Remembering Emmanuel Jacob Adams Sept. 26, 1996

Twelve years ago on Friday, Sept. 26, Gary and Kristin said good-bye to baby Emmanuel. They were in San Fransisco at the time so I didn't have the privilege of meeting little Emmanuel but I remember walking through some of the pain with them. I won't begin to say I know how they felt (or still feel) and I really can't imagine a loss this great, but I have watched Gary and Kristin reach out to others as they have gone through similar situations over the years, offering hope in seemingly hopeless situations.

Andrew was only about 3 when Kristin was pregnant with Emmanuel. I found this sweet picture in my "archives":

We took care of Andrew for a few weeks (give or take a day) while Gary and Kristin were in San Fransisco seeing one of the only doctor's who had any experience with this type of condition:

Kristin had a very rare surgery where the doctors actually operated on the baby while he was still in the womb. They needed to close up a hole in his diaphragm so everything could develop where it was supposed to. I believe the initial surgery went as planned but, sadly, in the days and weeks that followed, the best efforts of the hospital staff could not save Emmanuel. It was all so hard to grasp. . .

On Wednesday night, the kids at youth group worked together on a service project to move Emmanuel's headstone and other markers from the church to another location.

I know all of this must have been very difficult for Kristin but I have often watched her bravely face these kinds of things head on. . .

It was good to see the kids get so involved. . .

So. . . happy birthday, Emmanuel. . . And. . . Gary, Kristin, Andrew and Megan, I'm still so sorry for your loss but I know that you have helped so many other people because of your experience and you continue to make an impact as you share your story with others. . .