She was skeptical about adopting a toddler after losing her unborn child—then said 'Yes' the moment she learned his name
A pregnancy loss can be heartbreaking for parents. A Missouri couple who were expecting a child after a long wait found themselves in such a situation, too, after the woman lost her child. The wife, Ali Holland, suffered from quite a few health issues that made getting pregnant hard for her. So when she experienced an ectopic pregnancy back in 2022, it was heartbreaking for her. But then a call about a foster kid changed the couple's lives for good because of a very special reason, per PEOPLE.
Ali had suffered from several health issues like ovarian cysts, endometriosis and more from a young age. She even had to get one of her fallopian tubes removed when she was around 11 years old. So the now 31-year-old had decided that she would not worry too much about kids and adopt when she wanted to have a family. But after she got married in 2018, she wanted to try for a child. After years of trying, she was finally pregnant in March 2022. Once it was confirmed, the couple was elated about the news. However, things started feeling off soon after. "The pain that was inside of me didn't feel like the pain I Googled," Ali recounted. She went about life and even served as the Matron of Honor at a friend's wedding.
Her pain was really severe on the wedding day, but the woman felt that it might be because she was tired after the event. At 10 weeks, Ali got an ultrasound that came with devastating news. An older ultrasound technician told her, "We're going to have someone look at this, but it doesn't look good." She had an ectopic pregnancy where the baby was implanted in her fallopian tube. An ectopic pregnancy can't progress like a normal pregnancy as the egg gets implanted outside the uterine cavity, per Mayo Clinic. It can cause severe internal bleeding if it is left untreated. Ali was suffering from internal bleeding, too and had to get an emergency surgery.
The woman who had already named her unborn child Gideon John was heartbroken because of the loss. The couple decided to foster children after a few months. They opened their home to a pre-teen boy that year. But dealing with a child with a lot of trauma was not easy for them. So the boy ended up going to a family friend's house after being with Ali and her husband for a year. Eventually, in April 2024, Ali learned about a toddler who needed a safe place to live. Her husband told her, "We should say yes." Ali was still skeptical, but once she learned about the toddler's name, she felt that it was indeed something special.
The name was quite similar to Gideon John in meaning. The parents decided not to share it for the biological family's privacy. His first name meant "God appointed" and the second name meant "warrior." It was also an Irish derivative of John. Gideon meant warrior, according to the Bible and John meant god is gracious, per the woman. "This feels like a God dropping something in my lap moment. I think we need to say yes to this," Ali thought. The boy helped the couple heal and they ended up getting his guardianship. The parents were hoping to get the adoption approved soon as well. "He'll always be my kiddo in my heart, but to have him share the same last name, I look forward to that," Ali expressed.