Ansleigh

Ansleigh, a Trisomy 18 Angel

This is Ansleigh Ruth. The girl who changed my entire world. The one with the best hair. The sweetest soul. My sweet girl is missed so much.

Ansleigh was diagnosed at 12 weeks gestation with Trisomy 18. It was later discovered that she had an omphalocele, cleft lip and palate, a complete AV canal defect, coarctation of her aorta, and a VSD component. I could make a huge list of the things we were told she couldn’t and wouldn’t do. We were told she’d never live through birth, that she would be a burden to us and her older sister, and that she would only know suffering. Boy, did God show up and prove them wrong. He was with us the entire journey of her life. She didn’t suffer. She almost never cried. She was the most content baby. We traveled 14 hours to Omaha to find her the medical care she deserved because she was denied by everyone in our state. She was the first (in our area, at least) to go so far for help. She got her heart surgery and thrived. She gained weight so quickly and made great strides toward coming home.

Sadly, an infection after surgery is what stole her from us. She is so missed and loved. Her story lives on in so many others who also made their way to Omaha to get the care they also needed. Knowing her story could help others is truly what pulled me through the trenches of my grief. It’s still painful to share, but her light deserves to be shined.