Della Jean

Della's story was written to give fellow anencephaly families hope and courage just like all of the other stories on this website had for us. We would like to recommend joining the anencephaly.info Facebook group, everyone is so willing to answer any questions you may have and give encouragement.

From the very beginning, to her birth, to now, and to forever, Della had and will only feel love.

When we found out we were pregnant with our first baby on May 20, 2023, we were so excited and made our first doctor's appointment as soon as we could. We couldn't wait to tell our families, our baby would be the first grandchild and great grandchild on Keith's side and second on Emily's side.

Diagnosis day will always be the second worst day of our lives and we will never forget July 3, 2023. We found out our baby who had the strongest little heartbeat had anencephaly, so they were incapable of life outside of the womb. We were devastated, lost, confused, and felt completely helpless.

We were urged to terminate the pregnancy since our baby wouldn't live a long life, get the pain over worth now and try again for a new baby my doctor said. The one regret I have during my pregnancy was that I even gave the smallest amount of consideration to what that doctor pushed.

We quickly changed doctors offices and found doctors that helped guide us through our journey. It took us a few days to truly process the news we were given. We spent hours researching this new medical term we had never known before. We came across this website, anencephaly.info, that held many stories of families who had babies with anencephaly. We read through many of them, tears running down our faces. We were told many babies were born alive and lived a few hours, some were born still, and others were miscarried.

We had no idea what we had in store for us, we just knew our baby had a strong heart beat and we just hoped and prayed we would be able to meet her.

Anencephaly.info gave us the hope and courage we needed to honor our baby girl's life.

We knew we were given our baby for a reason, to cherish her and love her for the short time we would have with her. To be able to share her story, to inspire and support others who will also receive this rare neural tube defect diagnosis.

From then on, we actively included our baby into our daily lives, talking about and to her everyday.

On September 7th, we finally found out her gender and we were able to call her by her name, Della Jean.

Della went camping with her parents to a lake, she got to help hunt her daddy's elk and all the work that came with it, she went to her mom's work trainings every month, she had lunch with her paternal Great Great Grandma almost every Tuesday, she went wood cutting with her paternal Grandpa, Aunt and all the pups, she got to celebrate her maternal cousin's first birthday party with her Aunts', Uncle, and her Grammy and Opa, she had dinner at Casa Ramos with her maternal Great Grandparents, she was celebrated at her baby shower we had at her paternal great great grandma's house, she had many dinners at her paternal Grandma and Grandpa's house with her Uncle and Aunt, she went on many duck and goose hunts with her dad and family, she got to go christmas tree hunting with her paternal Great Papa and Great Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle and Aunt, and Cousins, and she also got to meet Santa at her paternal Great Grandpa and Great Grandma's house on Christmas Eve.

We weren't kidding when we said we included her in everything. We could go on and on about the special events she got to experience with us. Everyday was special with her, once we were able to finally feel her kicking, she never stopped. She wanted to make sure she was felt and heard. She loved to kick her mom during her work days, reminding her she had been sitting at her desk for too long and to take a break and go walk with her friends Courtney and Beth. Her daddy would talk to her every night, getting as close as he could to her moms belly and boy would she react! She would start kicking like crazy, she knew when he talked to her.

Throughout the whole pregnancy, Emily, her mama, shared their story on social media. Many friends and family members prayed for us the entire time. Many shared their thoughts, kind words and love with us. Della wasn't just loved by her immediate family, she was loved by everyone who knew her. We received multiple thoughtful gifts from family, friends and many online friends, people we have never met in person before. We were shown what true compassion is from our community.

January 25, 2024 was such a beautiful and special day. Della was born at 11:14 pm, with that same strong heartbeat she had from the very beginning. Her mom knew in her gut she would be born alive because Della was a fighter and beat many odds that were thrown against her. Della was such a beautiful baby. We are so proud of her for meeting all of her immediate family that were there. That was very important to us, is that she got to meet her family. She gave us the best 5 hours of our lives. We spent that time admiring her, telling her how much we loved her, gave her countless kisses, and just enjoyed the time we got with her in our arms. She peacefully passed away in her parents arms around 4:15 am on January 26, 2024.

Della didn't just make Keith and Emily parents, she showed them a love they never knew before. She brought them closer than they ever were. She taught them so much in the short time they had with her. Della will always be remembered in their household. January 25th will always be celebrated as the best day of their lives. Her mom will bake Della a birthday cake every year. Her future siblings will know and love her too. Early on they read that joy and sorrow can coexist, Della's life is proof of that statement.

Last updated June 24, 2024