The Story of Tavish Owen

I feel like every time you read a story or watch a movie about Christians they are so cheesy or glossed over that you can’t say, “Oh my gosh… I can see myself in them.”

I want to tell you about Tavish Owen. Now, I know I said I wouldn’t use real names on my blog, but since you don’t have his last name and you have no clue who I am… you don’t REALLY know who he is. Maybe, one day… everyone could hear Tavish’s story.

AM and MM (Tavish’s parents) found out that they were pregnant last February 2016. AM and MM were so overjoyed. But then Tavish started going through grief before he even entered the world. He lost his grandpa and never had the chance to meet him, just 6 months before he was born.

Tavish Owen was only 6 months into growing in his mother’s womb when he had an anatomy test… Doctors were worried for him. Something didn’t look right.

Every mother’s worse nightmare is to be told your child needs extra tests, that they need to “double check”, they want to “make sure”.

Unfortunately for AM and MM, there was no “making sure”, there were only “we think”, “it most likely is”, and “you should prepare for”. No doctor could confirm until birth that Tavish Owen had Patau syndrome. Children with the syndrome rarely live past the first few days of their lives.

AM and MM were told by up to 10 OBGYNs that they should abort Tavish because he “might” have Patau. Who has the right to tell a parent that they should abort their child? A parent has the right to choose to carry out their pregnancy. AM and MM finally found a doctor who was onboard with sticking by Tavish to term. She saw Tavish Owen as a life, not a fetus.

Tavish Owen was born Saturday, December 10th and fought the hardest fight of his life. He lived for 3.5 days and past Tuesday, December 13th.

What I think people miss when they talk to Christians is they don’t see our full stories because many of us are waiting for you to get to know us first. AM and MM aren’t trying to show the world their personal strength or how awesome they are. They recognized Tavish as a life and wanted to give him a chance to have life.

This isn’t a debate of pro or anti-abortion. This is a story of Tavish Owen. He was dealt a hand that he couldn’t beat and doctors didn’t even want to try to give him a chance when they couldn’t even confirm his diagnosis.

AM and MM will one day be able to move forward. But today, they are mourning their son who they know is in heaven.

A few months ago, my brother-in-law (JB), sister and I were talking about babies in heaven. We were pondering if they are babies or adults. He said the most beautiful thing:

“I believe that when a baby dies, they are given to the care of a person who never had the chance to have kids. Then that person watches over them in heaven as they grow up there. So the baby has heavenly and early parents.”