We'd like you to meet the 6th family who Disruptive Hope has helped realize their dream to adopt. Caryn and Sam welcomed their son Lawson in February after experiencing a loss of the first baby they were matched with in January. We are so excited for them to share their story with you!
To Friends of Disruptive Hope -
As most young couples, we began our journey to parenthood by trying to conceive biologically. We became pregnant quickly and although Caryn suffered from hyperemesis (severe morning sickness), we were overjoyed. After getting through the first trimester, we were excited to imagine our life as a family of three. At our first ultrasound, we heard the baby’s healthy heartbeat and saw the baby kicking a ton! Right before we were going to leave the appointment, a nurse informed us that the doctor wanted to speak with us. The doctor told us the baby’s skull and brain weren’t formed correctly, and we needed to see a specialist a few weeks later. At the next appointment, the specialist confirmed that the baby had a rare condition called anencephaly. Anencephaly is the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp and would not survive.
After taking some time to grieve physically and emotionally, we became pregnant again. Once again, Caryn had hyperemesis which resulted in several trips to the hospital for fluids and feeling sick the entire duration of the pregnancy. In July of 2020, a healthy baby boy, Sawyer, was born! We knew we wanted to grow our family, but did not feel like it was best for Caryn’s health to become pregnant again and we were concerned about her ability to care for Sawyer if she were to become ill again for 9 months.
Sam is an adoptee himself, along with his two brothers and we knew in our hearts that adoption, a path we always wanted to pursue, was our next step. After waiting to be chosen for 18 months, in November of 2023, we got the call that the expectant mom had chosen us! We had heard stories of this happening, but it was so surreal that our lives had completely changed in 24 hours. Baby boy was due February 19th! The next few months were filled with doctor appointment updates, text messages to expectant mom, setting up the nursery and even a surprise baby shower. The birth mom has a history of delivery early so as the weeks progressed, we were getting more anxious and excited.
On January 31st we received a call from the agency and assumed mom was in labor. It was then that we learned the devastating news that birth mom was at the hospital and baby Knox Alonzo had passed away at 37 weeks due to an infection. Subsequently, the birth mom became fully septic and almost died. This was such a tragic and heartbreaking event for everyone. I was so grateful for all the support from the agency, family, friends, and coworkers who delivered flowers, meals, gift cards, and words of support. The hospital staff even put together a care box and are mailing his ashes which we plan to bury in the same cemetery as our first child.
We lost a significant amount of funds as we supported birth mom throughout the pregnancy as well as a time period after her stay. A few weeks later, we were connected with Disruptive Hope through our agency and had a call with them to explain our story. They told us how they support families through not only their financial loss but the emotional loss that is equally as great. We were so appreciative of this as our hearts were broken. That very same day we spoke with Katie, we got a call from our adoption worker in our home state that a baby was just born the night before and the birth mom chose us. What a miracle! We quickly drove the few hours to meet the birth family and meet Lawson Alexander. Those two days in the hospital room were filled with so much love, respect, tears and hugs for this perfect baby boy. The relationship we have with the birth family is beyond amazing! We share messages, pictures and videos often. Birth mom and grandma often tell us how they are so grateful they chose us and the relationship we’ve built. No matter how much I tell them, I don’t think they understand the magnitude of love I have for them for this beautiful gift of life.
We knew that the adoption journey wouldn’t be easy one but we never imagined, it would look like this. We are so thankful that Disruptive Hope assisted us in bridging the financial gap we incurred and supporting us through this process – especially with how quickly it unfolded! We hope to give back to them in the future so that they can continue to change lives in the same way they changed ours.
With Love - Caryn and Sam
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