Micah’s Fight

I’m in tears, nervous, and scared for my friends as I write this.  I’ve wanted to write about my friend Alyssa and her son Micah for a while now, but I kept putting it off in the hopes that we’d have more time to share, and a happy ending.

But time’s up.

Alyssa and I have been friends for a while – I worked with her husband,  Matt, a few years back and we’ve been friends since.  Her oldest son, Justin, is three months older than Abbie.  She and Matt were at our wedding.  Alyssa was one of my first visitors during maternity leave (other than family) and was there for me as I learned to be a mom.  She’s been a great friend to me.

Alyssa and Matt are also two of the bravest people I know.  Shortly after finding out they were expecting their second child, their baby boy was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 – a diagnosis many doctors view as “incompatible with life.”  They chose to believe the opposite, and continued to carry the pregnancy in the hopes that Micah would beat the odds.

Yesterday and this morning, Alyssa posted that she hadn’t felt Micah.  Just a few minutes ago, she announced that they were headed to the hospital to deliver – that they found his heartbeat but he’s not doing well.  I believe at this point she just hit 28 weeks.  That’s scary enough in a normal pregnancy, but terrifying for Micah.

My heart is breaking for them, and there’s nothing I can do but pray and hope.  Pray that they get to meet Micah alive.  That big brother Justin gets to meet him.  That maybe he can beat the odds and they can have days, weeks, months, or even years with him.

So if you’re a religious person, please pray for them.  If not, keep them in your thoughts.  They deserve to meet their son.

If you’d like updates, the Micah’s Fight facebook page is here and her blog is here.

**Updated at 9:12pm – Micah was born at 6:24pm, and Alyssa and Matt said hello and goodbye in one breath.  Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.**