MY TRIBUTE TO JESSE My Sweet Jesse, I love you so very much. From the day you were born, I have loved you like you were my own. Along with your parents, I waited so long for you to come into our lives, but you were here only a very short time. I miss you terribly and my arms ache to hold you again. I am so grateful for the brief, sweet time I had with you. You brought me so much joy. I will treasure all the sweet and silly things about you. Your little balled up fists... your big, beautiful blue eyes... your arms and legs going up and down ( it always looked to me like you were riding a bike or doing the backstroke!) I so loved watching you with your "passy" in your mouth – you had a rhythm that just cracked us up – 3 sucks and a breath, 3 sucks and a breath…… It reminded us of baby Maggie on The Simpsons show! It was so, so precious to watch. Jesse, I will take care of your parents as best I can. I will always stand by their side, holding them up, sharing in their grief, and helping them to heal. Goodbye my sweet nephew - - I cannot wait to hold you in my arms again. Shauna and Russ, in this past week I have been with you as you experience something no one should ever, ever have to. To say I am so so sorry, to say I am devastated, does not even begin to describe the pain and sorrow I feel for you. My heart breaks for you, and for all of us who love you and your Jesse. I know how much you love and treasure him, and what an empty place he has left in your lives. I truly love him as if he were my own child, and I thank you for bringing him into my life. There was no greater gift you could have given me. I shared in your joy, and I so, so deeply share in your sorrow. I will forever miss Jesse, I will forever remember Jesse, and I will forever love Jesse with all my heart. Let me, your family, and your friends walk beside you and hold you up in the long, difficult days ahead. In his last days in the hospital, Jesse was surrounded by so much love, so much care, such deep, deep sorrow. He was treated with dignity and gentleness and covered with our kisses and caresses.... Surely he felt all that. As heartrending as those days were, I will be grateful I was able to spend so many hours holding his hand and saying my reluctant goodbye. Jesse is living on in all our hearts, and in giving the gift of life to other children. As heartbroken and devastated as you are, you chose selflessly and compassionately to give the chance at life to other babies and their families. Just as Jesse has touched us all forever, he is making a difference in so many lives in so many ways. To our family and extended family: I always knew we had a very special tight bond and it was shown one hundredfold this last week. Together, all of our hearts were broken - and we really need each other. I am so proud to be a part of this family. Thank you to all our amazing friends on behalf of the Bowman, Quick and Wendland families. We know you care, and that you are grieving too. You have gathered around Shauna and Russ and the rest of us - - showing your support and love in countless ways. You really went above and beyond: anticipating our needs, reaching out to us, and helping us. There are some of you, and you know who you are, that we can never thank enough. We will never forget that and take great comfort from you. I want to express our gratitude to the staff at CHOC, especially Nurse Karen and Chaplain Renee. You spent many hours with us in our darkest days and we were able to draw some measure of comfort from you. I love you Shauna, I love you Russ, I love you my sweet Jesse... Auntie Teresa