When one door closes...

Another one opens. In our case, they were two humongous doors.

Everyone experiences life changing events. Whether it's buying a new house or getting married, there are events that happen in our lives that change who we are and how we go on from there. Two of the biggest life changing moments are the birth of a child and the death of a parent. One deals with the beginning of life and the other with the end of it. For us, these two events are now forever connected.

Tom's mom was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis in 2003. It's a disease where the air sacs in the lungs become scarred. That scar tissue gradually grows thicker which makes it harder for the tissue to transfer oxygen to the bloodstream. There is no cure and there's no way to reverse the damage.

We watched as she battled the disease. She was eventually put on supplemental oxygen and had to medically retire from the teaching position she had held for several years. She was put on the lung transfer list at Vanderbilt University Hospital in September of 2007. She received her new lungs in January 2009.

With her new lungs came a second chance. She no longer needed to be on oxygen. She could take long walks, where before even a trip to the bathroom left her breathless. She wanted to take day trips again. She wanted to live again. She was a new person with new hopes for the future. Sure, her health was always a number one priority, but it wasn't her entire life anymore.

Just 20 short hours after Cadie entered this world, her grandma passed from multiple organ failure. We like to believe that she got to see pictures of her first grandchild that my father in law showed her. She was so looking forward to spending time with Cadie, which makes the timing all that more sad.

Cadie will know her grandma. I plan on creating a children's book with pictures of her and with a little story about her life. Just a little something to sit down and read together, to keep her memory alive.

I believe that Cadie was sent to help us through this hard time. All you have to do is look at my husband or father in law hold her, cuddle her, love her, and you see a little bit of the pain ease up. She is definitely a little ray of light in a dark time and we are truly blessed to have her in our lives.