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If you are lucky enough to know Brooks and Christina Schumacher, then you know that they are two of the most selfless, genuine hearted, giving, and loving people you will ever meet.
The Schumachers got married in 2013 and since then, have been anxiously yet patiently waiting for the day that their family would grow from 2 to 3. For years, their prayers went unanswered and so they began looking into fertility testing to find out if they would ever be able to conceive a child on their own. And then in the fall of 2017, in the midst of beginning testing, there came a miracle. Christina became pregnant, and they were elated.
The joy was short lived, however, as a few weeks into the pregnancy, the Schumachers found themselves in the hospital for what they were told was a miscarriage. They were devastated.
A week later, Christina went to her OBGYN for a follow up appointment, during which they discovered she had in fact NOT had a miscarriage, and was still pregnant! I will never forget the look in Christina's eyes when she told us the news. She so excitedly whipped out her sonogram pictures to show us at dinner one evening. It was the very first time I got to see Grayson Craig Schumacher. That sonogram hung proudly on their refrigerator, and they began making plans for a nursery. They are both Disney lovers, and decided upon a Peter Pan theme.
The beginning of Christina's pregnancy was a rollercoaster at best, and unfortunately, the remainder of her pregnancy turned out to be much of the same. There were several scares and trips back to the hospital, and even a surgery to put in a cerclage, but throughout it all, Brooks and Christina remained hopeful.
On February 23, 2018 at 22 weeks, Christina went back into the hospital having complications and doctors determined they had no choice but to induce labor. They were told up front that it was likely Grayson would not survive the birth. On February 24, 2018 at 1:32 PM, Grayson came into our world, but sadly, he did not stay with us.
Brooks and Christina had no time to grieve the loss of their first born child, however, as Christina began having life threatening complications immediately following the birth. She was losing a large amount of blood, and fast. After several unsuccessful attempts to stop the bleeding, they had no choice but to perform emergency surgery. In order to save her life, Christina was given a partial hysterectomy. We came so very close to losing Christina that day in addition to Grayson. But as the relief of knowing Christina was going to pull through began to fade, Brooks and Christina were slammed with a harsh reality - in one single day they had lost both their son and the hope of ever naturally conceiving another child of their own. As someone that hopes to have children of my own one day, I can't begin to imagine the pain of having that possibility ripped away from me.
On Saturday, March 17, 2018, a small graveside service was held as Grayson Craig Schumacher was laid to rest. I am not even capable of putting into words how heart wrenching it was to have to say goodbye before any of us had even gotten to say hello. His small gravestone bears his name, birth date and a single quote his parents chose from Peter Pan. It's a quote I believe brings them a bit of solace amidst an unthinkable tragedy. "You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you can still remember dreaming? That's where I'll always love you, that's where I'll always be."
As we are all still trying to sort through the "why's" of this tragedy, Brooks and Christina remain strong and hopeful of the future. They are still determined to have a child of their own someday via adoption, but they will need help in making this dream come true as the adoption process is very costly. So, I have created this GoFundMe page to ask for your help. Please, if you can, give any amount. Please help Brooks and Christina have a baby of their own. Help them bring a sibling for Grayson into this world, so that they will finally get to experience the joys of parenthood, and so that Grayson may grow up and live on through his sibling.
The Schumachers got married in 2013 and since then, have been anxiously yet patiently waiting for the day that their family would grow from 2 to 3. For years, their prayers went unanswered and so they began looking into fertility testing to find out if they would ever be able to conceive a child on their own. And then in the fall of 2017, in the midst of beginning testing, there came a miracle. Christina became pregnant, and they were elated.
The joy was short lived, however, as a few weeks into the pregnancy, the Schumachers found themselves in the hospital for what they were told was a miscarriage. They were devastated.
A week later, Christina went to her OBGYN for a follow up appointment, during which they discovered she had in fact NOT had a miscarriage, and was still pregnant! I will never forget the look in Christina's eyes when she told us the news. She so excitedly whipped out her sonogram pictures to show us at dinner one evening. It was the very first time I got to see Grayson Craig Schumacher. That sonogram hung proudly on their refrigerator, and they began making plans for a nursery. They are both Disney lovers, and decided upon a Peter Pan theme.
The beginning of Christina's pregnancy was a rollercoaster at best, and unfortunately, the remainder of her pregnancy turned out to be much of the same. There were several scares and trips back to the hospital, and even a surgery to put in a cerclage, but throughout it all, Brooks and Christina remained hopeful.
On February 23, 2018 at 22 weeks, Christina went back into the hospital having complications and doctors determined they had no choice but to induce labor. They were told up front that it was likely Grayson would not survive the birth. On February 24, 2018 at 1:32 PM, Grayson came into our world, but sadly, he did not stay with us.
Brooks and Christina had no time to grieve the loss of their first born child, however, as Christina began having life threatening complications immediately following the birth. She was losing a large amount of blood, and fast. After several unsuccessful attempts to stop the bleeding, they had no choice but to perform emergency surgery. In order to save her life, Christina was given a partial hysterectomy. We came so very close to losing Christina that day in addition to Grayson. But as the relief of knowing Christina was going to pull through began to fade, Brooks and Christina were slammed with a harsh reality - in one single day they had lost both their son and the hope of ever naturally conceiving another child of their own. As someone that hopes to have children of my own one day, I can't begin to imagine the pain of having that possibility ripped away from me.
On Saturday, March 17, 2018, a small graveside service was held as Grayson Craig Schumacher was laid to rest. I am not even capable of putting into words how heart wrenching it was to have to say goodbye before any of us had even gotten to say hello. His small gravestone bears his name, birth date and a single quote his parents chose from Peter Pan. It's a quote I believe brings them a bit of solace amidst an unthinkable tragedy. "You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you can still remember dreaming? That's where I'll always love you, that's where I'll always be."
As we are all still trying to sort through the "why's" of this tragedy, Brooks and Christina remain strong and hopeful of the future. They are still determined to have a child of their own someday via adoption, but they will need help in making this dream come true as the adoption process is very costly. So, I have created this GoFundMe page to ask for your help. Please, if you can, give any amount. Please help Brooks and Christina have a baby of their own. Help them bring a sibling for Grayson into this world, so that they will finally get to experience the joys of parenthood, and so that Grayson may grow up and live on through his sibling.
Organizer and beneficiary
Christina Schumacher
Beneficiary