Toni and Tommy had dreamed of becoming parents for years. After losing their first pregnancy, the hope of welcoming a second child felt almost unreal. When they learned they were expecting a baby boy — Ren — joy returned to their home. Every ultrasound, every flutter, every whispered dream strengthened their bond with the little life growing inside Toni.
At 17 weeks, doctors told them Ren would be born with Down syndrome. The news was unexpected, but it did nothing to dim their love. If anything, it made them more determined to give him a life filled with acceptance, protection, and unconditional affection. His nursery was ready. His clothes were folded. His tiny crib stood waiting beside their bed.
Then, without warning, the monitor fell silent.
There was no heartbeat.
Ren’s little heart — the one they had celebrated, imagined, and prayed for — had stopped.
In the quiet of her hospital room, Toni wrote her final words to her son, a letter filled with the love she would never get to show him in the world outside her womb. She held him close as she wrote, knowing these were the only moments she would have.
Her letter read:
“Ren, I’m sitting here in my hospital bed next to you, and I can’t help but feel everything at once.
They keep asking about funeral plans.
I can hear other babies crying — that was supposed to be you.
You were supposed to come home in your car seat.
You were supposed to sleep beside our bed.
You were supposed to meet your big sister…”
Toni and Tommy’s love for Ren will never fade. Though his time was brief, his life left an irreplaceable mark on theirs — a reminder that love, even when interrupted, remains eternal.