Will you help support John Michael’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 found out we were pregnant in early June 2024—on the same day our offer was accepted on our first house. We were over the moon and felt like life was finally falling into place. At the beginning of August, when we were 13 weeks pregnant, we went in for a routine ultrasound with Maternal-Fetal Medicine. We noticed the sonographer was quiet during some of the scans. She eventually stepped out of the room and said she was going to speak with the doctor about whether she needed to take any more pictures. A few moments later, the doctor and sonographer came into the room. When we asked if everything was okay, the doctor said, “I have some concerns about the baby’s brain and face.” We sat, dumbfounded, as she explained that she had strong suspicions the baby had holoprosencephaly and associated facial differences. She said that the condition is not compatible with life and explained our options. In the weeks that followed, we had an amniocentesis, an MRI, dozens of ultrasounds, and met with countless specialists to better understand our boy. Around 20 weeks, our doctors confirmed that John Michael had alobar holoprosencephaly as well as an underdeveloped brainstem. They prepared us that John Michael was at high risk of miscarriage or passing away during childbirth. They said if he was born alive, his time with us would be limited to minutes or hours. Knowing that our time with John Michael would be brief, we created a bucket list and poured our hearts into making precious memories together. We brought John Michael to two football games at Texas A&M. Unfortunately, his dad’s prayers that John Michael would see an Aggie national championship went unanswered… but there’s always next year! We dressed up for Halloween—Mom was Winnie the Pooh, the dogs were Piglet and Tigger, and Dad was Eeyore. Dad was thrilled to sit in his heavy Eeyore costume in the Houston humidity. We took hundreds of pictures, went to the beach, and visited Chicago. We celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas, met Santa Claus, baked cookies, and went on a family picnic. We spent hours walking with our dogs, Phoebe and Murphy, and ate our favorite foods—sinigang, pancit, corn, and mashed potatoes. Eventually, John Michael made it clear that his favorite food was a big Caesar salad; that’s when he would give us his best kicks! A few days before he was born, John Michael even experienced a huge Houston snowstorm—something so rare, we didn’t even dream of putting it on his bucket list. At 37 weeks, we elected to induce with the hope of meeting John Michael alive. Our team prepared us that he would not tolerate labor well, but our little fighter had other plans. On January 29, 2025, at 2:43 AM, after more than thirty hours of labor, John Michael blessed us with six hours together. For much of the time, we stared at his perfect little face and his heart-shaped nose, stroked his soft cheeks, and marveled at his beautiful head of hair. John Michael looked just like his dad. We held him, read to him, and prayed with him. We chose not to sing to him—for his benefit! Our six hours with John Michael were the happiest of our lives. We cuddled together in the small hospital bed, and, cradled in his daddy’s arms, John Michael peacefully went to heaven.

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