Meet Baby Avery!

We are so excited to share a little bit about the first baby that we have been able to support in memory of Will! We started this foundation with the simple idea of having a way to honor Will by helping other children. We are grateful that we were able to help beautiful baby Avery receive a heart procedure through Patrons of the Heart. This is an organization founded by Will's cardiologist, Dr. Ettedgui, and his wife. They have already helped so many children in the past 13 years and we are are so thankful that they allowed us to be a small part of Avery's journey.

Avery and her mom are from Grenada and traveled to the United States for the first time last weekend. We got to meet them the day before Avery's procedure and we loved getting to spend a few hours with this sweet family. I have tried to imagine what Avery's mom must feel like - she is a young, first time mother with a baby who is in need of a medical treatment that is not available in her country. She traveled all by herself (a 12-hour flight with an infant!) to a country she has never been to where there is no one she knows to get her child the help she needs. She kindly agreed to meet our family and I'm sure it was overwhelming to have all five of us greet her! We walked to a local park and spent time getting to know her and Avery and hearing their story. I was so amazed by her strength and courage as she described their past few months of hospital stays, getting a diagnosis and finding a way to treat her daughter.

Avery is such a sweet, calm baby and she is so beautiful! Our two older children loved her and thought it was funny that Caroline is bald while Avery had so much hair. It was so special for us to see our children with Avery and know that they will be a part of seeing how Will's life impacts other children. Joshua (5) was so happy that Caroline had a "baby friend" and he prayed for Avery's surgery and has asked about her every day since we met her. I am confident that God will use Will's life to impact others because I know that it has already impacted us, his family. My children will get to help others, meet people from all over the world and pray for them. I am thankful for that.

We are so happy that Avery's procedure went well. She will recover for a little while longer in Jacksonville before going back to Grenada with the rest her family, who I'm sure will be so happy to see their healthy little girl! We will continue to pray for Avery and hope that she is the first of many children that we can support in memory of Will!