April 20^th, 1999 – the world remembers Columbine, we remember our son being born 9 weeks early…

It was April 19^th at 11pm, when Michelle got up feeling tremendous pressure in her abdomen. What we witnessed next was exactly what NO ONE wants to see. She made it to the bathroom floor, called for Keith, and was lying in a pool of blood. She had a partial tear of her placenta. On the previous Friday, she had checked herself into the hospital, knowing something was not right. The doctors gave our son steroid shot in case he came early to help with his lung development. After an ambulance ride to the hospital, Dalton was born 9 weeks early. He was actually due on Father’s Day.

I can remember driving back to our home to get my wife a change of clothes when I heard about a shooting at a school in Colorado. I thought to myself that my son’s birthday will be remember for this horrible event, but God reminded me that Dalton is part of the rest of the story. His life will be one to lead people to God, quite the opposite of what happened on his birthday.

It was over a month that he was in the NICU, with the best care in the world (Nashville’s Baptist Hostpital). Our son came home.

Here are a few pictures of my son at his birth. He just turned 18, plays football for the Carroll Dragons in Southlake TX, and loves the Lord with all his heart. So, for all of you parents with little ones in NICU, they do grow up, and in some cases, eat you out of house and home!

What a blessing to share this with you!

Keith & Michelle Gray

Southlake, TX

18 years later...