Support The Smith Family

Our daughter Olivia Anne Smith was diagnosed with a rare brain abnormality called Atelencephaly. We were unaware of her condition until delivery at Methodist Hospital. When she arrived in this world our hearts were crushed yet so full of love and compassion. We were told immediately that she only had an hour to live so we asked if we could just hold her until she left this earth. She immediately perked up and was re-evaluated for her condition and rushed over to OSF NICU where we realized that she was a fighter and was going to have a longer life than what the doctors originally diagnosed. At that point we became determined to live every second to the fullest and make sure that this little life we were blessed with had a huge purpose. We brought our baby home from the NICU after a few days and began living life to its fullest. On June 22, our sweet Olivia passed away peacefully in the arms of her earthly Mom and Dad to join her Heavenly Father in heaven. We were crushed, but rejoicing in the fact that she no longer had to struggle. The love and support we have received from our community has been an immense blessing. We are taken aback by the outpouring of love, but then remember our God has us in the palm of His hand and is caring for us better than we could care for ourselves. As our medical bills start arriving, we are continuing to have faith and trust that our God will continue to care for us better than we could ever plan for ourselves. If you choose to support us however that may be we truly appreciate you. Caleb, Laura, Elijah, Jonah, Olivia, and Laci