After trying to conceive for over seven years, high school sweethearts Katie and Ben Rice of Jacksonville, Florida began the difficult road to adoption. After a gut-wrenching failed placement, they found a young mother who was wanting to place her baby up for adoption. Katie and Ben were over the moon! The Rices went thru the pregnancy with the birth mother, along with caseworkers and attorneys. She was incarcerated the majority of the pregnancy, so they didn’t get much time with her face to face. While they waited, they set up the nursery, had a baby shower, and packed the diaper bag for the hospital. They even had dinner with the birth mother, the attorney, and caseworker a few days before the planned C-section and everything was a go. Katie and Ben had zero doubts and no fears.
Sadly the birth mother changed her mind, and the daughter they had dreamed of was not to be. They were crushed and entirely heartbroken. When they returned home from the hospital, it was like hitting a brick wall. They had the whole house set up to welcome a baby. They immediately went about packing everything up and shutting the nursery door. Some sweet friends sent them out of town for a few days to get away from it all, allowing them to grieve.
Four months later, Katie and Ben received a call from their attorney saying the birth mother was on the way to Jacksonville with “their” baby girl. Both were in shock and disbelief and afraid to be hopeful. When they arrived at the attorney’s office, the birth mother was there with her sister. She handed them the baby, spoke for a few minutes and left. They sat there in total shock, holding their baby girl who was so skinny, so frail and screaming her little head off.
Within two days they took Ansley to see a pediatrician. The first thing the doctor asked us was, “Do you know she’s mentally disabled? Are you sure you want to adopt a disabled child?” They were stunned. They knew their baby knew was frail and unhealthy, but in their eyes Ansley was perfect. They were sent to the local children’s hospital for testing where they learned their baby had Microcephaly, an abnormally small head, due to little or no brain development, and that she would have global delays. Within the next few weeks, they saw a battery of pediatric specialists trying to get a better medical picture of their daughter. They then noticed she was having infantile spasms and found out she had Lissencephaly (smooth brain), due to lack of development in the folds of her brain, which often goes with Micro and is referred to as Micro-Lissencephaly. Doctors told them she was categorized as “moderately severe,” that she would not surpass 3-5 month level developmentally, and that she would never sit/crawl/walk or talk. They also noticed that she kept her eyes closed all the time, and she was diagnosed with Cortical Visual Impairment, a disease of the eye, and Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, which is when there is only a very thin nerve from eye to the brain.
Katie and Ben were completely overwhelmed, but still very hopeful. They had the hope that only God provides. They knew He created their daughter, Ansley, perfectly in HIS image. They were not mistaken.
Three years later she is thriving, but still bravely facing many medical challenges. For the past year, Katie and Ben have been trying to raise funds for a wheelchair accessible van. A follower of Ansley’s page has graciously offered them a reduced price on a used van with a motorized wheelchair lift. They have raised half of the necessary funds, but donations have stalled.
Ride to Give is excited to help the Rice family finish their fundraising so Ansley can have the “fancy van” of her dreams. She is the most courageous, happy, and smiley child, and deserves to have safe transportation. Please help by making a tax-deductible donation to Ride to Give in support of purchasing Ansley’s van.
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