a piece of Diana’s story & a call to action (with an update)

For those who have seen her updates on Twitter and Facebook, you know that Diana Stone is hurting something fierce these days. Last year, she lost a set of twins boys halfway through her pregnancy. Shortly after that, her family’s plans to adopt fell through suddenly and painfully. A few months later, she and her husband Sam learned that they were pregnant again. Their daughter Bella became excited at another chance to be a big sister.

Diana gave birth to a baby boy three weeks ago. They named him Kaden Isaiah. On the day they were scheduled to head home from the hospital, Kaden’s oxygen status began to deteriorate. A heart defect was discovered, one that can only be fixed with a heart transplant. Baby Kaden is not medically stable and has been given a poor prognosis. Their healthcare team told the Stones to say goodbye and prepare for their son to pass in the next day or so. Diana and Sam are pretty shaken up right now, as you can imagine. We can see them crumbling right here in front of us, online for the world to see.

So we say this simply: not on our watch.

Diana is one of us, and she’s grown tired. She’s lived out a big portion of her life online over the last several years; her transparency and vulnerability has ministered to others so beautifully. Now it’s time for her online community to come up under her and keep her head above water. This is huge, and this is epically painful… but this is also just a part of Diana’s story. We want to love on Diana loudly and publicly while she hurts. We want God to be glorified, even in the ugly parts.

We started a twenty-four hour prayer vigil started last night, and I’d love for you to sign up for a slot. What if you don’t buy into the whole idea of Christianity and prayer? That’s fine. Why don’t you sign up anyway, and just sit quietly for a few minutes? Some time slots have gone as many as seven people deep, and the entire vigil has been extended a few times already.

We’re asking God for a miracle, because He’s that big and He loves His children that much. We want complete and miraculous healing for Kaden, and relief from the grief that Diana has grown to know all too well. And even if He doesn’t heal Kaden, we’re asking God to show himself strong to Diana and Sam and their daughter Bella. We’re asking Him to remind this family that He knows them by name, that they are not lost or forgotten. Will you join us?