Shanna Kay Osborn

Four years ago today, I met my daughter for the first time. It was a crazy morning with a phone call to my little sister and a helicopter ride to the University of Utah Hospital. I remember being so scared, because she was a month early and would undergo open heart surgery in a few short days. The moment I met her, however, all those scared feelings went away and all I felt was joy. Joy that she'd be mine forever no matter what, and joy that she made it to this world safely. For that moment my world was perfect, but then she was taken from my arms and the whirlwind began.

Hours after she was born

Little Shanna was teeny. She weight 5lbs. 10oz and the nurses brought her back to me in an incubator from the NICU, I marveled at her perfect, tiny body from the outside, and couldn't picture a broken heart on the inside. She had only stayed in the NICU for one hour and did so well that they put her with us in a recovery room. I will always treasure those days with her. That was they only time we were able to be "normal" with her. We could hold her, cuddle her, feed her, change her diapers, and the only difference was that we were in the hospital.

My precious baby girl

The weeks and short months with her after that, were a roller coaster. When I think of her however, I think about her smile every time we gave her a bath. I think of her tiny head bobbling as she tried to look up at me while I held her on my shoulder. I think of the noises she made, and that last morning with her. I think of the miracles in all of it, and how I wasn't alone when it all happened. I picture her as a beautiful tiny angel that is constantly checking in on us.

Holding my little girl

She would be 4 years old today. Although it was four years ago, the pain of losing her is still very raw. It hurts to think that we can't celebrate her birth with her, but what we continue to do on her birthday is serve. That's why we are all on this earth together. To serve and love each other. Today we will be helping a local nursing home with donations, and in a few short days, we'll be starting Shanna's meals. To help us focus more on others than our pain, would you help us nominate a Healthcare worker that we could provide a meal for? We will be working through our foundation (Shanna Kay Osborn Foundation) to deliver meals for those working on the front lines to combat COVID-19. You can visit our facebook page Here. There will be a post with a link where you can nominate someone and their family. Happy nominating😊

Shanna's big brother loves her so much