The ultrasound was our first opportunity to see our child. The discovery of our baby’s sex was a glimpse into who this person is. Then came the day when the discovery told us not only that this was our son, but his journey would take us on a path we had never experienced before.
It began with a cleft lip/palate, then he was diagnosed failure to thrive and hospitalized, then we learned his condition was genetic. The day we learned that, as another baby grew quietly inside me, we wondered how we could possibly manage. Her ultrasound arrived and our road turned again. Our daughter was growing without a brain.
For many, that day of diagnosis marks the first day of a series of traumas, the first turn in a series of turns in the road. As a Catholic, if I was going to make sense of God — that He is good, that He loves us and wills my good, the good of my family, the good of these children — then I had to make sense of suffering. So I turned to prayer; I turned to the saints; I turned to the Church. I did not find every answer, but I found the answers I needed to get through.
Journey in Love: A Catholic Mother’s Prayers after Prenatal Diagnosis is the fruit of that search, a companion to walk with mothers facing the same direction, a resource for those who love them and want to support them. Available now at Our Sunday Visitor. Continue reading for a glimpse at this journey.
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Copyright 2019 Kathryn Anne Casey About the author: Kathryn Anne Casey is a graduate of Divine Mercy University, freelance writer, housewife, and mother of four children. She has volunteered with Life Teen Ministries, the National Evangelization Team, and the Young Ladies Institute. After graduating with a B.S. in Psychology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kathryn went on to work as at the Center for Human Services (CHS) in Modesto as a Student Assistance Specialist, providing short-term prevention and early intervention services to at-risk high school students. Upon marrying, Kathryn and her husband moved to Virginia where she earned an M.S. in Clinical Psychology at Divine Mercy University in Arlington, VA. Embracing family life, Kathryn and Kyle welcomed seven children from the Lord. John Marie and Paul Joseph miscarried at 7 and 9 weeks. Miriam, James, Regina and Peter were born. Peter, diagnosed with a cleft lip and palate during his 20-week ultrasound, experienced severe malnourishment and was admitted to the hospital when he was two months old. He was diagnosed with SPINT2, a rare genetic condition affecting his ability to absorb sodium. Peter lives and thrives with the help of TPN, a form of IV nutrition. In 2013, Celeste Casey was diagnosed at twenty weeks with anencephaly and born into heaven during labor at 37 weeks. Through these series of twists and turns, navigating the ever-changing path of following one’s vocation, Kathryn returned to CHS, became a life coach, closed her life coaching business, became weekly columnist and reporter for the Hughson Chronicle-Denair Dispatch, reporting on local events celebrating community. You can find her other writing at Mind & Spirit, Blessed is She, and her blog, KathrynAnneCasey.com. Throughout her work, Kathryn remains fixed on the belief that everyone has a story to share and every story is worth sharing.
About the Author
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