GREG & JULIE

We met August 19th, 1997 and married 3 years later on the very same day. It seemed to be the perfect gift when, on our first anniversary, we found out that we were pregnant. Our families and friends were as delighted as we were. We started planning from the very beginning for the arrival of our precious baby, who we already loved more than we thought possible.

Overall, the pregnancy was fairly ordinary. We both cried with joy at the first sound of our baby’s heartbeat and at the first sight of our baby during a routine ultrasound. But on our second ultrasound we found out that there may be complications. It was on our third, and final ultrasound that we were told our precious baby would not survive in our world.

With the help of the amazing team at Dartmouth Medical Center, we planned for the delivery of our baby. We were mixed with numerous emotions during the two weeks of waiting and planning, mostly sadness and some anger. We could not understand why this was happening to us.

On December 23rd, 2001, after 14 hours of labor, Gavin Riley Taylor was born. It was a moment we will never forget. For that moment, we were filled with enormous joy at seeing the beauty of our precious son. Greg went out to our families and told them "it’s a boy… and he’s beautiful." I (Julie) remember watching Greg hold and love our son. It is a moment I will forever cherish. All of our family spent time with Gavin before leaving him with us for the night.

It is amazing what Gavin has brought to all of us in such a short period of time. As sad as it was to see our nurse carry our son away, we knew that Gavin was not truly leaving. He was a part of us… and always would be. The joys of Gavin have never left. We constantly feel our angel and continue to share our love of him with our family and friends.

We are proud of parents who have joined support groups, as we never did. Perhaps we always tried to understand the joy of our angel but not quite the sorrow. We both pray that this walk will be one way to connect with others, and to help a child with a wish.