Million Dollar Baby Finding a Family Million Dollar Baby Father Daughter Relationship
Tracy Umezu always imagined having a large family unit and a dwelling house filled with children. But after losing ane daughter to a rare genetic disease in 2016 and another due to a severe pregnancy complexity in 2018, the Minnesota mom and her husband, Junji, made peace with existence parents to an only child.
Now, the family unit is sharing the story of their adoption journey, which led them to their son, Jacob, built-in in February 2021.
Charlotte, the family'due south 2d child, was born with SCN2A, a rare course of epilepsy, in 2014. Because they knew Charlotte would dice within a few years of her nascence, the family created a "joy list:" Activities they wanted Charlotte to enjoy in her short lifetime.
"We wanted to fill her life with equally much joy as possible while she was here," Umezu told TODAY Parents, "and so our family and friends made a list of things we wanted her to experience. We went to Hawaii, I pushed her in the Twin Cities marathon, we went to the zoo and had picnics."
In Nov 2016, Charlotte was seizing uncontrollably and the Umezus made the difficult conclusion to withdraw life support.
"She was suffering more than than she was enjoying life," said Umezu. "No medications were working, and she passed away adequately speedily."
Considering they struggled with infertility when trying to conceive Charlotte, the Umezus began fertility treatments to take another kid a few months after Charlotte's death. 1 year later on, Umezu learned she was expecting twins.
"The second baby'south heartbeat stopped after 10 weeks, but I carried Maggie with relatively no complications," Umezu said of her third daughter. "Then at 34 weeks, I lost consciousness and passed out on the floor at dwelling. I almost didn't survive. I had a consummate placental abruption and Maggie died probably instantly."
Because Umezu's md cautioned her not to get significant again, her married man brought up adoption.
Umezu wasn't ready.
"I had to come to a place where I didn't define my worth past the number of living children I had and knew I was still a proficient mom whether I had one living child or five," Umezu, who also has a nine-year-old daughter named Sophie, explained. "I got to a place where, while it wasn't the life I'd dreamed of, I knew there was more we could give our daughter if she was our only living child we had. I knew I would be OK if we but had Sophie."
In 2019, Umezu visited Israel with her church parish and the priest who helped counsel her through her grief. On the trip, she idea nigh her husband's adoption idea.
There was a series of coincidences. Charlotte's nurse was on the trip. And the group met a medico who helped families with the adoption procedure. Umezu began feeling at peace with adopting.
"I felt like I was being told adoption was for u.s.," she said. "I came dwelling house knowing I wanted to adopt, but thinking if information technology worked information technology would be an amazing journey and if it didn't work I would come out OK and be fine. I'd exist disappointed, but I'd be OK."
The Umezus moved through the procedure, receiving the final approvals they needed in November 2020, during the week of the anniversary of Charlotte'south decease.
In February 2021, they received a call about a ii-day-old baby boy in a Florida NICU who needed an adoptive family.
"I talked to the birth mother on the telephone that night, and she asked if we would keep the proper noun she had given him," said Umezu. "I knew nosotros would honor her in that way."
"She said it'due south 'Jacob Benjamin,' and Jacob is the name we have always had in mind for a boy," said Umezu. "It was a pretty telling slice that this was meant to be for both her and for us."
The family unit flew to Florida to bring baby Jacob home.
"Coming together him was this overwhelming rush of emotion knowing we had been bestowed him to love and care for and to give him the best life we possibly can," said Umezu. "But, mixed in there were the sounds of him crying similar a good for you babe would weep or feeding like a salubrious baby would feed and there were little pangs of, 'This is what I missed with Charlotte,' and, 'This is what Maggie would have looked like if she had come out breathing.'"
Since bringing her son habitation, Umezu says she'southward experienced a deep and unique love that's brought healing to her family unit.
"It's impossible to describe," Umezu said. "Information technology'due south a gift that, because we've gone through so much, nosotros appreciate even more than."
"Knowing that life tin can come out typical and normal and salubrious is then awe-striking to the states after all we've been through," she continued. "To look at him and know he has a encephalon that isn't seizing and lungs that are breathing and a middle that is beating is such a miracle to u.s.. It'southward an overwhelming joy."
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Source: https://www.today.com/parents/family-adopts-baby-after-death-2-daughters-2-years-t210843
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