Tom is an incredible husband...and I love him for it, but Tom is also an incredible father and it causes me to see him in a much more powerful way especially on days like today...Father's Day. Tom has been a strong support to me over the last two difficult years and thankfully because of who he is our marriage hasn't suffered from all of the heartache, but today is not about the amazing husband he is to me rather the amazing father he is and has been for all of our children.
Tom never missed a single ultrasound visit with any of our babies. He was there for the heartache of our first ultrasound of our first baby and he was there when we saw Gabriel's heartbeat for the first time. He was there for all three excrutiating ultrasounds with our baby after Gabriel...and he was there when we celebrated Gabriel was a healthy baby and saw all his features for the first time at 12 weeks. He was there when we saw our last baby didnt have a heartbeat and he was there when we learned Gabriel was a boy and we could call him by name. He prayed for each of them while they were here...and talked to them in my womb. He loved to feel Gabriel kick and loved to read to him. He was also their protector. In their short life...he was always so careful to not let me lift anything or to expose me to any chemicals etc. while I was pregnant to protect our little ones.
He's also been a great father to them since we lost them. He was present for every specialist appointment after Gabriel's death as we tried to learn more about him and why he died. Tom has also honored our children in numerous ways including building the stone wall by our house that now houses flowers in honor of our children. I saw his pain as he read Gabriel's book at Levine's butterfly release and as he spoke about the worst day of his life while serving on the nurse's parent panel at CMC...all in an effort to carry on Gabriel's legacy by helping other families.
I have a lot of memories of the day we learned that Gabriel died...the most haunting for me was seeing his heartbroken father when we received the devastating news. I had envisioned so many father/son moments...Tom dressing him in his hockey jersey, reading to him as he fell asleep in his arms, teaching him to play soccer etc. Sadly, I witnessed the most intimate of moments...a father holding his precious lifeless son in his arms. If anyone deserves to be called a father...to be called daddy, it's my husband.
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