It’s honestly kind of hard to find the words for this post. First I will say, I can’t believe its been a year. It’s been a whole entire year since this sweetie began making waves. She was born to change the world, and she did just that. I never blogged the time I got to spend with Eliana. What a better time to honor her than on her first birthday. I met Naomi, Eliana’s momma the day before her scheduled c-section. We had been in contact for months before that when Naomi was planning a home birth. Shortly after Eliana’s parents found out her diagnoses of Trisomy 18, I said no matter what, I would still be at her birth. I walked into the hospital on December 4th for our meeting to talk about all the different scenarios of how Eliana’s birth could go, nervous as ever. I had no idea what to expect, but like I told myself for weeks, it’s not about me. It’s about them. It’s about her. The following day, December 5th. Eliana would be born. Would she be alive? How long will she live if so? Minutes? Days? Weeks? I (we) had no idea. How would she look? I will admit, I have never ever been as nervous as I was on this day. This day forever changed me. Here is a little tribute to honor my favorite and most inspiring baby I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I’ll keep it short, because I could go on and on… but Thank you Eliana for leaving your heart with me <3
Eliana’s memorial video that was played during her memorial service:
This slideshow is one that Matthew Eliana’s Daddy asked me to make for Naomi as a surprise.
eliana (matthew slideshow) from Sarah Shambaugh on Vimeo.
