Elliot’s Story

Site created on July 28, 2020



At 2:24 pm on Saturday July 25, Staci gave birth to our son, Elliot Caleb Daniel. As you can see, he was born a little early (24 weeks) and is 1 lb. 14 oz. Because of COVID, some of you may not have even known that Staci was pregnant, but we have been praying for this little guy for a few months as some complications began to appear in May. We were hoping that he would hang around in the womb a little longer but 24 weeks was very significant for us as we’ve been praying to get to this point for weeks.

We want to ask you to join us in praying for Elliot. We have been praying for him every single day, especially since these complications became evident. As we embark on this new stage of him being out of the womb and in the NICU, we know the road will be long and difficult at times, but we believe more than anything else that God will be with us and he will fight for our son. We chose his first and middle name for a reason. Elliot means “Jehovah is God” and Caleb means “wholehearted faith.” From the first moments that we realized there were going to be some bumps in this road, we also knew God was telling us that we could trust him. So every victory that our son has will be a testament to that truth. 

Elliot is doing well right now and we know there will be so much to overcome so please join with us in praying for his lungs to grow strong and his little brain to stay protected from any bleeding.

We are so thankful to everyone who has supported us throughout this season. We can feel all of the love and it means more than we can even put into words. Thank you for standing with us as we embark on this next chapter of our family’s journey. 

Newest Update

Journal entry by Josh Daniel

We know many of you already know this, but our sweet boy is HOME!!!  After 127 days, our girls were finally able to meet their baby brother and our family was united for the first time! What an incredible day for all of us - One that we will always remember.


God is SO faithful and true to every word He speaks! We have been dreaming of this day and praying for Elliot since March of this year. There is SO much to be thankful for! 


THANK YOU to our family, friends, nurses, and staff at Advent Health Orlando.... you have cared for us every step of the way! You have encouraged us, cheered for us, wiped our tears, provided meals, loved our girlies, bought us clothes and all kinds of goodies, and prayed and fasted for us. We have never once felt alone. And we know it was your prayers and support that kept our hearts very encouraged!! 


Elliot is a daily reminder that we can trust God, no matter what!! 


Our journey is just beginning! God had done exceedingly more than we ever dreamed possible! We hope that you see how AWESOME our Father is through the life of our sweet boy!


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Elliot has been doing so well with us at home over the last few weeks! He will be 5 months old on Christmas Day, but his corrected age will only be 6 weeks! He is growing bigger before our eyes and is finally fitting into some newborn clothes! When Elliot left the hospital, he weighed 5 pounds 13 ounces. He has had weekly weight checks with his pediatrician and he currently weighs 6 lbs. 11 oz.! He has gained over 1 ounce a day since he has been home! Elliot has very bad reflux and has to be carefully paced while he drinks, so this is such a huge victory!


Adeline and Felicity are in love with their brother, and Elliot is very enamored by them! They often get into disputes over who can hold him first and are such great little mamas! Elliot watches them closely and really seems to be listening when they talk to him!


Elliot has continued to see the ophthalmologist and will do so every other week at this point. The eye doctor is very pleased with how well Elliot’s eyes have responded. God deserves all the glory!


Before Elliot left the NICU, he failed his adrenaline test twice. This is also common and simply means that because his body was premature, he does not have enough adrenaline to kick in when his body is under stress. We have had to give him an oral dose of hydrocortisone three times a day and will continue to do so until he turns one year old. He is being followed by an endocrinologist and we have a follow up appointment next week!


A few months ago, the doctors found what appears to be an abscess by Elliot’s kidney. They have done many ultrasounds and watched it closely, and it doesn’t seem to be causing any problems. However, Elliot will have a follow-up ultrasound at the beginning of the year with the gastrointestinal doctor to take another look.


Our sweet boy is such a trooper at all of his appointments and has done extremely well! He loves his car seat and travels very peacefully!


Elliot has been a very easy-going baby and even sleeps pretty well at night in between his feedings! He loves bath time and his pacifier! When we look at him, we see a little Adeline Elise! He looks so much like his big sister!


Thank you again to everyone who has continued to pray for our family! It is a true miracle to have our baby home with us at Christmas!! Words will never be enough to express how grateful we are for such amazing friends, family, and community! We thank God for you and pray your family has a blessed Christmas season filled with the HOPE of Jesus!

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