Ridge Hudson Howard

Ridge Hudson Howard lived a short, but powerful and meaningful life. Many might not think he would get a eulogy because he was a baby. What is a baby capable of accomplishing? However, Ridge accomplished more in his brief time than many do in a lifetime. His accomplishments were unique and testified of God. Ridge was strong from the very beginning.

At 22 weeks gestation, Ridge was diagnosed with Holoprosencephaly, or HPE-the most common forebrain defect, affecting about 1 in 250 babies. Yet while the diagnosis itself is considered "common," surviving it is not. Most babies with HPE are miscarried early in pregnancy. Ridge was not. He held on. He stayed. He kept living.

At 24 weeks, we learned his diagnosis was an even rarer form: Middle Inter-Hemispheric Variant of
Holoprosencephaly. This condition is extraordinarily rare. In one ten-year span, from 2002 to 2012, only around 50 cases were reported worldwide. And even among those cases, Ridge was different. Of all the research Hunter and I could find, there was only one other baby documented with malformations as severe as Ridge's. Even though MIHV has better outcomes and life expectancies, his was more comparable to alobar HPE.

Still, he stayed.

Any baby diagnosed with HPE has only a 3% chance of being born alive. Ridge was one of those 3%.

At 36 weeks, only 7% of babies are breech. Ridge was one of those.

Only about 0.1% of all deliveries are breech deliveries. Again, Ridge was that 0.1%.

Doctors told us that biologically, Ridge should not have been living day after day throughout the pregnancy. And yet, every day, he did.

With everything stacked against him, we were given a 1 in 200,000 chance that Ridge would be born alive. And still,
Ridge defied the odds.
Over and over again, Ridge chose to fight.

Ridge's life was filled with statistics but his life was never about statistics, His life was about purpose. He pressed on when everything was stacked against him.

In his short life, Ridge changed hearts. He deepened faith. He taught us what perseverance looks like. He showed us that strength is not measured by time, size, or milestones - but by purpose.

Ridge's legacy is one of strength.
Strength to endure.
Strength to fight.
Strength to exist against all odds.

Ridge Hudson Howard lived exactly the life God intended him to live.

He showed us that love is stronger than fear.
That hope can exist alongside grief. And that even the shortest life can leave an eternal mark.