Waiting with Gabriel: A Story of Cherishing a Baby's Brief Life

One family's story of celebrating life and honoring death...

Gabriel Neuzil lived nine months inside his mother with only a half a heart. He lived but two and a half hours once he was born. In that time, a whole community gathered to celebrate, love, and honor him.

Gabriel's mother, Amy Kuebelbeck, shared the story of her family's heartbreaking loss as well as the tragedy of all babies born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. After meeting with parents, counselors, medical professionals, and their parish priest, the Kuebelbecks faced the ultimate conundrum: What happens when keeping your baby alive and sparing him unnecessary pain are mutually exclusive?

With courage and clarity, the Kuebelbecks chose to offer Gabriel the best possible life in the short time he would be with them. Gabriel died peacefully in his mother's arms, surrounded by people who loved him.

"Kuebelbeck's touching story of her son's short life will bring solace to all. Her gentle words and shared personal experience will provide an inner strength and positive guidance to those who make the decision of comfort care for their baby."-- CATHI LAMMERT, R.N., national director, SHARE Pregnancy and Infrant Loss Support, Inc.

"With candor and tenderness, Amy Kuebelbeck offers companionship to those of us who face the bitter reality of loving and losing a child. Waiting with Gabriel gives readers a glimpse into a sacred season in which a family savors life in the face of death."--NANCY GUTHRIE, author, Holding On to Hope

"Exquisite and tender.... If you are going through a similar ordeal, this book will walk with you, illuminating your path and comforting you with the realizatin that you are not alone."--DEBORAH L. DAVIS, M Ph. D., author, Empty Cradle, Broken Heart, and Living and Letting Go.

Amy Kuebelbeck, M.A., is a freelance writer and award-winning former reporter and editor for the Associated Press and other news organizations. She frequently speaks at medical conferences and to other groups about the issues raised in her book. Amy, who lives in Minnesota with her husband and two daughters, is the editor of the Web site www.perinatalhospice.org.