Thank you so much for visiting Team Jackson's page.  On July 20th, 2015 Julie and I experienced one of life's all-time highs...we found out we were having a baby.  On September 14th, 2015 we found out that we were having a baby boy.  And one night over dinner, we decided his name would be Jackson Wilder Marra.  Since July 20th we were enjoying every day, tracking his growth, talking/reading to him, noting all his milestones from first kicks to the exciting feeling of his hiccups, elated that we were going to be parents...a Mama Bear and Papa Bear to our little cub.  Life would be changing in a big way; it would be so rewarding and amazing. It would be a miracle, as all life is.

 

As you know, we experienced one of life's all-time lows on February 24th, 2016.  During a routine doctor's appointment we found out that Jackson's heart had stopped beating at 36 wks old.  We really don't have the words to describe how we absorbed the news and how devastated we were and continue to be.  We were terrified of meeting Jackson surrounded by silence, knowing we would not hear our son's cries as he took his first breath, but Julie was so brave and so strong and delivered Jackson on February 26th at 1:19am.  Despite the tragic circumstances and our heavy hearts, meeting Jax for the first time was a blessing.  He was perfect and so beautiful!  Jackson weighed 6lbs 2oz and had a full head of wavy hair, his Daddy's hands and feet and his Mama's nose and chin.  Although we did not hold him under the circumstances for which we had hoped and dreamed, we felt extremely fortunate to meet our little guy.  He brought so much love to our lives and to our families and friends.  These are difficult times, to say the least.  Our hearts ache everyday that passes by and we do not have Jax to hold in our arms but we are holding strong to our faith and have so much support from our loved ones and many others that have experienced a loss of a child.  No matter what the future holds for us, Jax will always be with us, in our hearts and will forever watch over us.  He will continue to bring us love every day of our lives.  Jackson Wilder Marra is our son and we are so very proud to be his parents.

 

We wanted to share a brief summary of our story and our outlook.  We love you all and thank you for your support.

 

Julie and I are excited to be participating in the Let's Not Be Still! New York run/walk. Money raised from this event will be used to increase awareness, support research, promote education, and encourage advocacy and family support regarding stillbirth. 

 

Thank you for reading our story.  You will never know just how much it means to us that we can share our story, thoughts and feelings with you all.  How much it means to hear Jackson's name from yourselves when talking about our son.  He has so much love from you all and we know our little angel feels all of it up in Heaven.  

 

With Much Love,

Julie & Steve