Baby Charles - Only Here Briefly! "How about a Brother"

Well it was what I always refer to as my whirlwind week. On March 29th, 2004(Monday) I helped a friend by watching her boys while she had a c-section to deliver her daughter. As I left the hospital and headed to the gas station my cell phone rang.... We had just been selected by a birthmom to adopt a baby girl. We were so excited that Tim would have a sister come June.

On Saturday at 2am the phone rang- Steve answered and all I remember was him saying sure and then giving directions to our house. As he hung up the phone he said a baby girl will be here in 20 minutes. WHAT! It was the Child Services we were foster parents and they had an emergency placement. Once we settled around 10 am I realized that Steve was taking Jess to her high school prom and she had no dress. So I went Shopping with two little ones Timothy 10 months and the foster child 2 months. Not to mention Jessica would need full assitance in the dressing room. We survived she was dressed had a great time at the prom with dad. That evening when we got home we noticed on caller id that several calls had come in while we were gone from a number we did not recognize............Hmmmmmmmmmm

At 10pm the phone rang coming from that same number Steve answered and then gave the phone to me It was Timothy's birhmom. At first she was just asking normal questions How is he doing? Is he getting big? any problems? and then a question to me Do you guys plan on having more kids? I replied with eventually we hope he will have a brother or sister.... she replied How about a brother...... Are you pregnant? nope I delivered a boy today..... he is small but doing great 2lb 15 oz.

I was esctatic and Steve was hesitant as you remember we were waiting on a baby girl in June and this was only April. We decided that we would do this for Timothy as this was his biological brother. He was perfect when I arrived just small. I continued to visit in the NICU and the doctor said that he would most likely be released in a couple weeks. He required no assistance other than a feeding tube. The on April 15 in the afternoon the phone rang and he was diagnosed with NEC( necrotizing intercolitis) His intestines were no longer working and if they were to tear he would need surgery and they might be unable to repair them. So we dropped Timothy with grandma by this time the foster child was with another family as we foccussed on our family. After driving for 2 hrs of a 5 hr drive we learned that after going to surgery there was nothing more they could do. He would not survive but they would keep him on a ventilator until we were able to be with him.

After 13 days here on earth with us we placed him in Gods arms for eternity on April 16th. We would never trade any of the time we had with him. Most importantly we were chosen by his birthmother to care for a second child of hers and this meant alot. He is forever the guardian angel over our family and we will always treasure him as a part of our family.