Every year on June 25th for Hudson’s birthday we ask our family and friends to perform random acts of kindness in his memory. My husband and I like to do several different things, but our passion is definitely for other children with congenital heart defects (CHDs). A few months ago during CHD Awareness week, one of our Facebook friends reposted something from a mother that had a child with a critical CHD. Any post about a heart kid always catches my attention, but this one was different. It was posted on my birthday and it was about their 2 year old son also named Hudson that had the same congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome that our son had. They had just found out that their son was not a candidate for the 3rd open heart surgery that he desperately needed to survive. Their post wasn’t asking for anything other than to help raise awareness for the #1 birth defect in the United States and a serial killer that leads to the death of more children each year than all forms of pediatric cancer combined. Statistics are important, but behind these statistics are sweet babies, children, and adults fighting to live a full life with a congenital heart defect.
The more I read about their son Hudson, the more I felt the Lord leading us to do something really special for this family. Before our son passed away we had been planning to take him to Walt Disney World. Unfortunately we never got to take our Hudson on that trip, but I knew that was the exact thing we were supposed to do for this family. Their family had never had the opportunity to take their son on a vacation due to his health challenges so this year for Hudson’s Day of Kindness, we sent this sweet Hudson and his parents to Walt Disney World for a magical family vacation. Due to the time sensitive nature we were unable to wait until the exact day of Hudson’s Day of Kindness, but I knew that nothing would be more perfect than this and our sweet boy would be so excited to do something for this other very special Hudson. While they were in Orlando, my husband, Hudson’s baby sister, and I had the opportunity to meet this family. It was such an overwhelming, special moment for us that I will never forget.
I believe that it was divine intervention that we stumbled upon this family from Texas that were complete strangers with another amazing son named Hudson that was also born with a broken heart. It brings so much joy to us to know that God is still using our son’s life to make a difference in this world. As long as I am living, I will make sure my son’s memory is never forgotten. Even though our Hudson is no longer here on Earth with us, I know that he is in Heaven and is more alive than he ever was here. Thank you Jesus for letting my goodbye only be temporary until I will hold Hudson in my arms again for all of eternity.
If you feel led, please honor our son’s memory this year on Monday, June 25th by performing random acts of kindness. There are so many people hurting in this world, and a little kindness goes a long way. I have attached a card that tells a little about Hudson that you can hand out while performing acts of kindness. Also if you would like to learn more about the incredible family that we had the opportunity to meet, their Facebook page is Heart Full of Hudson.
Hudson's Day of Kindness Cards
