Hope

 Today I awake with a new sense of hope. Just like this photograph from last night, the planet Mars pictured in the bottom right, the stars shining in the sky above to the center and left, being able to see something beautiful like the night sky brings me peace. 

I joined a support group that has a lot of parents who have shared stories of their babies, some who are still living and who have Full Trisomy 18. This diagnosis is not the end. It's a reality wake up call that life will not be what you expected, that is true. However this diagnosis is not necessarily the end. 

We may get a few hours, a few days, a few months and could even be lucky to get a few years. 
Our future just won't look like we imagined, it could include feeding tubes, cords, monitoring, surgeries, therapies, and turning our lives a little upside-down. 

Feeling like I was a little premature to pull out all the stops before, the doctors don't want to give false hope and miracles do happen. If we get time together and our son gets to be a part of this little girl's life (no matter how brief), that is what will matter most to us.