Mommy's Letter to William Ethan Morgan

My dear sweet baby Will,

I loved you before you were even conceived.  I will never forget the moment I knew you were growing in my belly.  I was singing and dancing and could not wait to share the news.  I thanked God for you every day and focused on loving every moment that we had to share.  My heart grew over the past 10 months to allow me to experience a love that I never knew possible.  Each day my love for God grew because of the miracle he allowed us to share.  I had more love for your father who cared for the two of us with more dedication and concern than I had ever seen.  I had more love for you who brought more joy into my life than I ever knew possible.  Yes the past 10 months have been the best 10 months of my life.

I know that you are with God today.  I may not understand his plan but I do know that if he needed someone full of love he choose the right boy to help him.  Your daddy and I love you so dearly but that is just the beginning.  You have grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and even perfect strangers who have been moved by your journey.  You, my sweet precious William, have in your short little life been loved more than many who have very long lives.  You have inspired so many of us to be better people and to make the most of the lives and our physical health that we sometimes take for granted.   We are so very proud of you.

I am your mommy and you are my son - the son that I prayed for and loved while you were here on earth.  I know that I will long to have you in my arms until the day I see you in heaven.  Until then, I must accept that you are with God in a much better place.   As hard as we tried to keep you to ourselves it looks like God too knew that you were an amazing person even before you were born.

Daddy and I will always love you.  

Hugs and Kisses,

Mommy

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

In lieu of flowers...

We would like to provide information regarding donations in lieu of flowers.  We are going to encourage people to chose between two options for donations in Baby Will's honor... they are also free to contribute to both. 

Information is as follows:

Option One:   For Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research and Prevention

In lieu of flowers, please send gifts for the Center for Fetal
Diagnosis and Treatment in memory of William Morgan to The Children's Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 827790., Phila., PA 19182-7790.

Please write "in memory of William Ethan Morgan" on the memo line of their checks. This will allow the Foundation to identify gifts in memory of William as they come in.   
Note: This is the first fund at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia dedicated to CDH research and prevention, formed by request of the Morgans.


Option Two:  For Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Support and Awareness

In lieu of flowers, please send gifts honoring William Ethan Morgan to

Breath of Hope Inc.
PO Box 6627
Charlottesville, VA
22906
888-264-2340

Please write "in memory of William Ethan Morgan" on the memo line of their checks. This will allow the Breath of Hope to identify gifts in memory of William as they come in.

The Morgan family will be notified of all donations and will respond with appreciation cards.

14 comments:

Amber said...

Thats a wonderful idea to honor William. I plan on making a donation as soon as I can it might not be much as finances are tight but I would love to do something in honor of William. He was such a beautiful,brave baby boy.

You guys are always in my thoughts and prayers

Amber

Anonymous said...

What a great way to honor, William.

We are here if your family needs anything, Heather and Matt.

Grandma said...

From darkness comes a great light. William's light will shine like the star of Bethlehem and eventually will lead to the discovery of the cause of CDH and the health and lives of other newborns.

Kelly and Matthew Nelson said...

Heather and Matt,

Matthew and I are with you today heart and soul even if we cannot be there in person. We know only too well how it feels to lose a baby. You two are so strong, you never wavered in your focus on hope. You and your precious William fought a good fight and all of you are heroes for weathering this storm. I know this may be hard to believe right now but someday this pain will be bearable and your precious memories of William will bring only smiles without the tears. Be kind to yourselves in this very raw time and allow yourselves and each other the time you need to grieve. Lean on those who are here to support you. We have lost and come out the other side to find happiness again...if you EVER just need someone to listen on a bad day please feel free to call anytime. 404-502-5501 is my cell phone. Friends will be the angels who give you wings on the days you might feel you have forgotten how to fly. Love and healing thoughts to you. Your William Ethan was as beautiful as his name.... xxooo Kelly and Matthew Nelson

Kelly and Matthew Nelson said...

Heather and Matt,

Matthew and I are with you today heart and soul even if we cannot be there in person. We know only too well how it feels to lose a baby. You two are so strong, you never wavered in your focus on hope. You and your precious William fought a good fight and all of you are heroes for weathering this storm. I know this may be hard to believe right now but someday this pain will be bearable and your precious memories of William will bring only smiles without the tears. Be kind to yourselves in this very raw time and allow yourselves and each other the time you need to grieve. Lean on those who are here to support you. We have lost and come out the other side to find happiness again...if you EVER just need someone to listen on a bad day please feel free to call anytime. 404-502-5501 is my cell phone. Friends will be the angels who give you wings on the days you might feel you have forgotten how to fly. Love and healing thoughts to you. Your William Ethan was as beautiful as his name.... xxooo Kelly and Matthew Nelson

Sara and Daren Zywicki said...

