We are truly honored to be sharing today's conversation with you. Our host Sarah Schalow was joined by Jacqui Christianson in the studio to share the story of her precious son Teddy.
⚠️ Before you listen, we do want to give you a trigger warning for this episode. Pregnancy complications and the death of an infant are discussed in this conversation. ⚠️
Being raised her whole life in Arizona, Jacqui was ready to get out of state after college and decided to move to the Seattle area to start a career and a new life. She ended up living there for a little over six years while working as a Radiological Control Technician at a shipyard. During that time, she met her husband Matt who was serving in the Navy through mutual friends. They had been married for about three years when they decided to start a family and move back to Arizona to be closer to family. Jacqui was three months into her pregnancy when the doctors told her that her baby had something called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). This is a condition in which the baby's left side of the heart does not form correctly. This diagnosis changed everything. Though this condition was not unheard of it still was considered rare and required a lot more doctor appointments and preparation for birth and life after. Jacqui and her husband had to begin preparing for multiple heart surgeries for their son, the first being just days after birth. In November of 2014 they got to meet their precious son Teddy. His first heart surgery was successful, and Jacqui and Matt did all they could to settle into a new normal being first time parents with a son who needed extra attention and care. There were complications but at the same time Teddy was developing well. There was hope. God at times works in ways that we do not understand, and Jacqui and Matt had to soon say goodbye to their son. We feel privileged that Jacqui was willing to share such a deep point of pain with us, but we know that you are going to be inspired by Jacqui's strength and her willingness to release her pain to the Lord.
Information on HLHS: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypoplastic-left-heart-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20350599
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