My mom, Deitra Spencer, taught me to respect life from the first moment I can remember. My husband and I tried for years to adopt a child with special needs that was in need of an adoptive family. One day, we finally received the call that there was a little boy who fit that description but needed urgent attention. My mom flew to Florida to look after this baby in the hospital until we could get there (I was pregnant with our youngest, Bo, and on emergency bed rest). This baby had 10 health problems, all very serious, when she arrived. By the time we arrived at the hospital, a couple of days later, our baby, Samuel was PERFECT! She had nurtured and loved him back to health!

 

She did that for so many, as a geriatric nurse, and later a hearing aid provider to the patients she loved, she always loved life, and understood God's blessing in it. She is a big part of the reason we have our happy, healthy, thriving little boy with Down syndrome, Samuel.

 

My mom passed away on August 16, 2015, and her last post on Facebook was about choosing life. That is why we chose #TheyAllHaveNames and #AdoptionNOTAbortion to honor her passing. Thank you for being part of our tribute to a beautiful soul who not only chose life, but who motivated activism, and action to that end in the lives of her family, friends, and community! What a legacy!