Walking With Grace

 
Very early on in the pregnancy of our daughter, we were told by doctors that there were several reasons why she would not make it.  We were devastated.  A month and a couple ultrasound visits later, miraculously, things changed a bit for the better.  We elected to do some further testing.  The doctors gave us 50% odds that she would be born, but due to the complexity of a heart condition, they were not optimistic about her making it long past birth.  They also informed us that she had Down syndrome, which was not a problem to us, but was reason for them to feel that there was no surgical answer for her heart problem due to the fact that the three phase fix does not have a favorable outcome when performed on children with Down syndrome.   Two months prior to her arrival, 85 people gathered in honor of our unborn daughter to do a local walk for Down syndrome.  The day was filled with happiness and optimism mixed with fear about what was to come.  It was a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate our baby Grace regardless of the amount of time we'd have with her.   Because the walk meant so much to us, we wanted to find the perfect phrase to put on t-shirts that we had made for the event.  We came up with "Walking With Grace" -- This saying, to us, goes way beyond the walk that day.  It's become a way to try to live our lives -- It means living life in the moment and being thankful for all we've got while we've got it --  A reminder to take the time to see the beauty in others and remember we all have our own pace - to not miss out on the wonderful opportunities in this life by worrying about things that are less important.   The saying can remind you of someone you know or represent the person you want to be.  The idea is to have its own personal meaning for everyone -- Something to serve as a reminder of how we want to follow the path in our own lives.   We still don't know what Gracie's future holds, and are determined to do whatever we can to find a way to fix her, but we know that no matter what happens we will spend the rest of our lives "Walking with Grace".