Welcoming a new life into the world is almost a religious experience, even for those who aren’t religious. You can just stare at your little child for hours and the love you feel is overwhelming.
Katie and Josh Butler had always dreamed of having a big family, so they were over the moon when they found out they were expecting their first child.
But 20 weeks into the pregnancy, doctors noticed that something wasn’t right.
“We went in, and they told us there was some thickening of the neck and that the baby had club feet,” Katie told The Advertiser.
The parents-to-be grew more and more anxious. The closer they came to their son’s due date, the more they learned that their son was seriously ill.
In week 39, doctors had to perform a caesarean section, and little Dewey was allowed to go to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Then after Dewey’s first examination, it didn’t seem like his condition was as serious as the doctors had first thought.
Chromosomes 6 and 10 had changed place
During his first two weeks on Earth, Dewey received a new diagnosis: diabetes. But then his doctors discovered that chromosomes 6 and 10 had changed place.
“Basically, he was missing some genetic information and some was duplicated,” Katie says.
At a routine checkup when Dewey was 4 months old, the little family’s journey took a drastic turn. Dewey was admitted to the hospital for urgent cardiac surgery. Dewey needed a pacemaker, but unfortunately, he didn’t survive the surgery.
Katie and Josh were completely devastated.
“While we were in the hospital, you get to be good friends with everyone,” Katie says. “Since we were discouraged from having any more natural kids (because Dewey’s condition was genetic), we were talking to different nurses about adoption. In November, it was a Wednesday, I really poured out my heart to God, crying, that I needed another baby. We had so much love and poured it into Dewey and now he was in heaven… I needed more kids to love.”
Months later, Braxtel was born in the same hospital
A few months later, another child, Braxtel, was born in the same hospital as Dewey. He was born with severe breathing problems and was abandoned by both parents when the hospital costs became too high.
After a couple of months at the hospital, Braxtel was on the road to recovery, and that was when his nurses thought of Katie and Josh.
Maybe it was a little too soon, but they asked the couple if they would think of taking care of Braxtel. He still had some medical problems, but his future looked bright.
Just a few days later, Josh and Katie went to visit Braxtel at the hospital.
“Like Dewey, Brax was on a ventilator and had a trach, and when doctors told us, we were like, ‘We got this.’ With Dewey, there was no chance of his lungs getting better, but with Braxtel, he could get better. It was an optimistic situation,” Katie says.
In February 2016, Katie and Josh brought Braxtel home and were grateful to have him in their life, even though the pain from losing Dewey was still great.
“There have been a lot of emotions,” Katie says. “Our high are really high and sometimes, we just get sad. I just cry. I had to start singing worship songs to get me to focus on the bigger picture: God is in control, Dewey is healed, Brax has a second family, and there is so much to rejoice about.”
Today, Josh and Katie are happy and their love for Braxtel is stronger than ever.
A big thank you to Katie and Josh for opening your hearts to Braxtel even though you were still grieving.
Share this story to wish this wonderful family all the best in the future.
