t control where rivers go; they carve their own path. And, this little boy was already carving his own path in our hearts and in this world.

Shortly after finding out Elijah’s condition, we found Abel Speaks, read about their ministry, and reached out. We heard other stories about families giving their baby’s the best love they could and we were mentored by Kevin and Jenny Pitts along the way.

We wanted to give Elijah all the love we could until his time with us was over, whatever that meant. We went on purposeful trips with Elijah, making memories at the zoo, getting to eat some of our favorite foods, celebrating July 4th with a sparkler and some very loud fireworks I’m certain he heard, and taking him to the place daddy proposed to mommy. That was actually his last trip.

The next day, the Monday before our 35 week appointment I had a feeling I was going to show up to the appointment and they wouldn’t be able to hear the heartbeat. I thought he was still moving, so I set those feelings aside. Friday came, and sure enough, they couldn’t find his heartbeat. Those movements I thought were him were actually contractions.

The last thing our boy heard was the comfort and always present sound of his mother’s heartbeat.

The floodgates opened and reality hit us like a brick. Phone calls, tears, and the dreaded walk into the hospital came like a whirlwind.

Elijah River was born sleeping into this world that evening, July 21st at 6:07pm. He was perfect. He is more perfect than I am right now.

The peace after Elijah was delivered was overwhelming and unexplainable.

We got to hold him any time we wanted after they delivered him. We were blessed enough with a photographer to gather some tangible memories of our time with him. Some family and friends stopped by, dropping everything and driving hours just to be with us.

Without Abel Speaks, we don’t know what we’d have done. We wouldn’t have had a community to lean on, wouldn’t have had people who have been through this before, and we wouldn’t have the memories we were able to capture, or the ability to share Elijah River’s story with others.

Abel Speaks is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and all donations are tax-deductible.

2001 W Plano Pkwy, Suite 3405 Plano, TX 75075

(972) 688-6405