JACOB’S STORY

After a five-year relationship and one year of marriage, my husband and I decided we were "ready" for children. On August 1, 2005, we discovered we were pregnant with our first child. Ladd was convinced from the moment he saw the positive pregnancy test that we were having a boy, and he was right. My pregnancy was uneventful with the exception of a "gestational diabetic" diagnosis at 26 weeks. My case was mild, so it meant only diet and blood sugar monitoring from home. That's what I get for eating bags of peanut M&M's early in my pregnancy, using the excuse "it's what the baby wants!"

On March 14, 2006, I started having contractions. Since I was past the 36 week mark (36 weeks and 2 days gestation), my OB let my labor continue. Ten hours later, Jacob Hughes Williams was born, weighing 5 lbs, 14 ounces. Although a little early, he was perfectly healthy! We joked that he was just excited to get out and see the world. Little did we know, we would come to appreciate those extra few weeks we shared, as he would fulfill his purpose on this earth and return home to be with the Lord in less time than we had anticipated. 

Besides a short stay in Vanderbilt Medical Center for jaundice, Jacob never had any health problems.  Right from the start, he was a very happy baby, always smiling, and content with almost anything. He met all the usual baby milestones of rolling over, crawling, and standing by himself. He could say “mama” and was working on saying “dada.” He was exceptionally healthy, and he gave the most wonderful hugs and slobbery kisses. He was his daddy’s pride and joy and was a real “mama’s boy” at heart. He stayed at home with Mommy three days a week, and spent the other two days playing with his buddies, Gavin-7 and Katelyn-2, at Laura’s house, his babysitter. Jacob was perfect, and our world was right.

On January 23, 2007, we woke up and ate breakfast. Jacob watched his favorite show, Higglytown Heroes, while I got ready for work. I dropped Jacob off at Laura’s house around 8:00 that morning. He would spend the day there, and I would pick him up at 5 pm. He spent the morning playing, just like every other day. Laura laid Jacob down for his nap around 1:30 that afternoon. She checked on him a little while later to find him resting comfortably in his crib.  She went to check on him again…only this time he looked different, eerily still. She touched his leg – it was cold. She picked him up and ran to the phone, dialed 911 and attempted to perform CPR while she waited for the paramedics to arrive.

It was 4:00 and I was ready to go home, to go see my sweet baby. I started to get excited every day around that time, anxious to see his smiling face as he crawled to greet me at the door. I was in my coworker’s office when I heard my cell phone ring. I was busy, so I let my voicemail pick it up. It rang again…”It must be my mother” I thought. “She’ll leave a message and I’ll call her back when I leave.” My office direct line started to ring, then my cell phone again. This time, I answered it. It was my husband, Ladd. “Where have you been, I’ve been calling you!” I was not prepared for the words that followed…”Something’s wrong with Jacob. You need to get to Laura’s house NOW!” 

It felt as if suddenly the whole world stopped turning. My boss, Liz and one of my co-workers were walking by my office as I said “Oh God No!” They rushed into my office and asked what was wrong. As I stood there holding the phone in my hand, I managed to mutter the words I had just heard, “Something’s wrong with Jacob.” “What’s wrong?” they asked. “I don’t know.” “What do we need to do, Steph?” Again came the words, “I don’t know.” “Are they taking him to the hospital?” “I don’t know” was all I could say. As I stood there paralyzed, my mind racing, Liz took the phone from me and dialed Laura’s number.   A man answered: “This is sergeant such-and-such with the Nolensville police department.” “Can I speak to Laura?” Liz asked. “Ma’am we have a situation here and she can’t come to the phone right now” he replied. “My name is Liz and I’m here with Jacob’s mother. Can you tell me what’s going on?” He told her the ambulance was on its way to a local hospital, and then he hung up the phone.

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