In Dec. 2016 we discovered we were pregnant after suffering a miscarriage 5 months prior. We were so excited, this was our baby that was going to be “perfect and healthy.” My husband was unable to go to the 11wk visit where we found out our 1st baby’s heart had stopped, so he made a decision to never miss another. My husband is in the Navy, so when we found out he needed to go to Chicago for a few months, I decided to move back with my family in AL. At this point we found out we were having a baby girl. In March of 2017 I went for just a normal 16 week scan, well what I thought was normal. This was the first visit I went to alone since the miscarriage, and once again bad news hit. The tech went out to get the doctor and my heart sunk, I knew something was wrong.
The first time meeting my new OB and he had to inform me that my baby had anencephaly. I just wanted to leave, but dreaded the call to my husband. I went to a high risk doctor, they told us our options, but were a little vague on not continuing with the pregnancy. I called the numbers they gave and learned they were abortion clinics and I couldn’t do it, it was against everything me and my husband believed in.
We chose to go through with the pregnancy, praying for a miracle since every other organ in her tiny body was 100% perfect. We started to look into organ donation, we wanted our loss to be able to save another baby. Come to find out, Alabama will not take donations from a baby that has any sort of brain damage. So we just prayed and said we would selfishly spend whatever time we were given with her and that would have to be enough. I was induced at 38 weeks, we had all of our family present and a photographer so we would be able to have something to hold on to. Anderson Jewell McLendon was born stillborn on August 17, 2017. We so badly wanted and prayed and begged for a different outcome. But God has a plan and I truly believe every person is a borrowed angel until He’s ready to have us home. In the end, she was our perfect girl in her own way. Not many people can say they held an angel, but that day we did.