Warriors are born in the NICU. There is no time to run, flight is not an option and you can't exactly press pause. My sweet Reid was one of the many brave, strong warriors, the littlest of fighters. All my fears came true in his little life, those 17 days. But together, as a family, we learned to face our fears with courage and grace. I will never forget what he had to endure. I will never forget the pain of watching his. Even more, I will never forget the indescribable strength of faith that allowed us to overcome fear.

Reid selflessly fought physical pain to give us the gift of knowing him on this earth. Each day we would sing "Blackbird" by The Beatles with the hope that his broken wings would fly, his pain would be healed, and we would have the joy of taking our sweet boy home. Every moment I told him how proud I was of him. He made me brave. Oh, if my kisses could heal, I would have kissed him a thousand times over.