“Each new life, no matter how brief, forever changes the world”
Ty Walter Gietzen passed peacefully from the loving arms of his mother into the saving arms of Jesus Christ on Thursday, December 14, 2023, following a courageous five-and-a-half-month journey on Earth.
Ty was born June 30, 2023, to his parents Megan and Jared, in Dickinson, North Dakota. While Ty’s sisters eagerly waited for their chance to care for “baby brother” at home, they finally got their wish on August 21, 2023, after Ty’s nearly two-month NICU stay in Bismarck and Fargo concluded with a devastating terminal diagnosis and a medical flight back to Dickinson. For the 115 days that followed, Ty spent every beautiful moment of his life under the hospice care of his loving family in the comfort of home.
Ty cherished every snuggle and interaction with his sisters, parents, grandparents, and family. Once he was stable enough to hold regularly, his body and personality grew quickly. Ty became strong enough to share his heartwarming smile and loved holding hands with everyone.
During his short life, Ty made a lasting impression on each and every person that knew his name. From the nurses and professionals that cared for Ty for so many weeks to the countless number of family, friends, and followers who prayed for Ty and supported his cause every day of his life, Ty’s beautiful soul made an extraordinary impact that will never be forgotten.
Ty is survived by his parents, Megan and Jared Gietzen of Dickinson; sisters Brooke and Shay; grandparents Todd and Christine Johns of Dickinson; grandparents Keith and Sherrie Gietzen of Glen Ullin; great-grandmother Charlene Thomas; aunts and uncles: Nicole and Eric Kittelson, Janell and John Morman, and Jenny (Zach) Gietzen; first cousins Jalyn & Harper Kittelson and Hadley & Lane Morman; along with countless more extended family.
Ty is preceded in death by his great-grandparents Walter and Theresa Gietzen, great-grandfather Chester Miller; great-grandparents Wally and Joanne Olfert; and great-grandparents Robert and Bobbie Johns.
Ty’s family encourages donations made in Ty’s memory to the Children’s Miracle Network, Ronald McDonald House of North Dakota, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, or another children’s charity of your choice.
Family milestones in gold, history for context
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Happy 1st Heavenly Bday Ty!
We love you so much and would give anything to have you in my arms again. I miss that smile. I miss you grabbing my hand. I miss everything about you. Thank God for you Ty. Thank God he blessed us with you 💚
Ty’s 1st Birthday!
Happy Heavenly birthday Ty! We all miss you so much! We love and miss you more than anything. We think of you daily and rejoice in the short time you were here with us! Love you Nana
Papa Todd
Happy Heavenly Birthday Ty you are soo missed Everyday.. Can’t wait to be with again…….. Love You
6 months without you 💚
We all can’t believe it’s only been 6 months, but then again it feels like forever since I’ve gotten to hold you. I miss the way you feel. We miss you everyday and in everything we do. But we know you’re here. Brooke loves singing to you and they both make sure you’re invited everywhere we go. “ wanna come swimming with us baby brother?” It’s the sweetest. Can’t wait to hold you again sweet boy. We planted a maPle tree at the farm for you!
Shays 3rd Birthday!
