Brandon Buell - Dont Blink: What the Little Boy Nobody Expected to Live Is Teaching the World about Life

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Dont Blink: What the Little Boy Nobody Expected to Live Is Teaching the World about Life

Copyright 2016 by Brandon Buell and Brittany Buell. All rights reserved.

Cover photograph of book cover copyright alexkar08/Adobe Stock. All rights reserved.

Cover illustration of turtle toy by Jackie Nuez. Copyright by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Photograph of Buell family on back cover copyright Brenda Anderson, brendaandersonphotography.com. All rights reserved.

Photographs of Buell family on back flap and on pages copyright Angela Hunt. All rights reserved.

Unless noted, interior photos are from the personal collection of the author and are used with permission.

Designed by Jacqueline L. Nuez

Edited by Stephanie Rische

Published in association with Folio Literary Management, LLC, 630 9th Avenue, Suite 1101, New York, NY 10036.

Angela Hunt is represented by the literary agency of Browne and Miller Literary Agency Associates LLC, 410 S. Michigan Ave, Suite 460, Chicago, IL 60605.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Buell, Brandon, author. | Buell, Brittany, author. | Hunt, Angela Elwell, date, author.

Title: Dont blink : what the little boy nobody expected to live is teaching the world about life / Brandon and Brittany Buell, with Angela E. Hunt.

Description: Carol Stream, IL : Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016020295 | ISBN 9781496416520 (hc)

Subjects: LCSH: Parents of children with disabilitiesReligious life. | Anencephaly. | Buell, Jaxon, 2014

Classification: LCC BV4596.P35 B84 2016 | DDC 248.8/6196043dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016020295

ISBN 978-1-4964-1656-8 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-4964-1655-1 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-4964-1654-4 (Apple)

Build: 2016-08-15 11:04:30

This book is dedicated to our son,

Jaxon Emmett Buell,

and the strong, brave life he has lived against the odds every single day... which is why his story has become known as Jaxon Strong.

I can never escape from your Spirit!

I can never get away from your presence!

If I go up to heaven, you are there;

if I go down to the grave, you are there.

If I ride the wings of the morning,

if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there your hand will guide me,

and your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me

and the light around me to become night

but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

To you the night shines as bright as day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mothers womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marveloushow well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed.

PSALM 139:7-16

Introduction

M Y WIFE, B RITTANY, AND I have a small problem. Ever since the birth of Jaxon, our baby boy, weve been deluged with Facebook messages, e-mails, and letters. We hear from people who watched our story on Nightline, read about us in the newspaper, or saw our posts and photographs online. Some of them want to give us a long-distance hug of encouragement, and a few want to give us a piece of their minds. Some want to cheer us on because theyve been in similar situations, and others want to warn us about the challenges ahead. Some write out of a well of anger or disappointment, but far more write from an ocean of compassion.

I wish we had the time to sit down and respond to each message and answer every question, but meeting the needs of our unique son fills nearly every hour that isnt already required for sleeping, eating, or working.

So were writing this book to answer all the questions and comments we havent been able to respond to... and perhaps a few that havent been asked yet. Were writing so you can know why we made the decision to have Jaxon even though we knew he would face serious physical challenges. Were writing so you can know how we felt when he first came into the world and what we thought when medical experts told us he probably wouldnt live more than a few hours after birth. Were writing so you can understand why were convinced that Jaxon is who he isand he is not a mistake, because God does not make mistakes. Most of all, were writing in the hope that our joy can splash from these pages into your life. We adore our son, and we celebrate him for being the marvel and inspiration he is.

We could fill this book with platitudes and some of the cute phrases you often find beneath pictures of wide-eyed kittens dangling from branches. Instead, wed like to tell true stories about two ordinary people who welcomed an extraordinary child into their home and havent regretted that decision for a single minute.

Through the tears and the challenges, beneath the struggles and the complications, we have learned a few things about living a life of joy in the midst of challenging circumstances. If any of these life lessons can help you bear your burdens with greater patience, look at your loved ones with new appreciation, or find hope in a desperate situation, then we will have accomplished our purpose.

Brandon and Brittany, for Jaxon Buell

LESSON 1

Trust Your Gut

Brandon

Youll never be fully ready; just make the leap.

Perhaps I should start this story at the beginning, before I was married.

Im one of those rare Florida natives, the son of two schoolteachers. I was pretty much heading nowhere special until I answered a message from a girl on Myspace.com. Id been raised in a Christian home and my grandfather was a Methodist preacher, so I was never much of a hooligan. But nothing had inspired me to set the bar exceptionally high in the area of personal achievements.

Then in March 2010, I saw the message from a girl named Brittany. The message was about a week old, and I nearly missed it because I was in the process of moving my digital existence from Myspace to Facebook. But I clicked on Brittanys post, and there she was, all cute and blonde and blue eyed. Naturally, I thought it might be worth a shot to give her a call. After all, I wasnt dating anyone at the time. I was out of college, living on my own, and trying to get started in the banking business.

My gut told me to go for it.