Heather and Matt,
Words cannot express how saddened we are to hear about your baby William. He was an absolutely precious little baby boy and will always be that in everyone's hearts. I'm coming late into this blog, but I've read enough to know that your courage and strength throughout this entire journey has been steadfast and is inspirational. Thank you for enlightening us about this medical condition and sharing your experiences. Take care of yourselves and know that we are thinking and praying for your family during this difficult time.
God Bless,
Sara and Daren Zywicki (former New Haven neighbors)

Brian and Cassi Reed said...

Heather and Matt-
We have not been able to find the words to write you over the past couple days. I remember that night that Brian checked your blog page and found out that Will had passed after such a short time here on earth. Both Brian and I wept like he was our own. We could not imagine how the two of you could possibly cope with loosing Will, but we now understand. Your strenght and attitudes were such an inspiration to the both of us, and we have strived to be as strong as the two of you in our time of grief.

Your continued support for Elli's fight was such an amazing inspiration to Brian and I. We are so lucky to have been in contact with you through the CDH community, and just want you to know that your comments helped during those long hours in the NICU. Your abilbity to support us and root for us showed just how selfless you two truly are. Will was so lucky to have an amazing set of parents.

It is still so hard to believe that our precious Angles shared a birthday and are now enjoying eachother in Heaven. I am not sure if it was an unlucky day or if God knew that they would need someone to keep them company in heaven until their mommies could be there to join them. Either way, we are so lucky to have shared in our joruney's. Although we miss our babies everyday, I still hold out hope for the next babies born with this terrible defect.

Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers and we will continue to think of you and your family. Continued prayers for strenght, faith and hope.

Brian Cassi and Angel Elli

Liz Rich said...

Heather and Matt,
Your family continues to be in our prayers. Just thinking of precious Will today and wanted to send you a note.
Liz

Grandma said...

Our dearest Matthew and Heather,

We hopeit maycomfort you this Sunday morning to know that 100 people attended a Mass dedicated to William's memory and to uplift and to express their condolences on his loss.

William has touched the hearts of people around the world, more than most people do in their entire life time.

We love and cherish you both and will send the program to you. Breathe of hope sent the bracelets and pins for the beautiful service and the music - organ and soprano - were magnificent.

All our love,

Grandma and Grandpa Morgan

Anonymous said...

Heather and Matt,

Your family continues to be in our thoughts and prayers.

We are here if you need us!

Unknown said...

Heather and Matt:
Just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you both and praying for your continued strength and encouragement to others. Your lights are shining so brightly at the "top of the hill" for so many to see.
Rachel

CDHi Admin said...

Just thought I'd check on you to see how you're doing and to let you know that there is a new CDH blog ring for families affected by Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. We would be honored to include William's blog.

This is a service to all CDH families to help us keep up with CDH blogs and to support and encourage families that need it. You can view it on our blogger blog at http://cdhsupport.blogspot.com/

As you can see, it does not list CHERUBS or any CDH group and it is free to join. You can click on Previous and Next and surf from CDH blog to CDH blog.

You can add it to any blog - myspace, blogger, wordpress, live, etc. Make sure to add your CHERUBS site blog to this as well!

To join, go here: http://www.ringsworld.com/cdhblogsring/join.html

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Dawn
President & Founder, CHERUBS
mom of Shane (1/28/93-9/11/99), LCDH x6, vent 1.5 yrs, oxygen 2 yrs, trach 2 yrs, Mic-Key feeding button, deaf 6 yrs, sight impaired, ASD, pulmonary sequestration, hypospadius, recurrent pneumonia and blood infections, hospitalized off and on his entire life, lost to gastropleural fistula - loved matchbox cars, Sesame Street and books, walked, signed, was a happy little guy!

casau said...

heather and matt,, what truely wonderful souls you guys have. you are truely insprirational people! i cried for a while when i heard of will's passing! he was a beautiful baby and we all know where it came from! prayers continue for you both!

weiandl said...

Heather and Matt, please accept my sincere condolences. Both of you and little Will touched my heart. I know Will is in a happy place. Bless you for sharing your journey with others as it has helped all of us in various ways. You are still in my prayers.