“After 10 months of trying to conceive we were so thrilled when we finally became pregnant. This baby was so loved, so wanted and we were incredibly thankful for this little life!
I went into our sonography appointment at 21 weeks knowing without a doubt that baby would be a girl, I could just feel it. I vividly remember how joyful we were in anticipation, how playful and lively we were feeling. Joking with each other and the sonographer, it felt like such a great day! Well to my absolute surprise the sonographer told us that our baby was actually a boy, and the rest of that appointment still leaves me breathless, anxious with my heart beating fast. After much time had passed, I knew deep down something just wasn’t right, almost yelling I said “just show me where his hands are”, and she said “I can’t find them”…
At that point it was just her last effort to try and find what wasn’t there and my doctor was already on hold waiting to give us the news officially. Our son would be born with only a small part of one arm and missing significant parts of his legs as well. I crumbled to the ground, numb from the pain, the next 3 days are a complete blur and that day still feels like the worst day of my life.
I had never even heard of congenital limb differences before, I was in shock, this couldn’t really be part of Gods plan. At that point our doctors couldn’t even predict the viability of the pregnancy and didn’t know for sure if our son was still healthy and growing.
Three days after that appointment my husband and I experienced a peace that could’ve only come from the Holy Spirit, people we didn’t even know were praying for the safety of our baby and for our fragile hearts. At every following appointment we found that our baby was indeed healthy, growing and perfect.
In July I gave birth to our son, Owen Benjamin, and it was by far the best day of our lives. I didn’t know what to anticipate, but laying eyes on him for the first time I knew without a doubt that I’d love this little boy more than I ever thought was possible. I thought that his differences would be overpowering, but all I saw was Owen and his total perfection. He was completely ours and we were completely his.
Having a front row seat experiencing how God has changed hearts and changed lives through the life of our son has been one of my greatest joys. I believe that God created Owen with such greatness and divine purpose for his time here on earth. His sweet spirit, wise eyes, and infectious laughter captivates everyone he meets. It’s a beautiful thing watching Owen’s story unfold, and I’m so honored that I get to be his mama.
Right now Owen is a healthy and active 9 month old. We don’t know what the future holds, but we can’t wait to see his interests and passions develop as we help him achieve his dreams. We share quite a bit about Owen and his limb differences because we’ve become so passionate about embracing and celebrating all differences. We want everyone to see how happy and capable our Owen is and that his differences are just a small part of who he is. There is so much life he has to experience and so many wonderful things that he’ll get to do. I can assure you that there’s nothing sad about his differences and he is here to help change the world!
Be truly glad, there is wonderful joy ahead (1 Peter 1:6)”
To follow Owen and his family on Instagram- @loveintheville
The letter that Owen’s mom, Casey, wrote to him before he was born- https://loveintheville.wordpress.com/2016/05/09/owen-the-great/
*If you would like to be a part of Limb-Different Buddy Wednesday, please send me a message on the Admirably Diverse Facebook page or email me at katiewhiddon@admirablydiverse.com with your photo, your story, and links to your social media if you would like for others to follow you!*
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