We missed you celebrating Shays 3rd birthday 🥳 you would be 10ish months old and I’m sure would have LOVED crawling all around those obstacles at the Backyard Play Cafe. You would have smiled watching your big sisters laugh and play. Mama would be on the floor crawling with you! You would have gotten all the snuggles from everyone who was there. I hope you feel that up in Heaven. How much you’re still loved and talked about down here. We’re still in so much pain Ty. Still trying to figure out how to turn all this pain into something that tangibly reflects how good God is and how much your life meant. Dear Lord, We thank you so much for our sweet baby Ty. We look for signs he is with us constantly and the girls find him in everything. I love it. I wanna find him in everything too. Please send us signs, something, that helps guide us to our calling. We minister your name everyday and find ways to bring others closer to you, even when we’re mad at you. We ask why constantly. But we know there is a why and we ask that you help guide us towards that answer. We love our little Ty so much. We love you so much and thank you for him every second of every day. In Jesus name, Amen
Reading this over and over
A letter to my baby boy. June 30th at 6am, daddy and I were full of smiles and taking pictures of my big belly with you in it before we left for the hospital. We were calm. We were so happy. We prayed over you, our doctors, and the medical staff taking care of us that day. We were so excited to meet our baby boy. We named you Ty right before you were airlifted off to Bismarck NICU with a tube helping you breathe. Nothing went as planned. The next 53 days were full of tears, pleas, questions, and so much love. We worked so hard to bring you home and on August 21st we got that chance. I remember sitting on the couch in our living room telling you how proud of you I was. How we’ve waited 53 days to bring you home and here we were…. Finally. I sat there staring at you, promising you a life full of love and laughter at home instead of monitors and alarms in a hospital. Your name quickly became bubba, baby brother, ty guy, sweet boy, Tyrannosaurus rex…. As we cuddled and loved on you. The first time I got a smile, my heart melted. You smiled so much. You loved the attention and we were all happy to give it to you. During our time in the NICU, I was grieving the loss of my “normal boy with a normal childhood” belief while I was sitting next to his isolate. A traveling nurse practitioner walked up to me and told me her story of adoption of a medically complex NICU baby. She told me that her baby wasn’t “perfect” but she was perfect for her. And There it is, said so perfectly. Ty was perfect for me. Perfect for our family. He completed our family. My sweet boy. My only son. My heart. “There is a story of sweetness and beauty which enlightens the heart of every parent who has lost a child. It concerns a custom among the shepherd folk of the Alps. In the summertime when the grass in the lower valleys withers and dries up, the shepherds seek to lead their sheep up a winding, thorny, and stony pathway to the high grazing lands. The sheep, reluctant to take the difficult pathway infested with dangers and hardships, turn back and will not follow. The shepherds make repeated attempts, but the timid sheep will not follow. Finally a shepherd reaches into the flock and takes a little lamb and places it under his arm, then reaches again and takes another lamb, placing it under the other arm. Then he starts up the precipitous pathway. Soon the mother sheep start to follow and afterward the entire flock. At last they ascend the torturous trail to green pastures. The Great Shepherd of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, has reached into the flock and He has picked up your little lamb. He did not do it to rob you but to lead you out and upward. He has richer and greener pastures for you, and He wants you to follow. Will you follow Him?" ("Death of a Little Child" by Dr. J. Vernon McGee It’s not fair. I love him and miss him every second. I find peace in knowing God has a plan for my baby and he is up in Heaven with no pain and no physical restrictions. Ty is one of the Lords lambs and just like those sheep, We will forever follow you Ty.
Thank you for the beautiful day Ty!
“I miss you baby brother, I miss you everyday!”- Brooke
Papas bday
It’s papas birthday today! Wish you were here to help us celebrate. We missed you at our family dinner. I was picturing where you would be at the table. I do that quite a bit. Picture you with me where I am. Picture me pushing you in a high tech stroller with all your equipment. Because you know we wouldn’t be staying home for long. I can allow this situation to make me bitter, but I have to trust the Lord is with me and has not abandoned us. Pain and suffering is apart of our plan. Your sisters miss you. Brooke wants to make you smile again. I tell her you’re smiling at her all the time. Shay snuggles in and says “I’m saaaad. I miss Ty Ty”. I love they talk about you all the time. We’ll never stop buddy. Ever.
Miss you Buddy
It’s been 3 months since you went home to the Lord. I miss you all the time. I went to visit you today and while I sat there and prayed with my hand on your name, I heard footsteps. No one else was there. I know it was Jesus holding you in his arms coming to show me that you are thriving without your earthly restrictions. If I can’t take care of you anymore, I sure am glad you are being taken care of by our Lord Jesus Christ.
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