Photo courtesy of Rachel Hewitt
In 2016, Rachel and Scott Hewitt’s third child, who they describe as “spunky,” made her appearance much in the same way she lives her life – fast and fun. Their daughter, Sophie, was beautiful and perfect. But, within minutes of her birth, they noticed a small red-ish, purple mark on her cheek. When they asked the nurse about it, the nurse told them their daughter likely came out so fast she was bruised from the birth. Perplexed, the Hewitts accepted the answer and continued loving on their newborn.
The next morning the pediatrician’s office descended on the hospital with medical books...
Photo courtesy of Kate Hurlbut
Five years ago, my husband, Phillip, and I mourned the loss of our beautiful 7-week-old twin daughter, Ella Grace. She fought courageously in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Texas Children’s Hospital until she passed away in Sept. 2015. Since our daughter’s untimely death, one thing that has helped us find healing and comfort is providing support and outreach to other patient families experiencing grief.
As thankful as we are for the care we received when Ella passed, we realized the need for a more private environment for parents to say goodbye to their babies. When the...
February is Black History Month. This is a great time for kids to learn about Black and African American culture, contributions and achievements. It’s also an important time to refocus our efforts on teaching antiracism and racial justice. Unfortunately, with COVID-19, many of the traditional programs in schools, churches and local communities are unable to proceed. Some ways families can continue the celebration of Black History Month in 2021 are:
- Story time: There are many beautiful and inspiring children’s books about Black history. You can...
Patti Allen and her husband, Dennis, always dreamed of becoming parents. While many couples start having children during their early years, the Allens started their family later on in life.
“My husband and I shared a strong interest in adopting children,” Patti said. “As an adopted child, I knew there were other children like me who deserved a family who could love them unconditionally. While still living in upstate New York, we came across an adoption agency that had a program that only adopted from two places – the United States and China. When we filled out the adoption application, we checked off both places. We knew there were...
Photo courtesy of Alice Chatman
In Oct. 2020, life changed unexpectedly for Alice Chatman. Out of the blue, her daughter, Ava – who she describes as a normally healthy child – started developing unusual symptoms. At first, Alice thought it was just a bad case of upset stomach, but when Ava’s symptoms didn’t go away, she began to worry.
“A day after we celebrated Ava’s 12th birthday on Oct. 10, she didn’t feel well,” Alice said. “She started coughing really hard. She complained her stomach hurt, she felt nauseous and could barely keep anything down. All she wanted to do was drink water. When her symptoms weren’t...