Baby Grace Imelda

Hi friends, As many of you know, Charlie and Mary were blessed with baby number 5 back in August. At the 20-week ultrasound, they discovered that the baby is a little lady- Grace Imelda. The doctors also discovered several very severe health issues. She has a brain malformation called holoprosencephaly. This is when the brain fails to divide into two separate hemispheres. She has the most severe form called alobar. She also has a heart condition called unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect; or uAVSD. This is basically when the ventricles pump a large amount of blood to one side but not enough to the other side. This can lead to heart failure because not enough blood gets to large areas of the body. The last condition is fetal growth restriction. She is not growing at the proper rate. With all of these very complex and severe conditions, Charlie and Mary have been told that Grace will likely pass away shortly after she is born. Charlie and Mary are putting Grace completely into the Lord’s hands. If she is born alive, they will have her baptized immediately and then do whatever they can to care for her. From now until Grace is born, Grace will be closely monitored through ultrasound. We ask from all of you for prayers. Please pray for strength for Charlie, Mary and all their children (Louis, Michael, Amelia and John) as they navigate this very difficult situation. Please pray for Grace, that the Lord may heal completely. We also ask you to consider donating financially to Grace’s cause. There are many medical bills that go with all the appointments, and we hope to significantly lighten this burden for their family. I will post any updates here as the pregnancy progresses. Thank you all for your prayers and support!