The news that we were expecting our second child was greeted with joy – by us, by Isabella, by friends and family. Every development was exciting, from seeing Veronica’s baby bump grow, to feeling the first kicks, to finding out our child was a boy. Our pregnancy progressed without incident, and as we neared our due date, our anticipation grew. 

Roughly one week prior to our expected due date, we noticed a slowing of the baby’s movements in utero. Then we noticed no movement. We were rushed in for an emergency c-section. Our son, Nithin Elijah Naidu, was born at 7lbs, 11oz. on April 24th. Due to an unexplainable Fetomaternal hemorrhage, Nithin was born having lost a significant amount of blood. Doctors immediately moved to treat Nithin’s condition by providing blood transfusions, placing him on a ventilator, and lowering his body temperature for 3 days. After the 3rd day, they slowly brought his body temperature back up, watching carefully for any evidence of distress. In this process, Nithin was able to adjust to a normal body temperature without any difficulty that we could see. Following the completion of the warming process, the doctors were able to get an EEG and an MRI to assess Nithin's neurological activity. The results revealed that the injuries to his brain were significant due to oxygen deprivation and bleeding. 

We were (and are) devastated and confused. We wept, prayed, met with neurologists, neonatologists, consulted for 2nd opinions, and conferred with family and friends. We were told the injuries to Nithin’s brain would, in all likelihood, leave him without the ability to walk, talk, or eat.

We prayed fervently for wisdom, and with broken hearts, we recognized that the most loving and merciful thing we could do as parents was to stop artificially prolonging Nithin’s life. It was an agonizing decision, and one that was made in faith - with hope for a miracle from the Lord even though we knew it was a very real possibility that God would take him home.

Given the advice of our neonatologist, we moved to do things we wanted to be sure to do with our little boy. We scheduled a baby dedication, and then had family photos taken after Nithin was free of the ventilator. From the moment he came off the ventilator, he did not leave our loving embrace. We were able to cherish moments of what felt like normal parenting: we changed his diaper, dressed him in a fresh onesie selected by Veronica, and laid him between us in bed. Through the night, Nithin sought to breathe on his own as we held his hands and told him we loved him, but he was unable to sustain his breaths. At 5:20am on May 2nd, after 8 short days on this Earth, our beloved son was called home to be with the Father.

We do recognize that we have a wonderful 3 year-old daughter that needs her mommy and daddy. All of the changes and sudden sadness is difficult for her, and our loss extends to depths of sadness that are so contrary to what we expected to experience at this time. Even so, we are grateful for the time we had to share with our son. While it has been agony to part with him, we look forward to the hope of meeting again in the presence of the one who is Love. 

With deep gratitude for all your love and support,
Ramu