Landon James Klimek

Around Christmas I got a letter from an old friend from high school, Kelly Klimek, that her little brother, Andy, and his wife were pregnant with their second child. Though their first child was born completely healthy and lives a perfectly normal life, ultrasound photos showed that their second had multiple birth defects and health problems.

Landon was born December 28th and lived only 12 days. I just got an email from Kelly that she and her husband are walking for the March of Dimes in Washington, DC (where they live). Here's more information from her email:

"I invite you to visit our March of Dimes page at www.walkamerica.org/landonjames to read more about Landon's impact on our lives and to make a donation to help assist this noble cause."

Visit the link, read Landon's story, and make a donation if you can. Here is an excerpt from the Klimek family Christmas letter, written before Landon was born:

"[Andy and Sarah] are expecting a little boy, Landon, in just a couple of weeks. However, Landon has many deformities and fetal anomalies; so he may not survive long. We have all been to hell and back listening to the doctors deliver bad news upon bad.... September 28th [was] the day we found out about Landon's one "little" problem: cleft palate.... On Monday, October 2, Andy and Sarah went to the specialists in Grand Rapids and found out that the baby also has a serious heart defect, spina bifida, missing kidney, all of his organs are on the wrong side of his body and the list goes on. A couple of weeks later we were told he also has a club foot and something wrong with the palms of his hands."

I am in tears right now just thinking about how incredibly lucky we are. I cannot even imagine....