Liam’s Story

Hi everyone,

I’m not usually one to do this at all but, as many of you may know, I had my son at 23 weeks and 2 days. If you know me, you know that becoming a mom has been my biggest passion in my life. When I got pregnant though beyond ecstatic to finally have my dream come true, I was very nervous for my health. I found out I was pregnant at about 4 weeks and change and by 5 weeks I was hospitalized with pneumonia. Fearing for my tiny little bean and all the stress of that, my first trimester was very tough. Until I was about 14 weeks, I was hospitalized 8 times for different reasons, praying that my baby would be okay, all while trying to maintain my finances and the health of my baby and mine. I struggled with not being able to go to work almost at all for the first trimester because of all these occurrences. When I finally got into my 2nd trimester a lot of my health issues finally resided and I was excited to finally enjoy more of my pregnancy. Shortly after I found out I was having my little boy, I asked someone very close to me if they could take my halfway pictures; I’m SO glad I did. These are pictures that I will treasure forever. Not even 2 weeks later was my birthday which was the first day I dressed up and put myself together and went out to enjoy an evening with my family. Little did I know that only 2 days later I would wake up to losing my mucus plug. That same day I turned 23 weeks pregnant. I had been counting down to 24 weeks because that is the week your pregnancy becomes Viable. Meaning although very risky, your baby has more chance of survival. At 23 weeks to the day, I rushed with my dad to the hospital only to find out I was in labor. The hospital did an ultrasound to check the baby, and as soon as they were done, I had a big gush of blood, and I had my first contraction. My anxiety was horrible! The nurses said that they had to transfer me somewhere else because my son WAS coming, and they didn’t have the NICU that could provide him with the care that he needed at 23 weeks. When I got transferred to this hospital, all the nurses and doctors assured me that they would do all they could to save my son. They told me that they would do everything they could to try to keep me pregnant for as long as my body would give even if it meant hopefully going to term, which I didn’t. After a very long, stressful, and very very scary two days, I delivered my son via Emergency C-Section. God is SO good. My son came out and let out a small cry and they showed him to me before they rushed him off to work on him. This whole time I was crying out to God from the moment I went to the hospital to seeing my boy that He would save my son and that He would show everyone including myself how powerful and mighty He is. I surrendered myself and my son to Him more than I ever had and I am so grateful to see the Miracles that God can do. Although it’s been very very tough being that Liam is so little, God is doing amazing things through Him already. I trust God over science and Faith over fear. I have trusted in Gods timing, in Gods faithfulness. I KNOW God has a HUGE plan for Liam’s life. We are now at 58 days in the NICU with an amazing team and with my baby doing so well Thank God. As many of you can imagine though, it’s been very very tough on me financially due to not being able to work, to not leave my son and having to focus on his progress and his well-being first. I can honestly say that even though I’ve had tremendous help from my family and my amazing partner and amazing dad to Liam, I am still in need of help. If you know me, you mostly know that it is VERY hard for me to ask for help especially at such a vulnerable time, but unfortunately, I am at a breaking point of stress with my bills especially my car payments and such which allow me to be with my son every day. I tell my story not just to ask for help but also to spread some Hope to those that might be going through something similar that I am going through. I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of people or hear of people that I have known that have endured close to what Liam and my story now is. Due to Liam’s arrival being so early, I wasn’t able to plan so much ahead or have a baby shower or anything to celebrate Him and His welcoming as hoped for. I thank God every single day for my son and for the goodness of His calling for Liam’s life and for the calling that I am seeing that He has for my own life. Right now, I must be focused solely on seeing Liam’s growth and being able to take Him home in a few months. When we go home although because he is a micro preemie, he will need even more around the clock care than a regular babe. I will be like I am now solely focused on his care which will still put me out of work for a while longer due to our circumstances. I ask that if you are CALLED to give and can help me with any little bit or if you just want to shower my little man with something meaningful, that God blesses you abundantly. If you see this, it’s because you mean so much to me and I am blessed and happy to know you and have you as a part of my life even if we don’t speak all the time, I am thankful to still see you guys too.

Thank you for anything and everything and may God bless you always

Love ~ Liam and Mari