Another Great Story

Here is the third story that Jerry Hayes did on WHNT News 19 promoting this year's Swim for Melissa.

Silas Truss was the very first baby in the first Giraffe OmniBed purchased by the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund.

I will never forget when I heard. I was still working at Channel 19 and was checking my email one evening at work. Silas' mother, Baraka, sent me an email telling me that her baby boy was in the Giraffe OmniBed that Melissa's Fund had just purchased. She went on to say how grateful she was that this bed was available for her son.

I sat at my desk and cried. It truly brought everything home to me. It made me realize more than ever that Melissa's life was not in vain and that she was making a difference. I picked up the phone and called Baraka and thanked her for letting me know. I told her that her family was in our prayers and to call me if she ever needed me.

Fast forward a few months - I had left Channel 19 and was working full-time at Huntsville Hospital Foundation. I just happened to be in the NICU one day when Baraka came in. We met and hugged and I sat down with her at Silas' bedside and we prayed. He was so tiny and so sick at that time. He went on to spend more than one-hundred days in the NICU (can you imagine that?) and is now a healthy two-year-old. He is, without question, a miracle. There is no other way to describe it.

You must watch this story because while Silas was literally fighting to live, Baraka's husband Sylvester was going through his own agonizing health problems. I am just amazed at this family's strength. They went on to start a Footprints Ministry in our NICU where they give gift bags with items to our parents in the NICU. It is a wonderful service and I am thrilled that it is now touching our NICU families.

So without further adeiu, meet Silas.