Now and then, the comments parents leave at www.DifferentDream.com remind me of the work of our redeeming God in the midst of our children’s struggles. The comments Joy Owens leaves are like that. Her messages led to emails and eventually a phone call where she shared the story of their precious baby boy.

Meet Baby Sam Owens

Little Sam was born on November 18, 2009. His parents, Kurt and Joy, knew he had one of the most severe congenital heart defects, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, before he was born. One of his older siblings has a heart condition also, which is treated at Mayo Clinic, so Sam was delivered there, too. Sam fought to live for 72 days, then fell asleep in the arms of his parents who say he then, “awoke in the safe embrace of his Heavenly Father Jan. 29,2010.” You can read more about Sam’s short life and see pictures of the beautiful little boy at his CaringBridge website.

Meet Sam’s Family

Sam’s parents and his three older siblings (Parker, Matthew and Emma)  are grieving deeply for their lost child and brother. But they are not isolating themselves as they mourn.In fact, they are using Baby Sam’s memorial money to launch a gift bag ministry to families of newborns with serious congenital heart defects. They’ve named the ministry 4HisHeart-Snuggles from Sam. For a peek at the gift bags and how their creator is participating in the ministry, go to this etsy link to view them.

Why Gift Bags?

The unique circumstances of Sam’s hospitalization led to the creation of the gift bag ministry. At Mayo hospitals, all newborns with serious health issues go to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). After surgery, all but those with heart problems return there. Those newborns are transferred to the Cardiac ICU which cares for all heart patients, newborn to ninety.

Joy explains, “The heart care they receive in Cardiac ICU is excellent, but the unit isn’t set up to meet the special needs of newborns like NICU is.” So during Sam’s stay, Kurt and Joy implemented some NICU techniques that soothed and calmed their little boy.

The Owens are filling the bags with things they found helpful during Sam’s hospitalization. To learn the what and why behind each item, come back in a few days for the second part of this series. Until then, keep the Owens family in your prayers. Ask God to wrap his arms around them and bring them peace along with healing tears.

4HisHeart-Snuggles from Sam, Part 2

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