For nine months, my wife Brooklyn carried our baby boy knowing he was dying. Three months in, they told us he had severe hydrocephalus. Too much fluid crushing his brain. "Off the charts bad," the specialists at Cincinnati Children's said. So extreme they stopped measuring because it didn't matter anymore.
The MRIs were sickening to look at. They said over 90% chance he'd either die right after birth or survive with such severe brain damage that any quality of life was impossible. We had meetings about breathing tubes. About when to remove life support. About letting our son "pass peacefully."
Brooklyn moved to Cincinnati, lived in a hotel near the hospital in case she went into labor. I drove back and forth, working, trying to hold our family together while planning our baby's funeral. On July 8th, fifteen minutes before her C-section, we had another meeting about the breathing tube. About when we'd need to remove it and let him go to Heaven.
Then Charlie came out crying. The sweetest sound I've ever heard.
He stayed in intensive care until yesterday. Now he's home, doing everything babies do. Normal. Beautiful. The doctors have no medical explanation. His brain somehow cleared the blockage on its own, something they've never seen in a case this severe. Nurses with decades of experience kept saying "miracle" and "divine intervention."
Thousands of people were praying for us. Friends, family, strangers, people we'd never met. I'm practical, I believe in science, but I know God was involved in this. I give Him all the credit.
During those endless nights in Cincinnati, I started woodworking in the hotel parking lot just to keep my hands busy, to stop my mind from breaking. Made small toys hoping one day Charlie might hold them. Listed a few things on the Tedooo app where I'd been selling my work, and strangers started buying pieces they didn't need, sending messages saying they were praying for our son. That community held me when I couldn't stand.
Charlie's here. He's alive. Prayer is real, and miracles still happen.
By Amanda Cain
Preventable tragedies:
• Renee Good
• Alex Pretti
Preventable tragedies:
• Brianna Kelson
• Karen Diamond
• Billy McKellar
• Zabar McKellar
• Krishaun McKellar
• Kason McKellar
• Nicole Gregory
• Larisha Sharell Thompson
• Jimmy Friesenhahn
• Ava Moore
• Jorge Gonzalez
• Aleksandre Modebadze
• Jim McCammon
• Camillia Williams
• Lesbia Mileth Ramirez-Guerra
• Ilias “Louie” Mavros
• Adan Lopez Lorenzo
• Matias Roblero Emanuel
• Debrina Kawam
• Grayson Christopher Davis
• Angel Samaniego
• Evangeline Ubaldo-Moreno
• Sebastian Ubaldo-Moreno
• Fraime Ubaldo
• Marangely Moreno-Santiago
• Tiger Gutierrez
• Rylan Oncale
• Taliyah Crochet
• Melody Waldecker
• Kaitlyn Weaver
• Jocelyn Nungaray
• Scott Miller
• Matthew Carney
• Anilson Mauricio Perez Gomez
• Kristie Thibodeaux
• Lauryn Ni’Kole Leonard
• Laken Riley
• Shannon Patricia Jungwirth
• Mario Alberto Trejo Estrada
• Jorge Alexander Reyes-Jungwirth
• Riordan Powell
• Melissa Powell
• Travis Wolfe
• Catalina Valdez Andrade
• Merced Andrade Bailon
• Ruperto Mondragon Salgado
• Jario Hernandez-Sanchez
• Carmen Unilda Navas Zuniga
• Michael Kunovich
• Diana Velazquez Alvarado
• Julisa Molina Rivera
• Jose Jonathan Casarez
• Sonia Argentina Guzman
• Daniel Enrique Laso
• David Breaux
• Karim Abou Najm
• Matteo Garcia
• Erpharo Gilbert
• Limber Lopez Funez
• Diane Hill Luckett
• Maria Rios
• Maris Mareen DiGiovanni
• Brent Allan Hallett
• Martin Iran Carreon Adame
• Ned Byrd
• Kayla Marie Hamilton
• Sandra Vazquez Ceja
• Victor Huerta
• Terry Aultman
• Brenda Aultman
• Erin Simanskis
• Rachel Morin
• Ruby Garcia
• George Levin
• Lizbeth Medina
• Maria Gonzalez
• Aiden Antonio Torres De Paz
• Luis Jocsan Nanez Lopez
• Hallie Helgeson
• Brady Heiling
• Ivory Smith
• Alex “AJ” Wise Jr.
• Mustaffa Muhammad
• Nicacio Hernandez Gonzalez
• Jon Douglas Ratcliffe
• Jacques Price
• Amalia Coc Choc de Pec
• Estrella Anastasia Pec Coc
• Maricela Simon Franco
• Christopher Gadd
• Jeremy Poou-Caceras
• Santiago Jacobo
• Ni’Kole Leonard
• Anjelica Guadelupe
• Amaya Briceño
• Aiden Clark
• Kimberlee Guillory
• Gloria Stephanie Palomec
• Paul Osokin
• Anya Varfolomeev
• Jennifer Ann Morton
• Dania Cruz-Mejia
• Evangeline Ubaldo-Moreno
• Sebastian Ubaldo-Moreno
• Christopher Gadd
• Dennis Buan
• David Hang
• Colby Brice Compton
• Gretchen Gross
• Crecensio Rosas De La Rosa
• Corbin Wagner
• Francisco Javier Cuellar
• Douglas R. Cline
• Isidro Cortes
• Karina Torres
• Moussa Fofana
• Andi Lynn Blair
• Cheston Edwards
• Cindy Goulding
• Evelyn Falcon
• Miguel Ruiz
• Francisco Zamora
• Victoria Eileen Harwell
One group deliberately put themselves in danger by threatening police officers.
The other includes SOME of the actual victims—people who were harmed by illegal immigrants who aren’t supposed to be in our country at all.
Yet the left directs its outrage selectively, and the hypocrisy is both exhausting and morally bankrupt.
I don’t think this guy should be fired. I think he should be put in jail. I don’t even know what law it would fall under but we just need a prison for scumbags like this
We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.
Absolutely disgusting and disturbing video from Charlie Kirk shooting today. Hoping for the best for him and his family. Anybody who is happy about this is a disgusting human.
I have put much thought into whether it makes sense to play another season. After talking it over with my wife and many other friends and family, I have decided to return for another year. Thank you to all my supporters and detractors for fueling me, I ain’t fucking done yet!
New year, new #VenmoMe. We’re giving out $10,000 today. RT this w/ your Venmo handle and you just might ✨ manifest ✨ $100, $250, or $500.
Must follow @Venmo. No purch nec. Ends 1/5. US only, 18+. Venmo acct req’d. Rules: https://t.co/g4KLdG1U1l
New year, new #VenmoMe. We’re giving out $10,000 today. RT this w/ your Venmo handle and you just might ✨ manifest ✨ $100, $250, or $500.
Must follow @Venmo. No purch nec. Ends 1/5. US only, 18+. Venmo acct req’d. Rules: https://t.co/g4KLdG1U1l