In Loving Memory of Beckham Nicholas Peterson

Please help us share sweet Beckham's story and help Nick, Angela, & Brooks during this time of unimaginable heartache. Thank you for your prayers and support during this time.

Beckhams' story from his Momma:

Beckham Nicholas Peterson

October 26th 2022

6 lbs 13oz 20.5 inches long

Beckham went home to be with our Heavenly Father Saturday, November 12th.

While we are broken into a million pieces, we want to share Beckham's story as we know he has so many people lifting him in prayer and love him so deeply. Even though his time on earth was very short, he is truly the most special, little boy.

After an ultrasound growth scan on August 31st, our OB saw something concerning and referred us to a specialist at Maternal Fetal Medicine in Columbia. On September 9th, It was there we were told that something was very wrong with Beckham. The doctor there diagnosed that at some point he had an aneurysm and was missing portions of his brain. She was concerned that he would pass in utero, likely within days. Shocked and absolutely devastated, and obviously confused as Beckham was reacting to sounds and had full movement of his limbs, we decided to go to Children's Hospital in St. Louis for a second opinion. The following Monday at Children's hospital, they confirmed our greatest fears, that something was very wrong with him and he needed to be monitored very closely. Beckham was originally diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation (AVM) and Vein of Galen Malformation. The nuero team later deemed Beckham had multiple large AVMs within his brain, operable but still very concerning. AVM is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, which disrupts normal blood flow to and from the heart. Due to the AVM, Beckham was already showing cardiac failure. His heart was twice as large as it should be and an echocardiogram showed fluid building throughout his body and organs, aka hydrops fetalis. Doctors were uncertain of what this really meant for him, not knowing if intervention was a possibility. If so, his body would grow around his heart and would basically correct itself. It was there they made a plan, the team of cardiologists, MFMs, and Neurosurgeons wanted to see Beckham weekly to monitor his heart failure and the AVM. Another risk was for myself. The doctors were concerned that I could develop mirror syndrome. Basically, my body would start to mirror what was happening inside Beckham's body. Beginning that week, Nick and I made weekly trips to St. Louis and Columbia to monitor myself and Beckham. Week by week, Beckham continued to hang on and somewhat improved. The fluid around his organs decreased and Beckham was growing at a normal rate. There was concern of me being able to carry until full term since there were multiple complications. Doctors were unsure if he would be stillborn or if he could survive birth. Once he was disconnected from me, would he be able to function on his own? We had a million unknowns but held onto hope because we knew we were in the best hands and ultimately we knew that the outcome of this wasn't up to us, it was all in God's hands. The emotional ups and downs that came with this were filled with heartbreak and hope. Praying so hard. Our God is a God of miracles. Begging Him for that miracle until the very last second.

The doctors had a planned induction on October 31st, we had made it to 37 weeks and defying all the odds, Beckham was an active boy in utero, stable and still fighting. Well, Beckham had his own plans and decided that October 26th was a better time for him. After going to a local hospital our team of doctors in St. Louis didn't want to risk him being born in Columbia away from their team. After a short helicopter ride later, we had made it to Children's for the birth. After a fairly quick labor and delivery, he was born - alive! They took him right away to the NICU to assess him and see what kind of help he needed. To their surprise they were over prepared for our little fighter. We had even more hope that he was going to be okay. After a few days of testing and scans, the news came. Beckham's AVM was inoperable. There was nothing they could do for him. Hearing this news along with, "Im so sorry but this is one in a million" was our biggest fear in the whole 9 week process.

Why him, he did nothing to deserve this. Why us? Why choose our sweet Beckham to be that one in a million? Something we will never understand.

We were given the gift of 17 really precious days with him. Snuggling him as best we could, talking to him and telling him stories about his family, reading books, singing lullabies, telling him how much we love him, meeting so many friends and family and oh so many kisses.

One of Beckhams favorite things was hearing our voices, especially his daddy’s. He would look all around to find him when he heard his voice.

This process has led us to meet so many incredible people, including the doctors and nurses at Children's and BJC, with the biggest hearts that we will never forget.

Thank you for all of the love, prayers and support that we have been surrounded with during this unimaginable time.

We pray that Beckham is forever remembered by so many and he will always have a very big piece of our hearts. Forever our little boy. Our Fighter.