After losing five babies – four miscarried and one stillborn – Dana Griffin-Graves and her husband Arkell Graves all but gave up on their dream of having a healthy child. In seventeen years of trying, they had been met repeatedly with heartbreak. Dana says she had wanted to “stop trying,” citing the “roller coaster” of emotions that their pregnancies had been. When she visited her doctor last week because she was struggling to lose weight, Dana had no idea that she was almost five months pregnant – and she wanted her husband to experience the surprise as well:
Dana put a package of buns in the oven next to their son’s ultrasound photo. Arkell was shocked when he opened the oven and deciphered the message. He was even more surprised when Dana revealed how far along she was and that the baby is a boy. Arkell is visibly shaken with emotion in the video Dana secretly recorded.
“His reaction was just priceless,” Dana told the local ABC affiliate, “I wasn’t expecting that at all. I knew that he would probably be emotional, but I definitely was not expecting the reaction I received.” The journey to this pregnancy has been difficult, and Arkell says the couple is grateful for prayers as they push toward the baby’s February 16 due date: “I will take all the prayers, I don’t care how they come,” he said.
Support is available to moms and dads who have experienced the heartbreak of miscarriage, stillbirth, and early infant loss. Visit Miscarriage Matters to learn more.