A Baby Boy Was Born With An Abnormally Long Head. Then The Doctor Gave His Family Terrifying News
Ricky watched while his wife inspected the crib he had bought. He thought that she was being too critical of his purchase, like always. Then he heard her let out a piercing cry that would fit right into a horror film. Ricky sprinted over to his wife to see what the matter was, but when he saw it, he could see why she shrieked. (Before we start, can we get this video to 1,000 likes? Please hit the like button and subscribe to the channel.)
Valerie Smith was extremely happy when she found out that she was with child. She was going to be a single parent and the best mom ever, but Valerie had no idea how her world would change soon enough. In her excitement, she had spent a lot of effort and money preparing a nursery for her baby. She couldn’t wait for her life to change, but she had no idea that nothing was as it seemed.
A year after her pregnancy, Valerie needed money, and so she decided to clear out some of her clutter. At the same time, she had a yard sale, and among the things she looked to sell, she noticed her crib in the corner of the room. She knew it was time to sell it. She posted an advert online and waited, but she had no idea that there was a detail about the crib that was truly horrifying.
In the same town, there was a carpenter by trade named Gerald Compula and his wife named Laureen. They noticed the ad for the crib and knew their granddaughter would need one for her pregnancy. It looked perfect, it was at the right price, and was in good and sturdy condition. They thought it was a bargain, but they didn’t know what they were actually paying for. The elderly couple decided it was perfect and called Valerie to arrange a pickup. They didn’t want to wait and wanted to pick it up as soon as possible.
When Gerald got there, he saw Valerie coming to greet him. She was dragging the crib along with her, and it looked in great order. He wondered why she was selling it. Gerald walked up to her to give her a hand moving the crib, asking her how she was and that she was having a good day, but her replies were blunt. She replied with short, one-word answers. He asked her one more time what her child’s name was. Maybe she didn’t hear the first time; it’s not like the question was a delicate one. She hesitated and then quickly said, “No.”
Gerald didn’t really believe her. It was the way she looked down at the ground when she said it; something wasn’t right about her. Nonetheless, Gerald persisted to sound her out. He smiled politely at her, but Valerie didn’t smile back. She then asked him for the cash and then told him to leave. Gerald was taken off guard by her attitude. He confronted her and asked her if she had a problem with him. Valerie replied, “Just take the crib, pay, and leave, please.”
Gerald had never been talked to like this before. He felt like he was being pushed out the door, and he didn’t understand it. But he still wanted the crib, so he gave her the cash and left, completely oblivious to what he was taking home.
When Gerald got back home, he was excited to show his wife the crib. Looking at it again earlier, he was very happy with it and hoped his granddaughter would be just as ecstatic. It was a great gift. But when Gerald’s wife came over to inspect the crib, she cried out in a fit of anguish. What was wrong? Gerald sprinted over to see what the matter was.
Gerald couldn’t see anything wrong with the crib. He put his hand on his wife’s shoulder and asked her what was wrong. She looked up at him, visibly upset, and pointed at the crib. Gerald followed her finger. She was pointing at the wooden frame. Gerald looked closer. Suddenly, his heart pounded as his jaw dropped. Immediately, he loaded his truck with the crib and drove straight back to where he bought it. Gerald knew something wasn’t right with that conversation, and now he knew exactly why.
Gerald arrived at Valerie’s home and knocked on her door. A minute later, she answered, looking confused as to what he was doing back. Then she saw her crib—the same crib she had sold him just a few hours ago.
“I’ve seen what was on the crib,” Gerald said straight away. He could see the shock in Valerie’s eyes. Gerald caught her off guard. Her face went pale; she had no idea how he knew. He brought over the crib and showed her what he found. Her eyes teared as she stared at the wooden frame. “I know about Noah,” he said.
“Please,” she begged. “I just wanted to get rid of that crib.”
What were they seeing? Straight away, he could see the sadness in Valerie’s eyes. It was at that moment that Valerie revealed the truth to Gerald, and he wasn’t prepared for it. She explained how she had forgotten she had put that there. She didn’t want any trouble and said she’d give it to him for free if he’d just keep it, but he wasn’t having any of it.
You see, when she was more than halfway through her pregnancy, Valerie started to suffer from backache and stomach pains. At first, she brushed it off as just pregnancy symptoms, but as the weeks went by, she knew something was going on. Valerie went over to the hospital for a checkup. While she was sitting in the waiting room, she had hundreds of questions flooding her mind. She took a deep breath before composing herself. “Everything is going to be okay,” she said, but had no idea what was coming.
Valerie waited while the doctors conducted their scans, and finally, the doctors had the results. The umbilical cord, doctors theorized, had become compressed in the lung, making it impossible for the necessary nutrients and oxygen to make it to the fetus. Valerie lost her baby. It was a devastating blow for Valerie, a loss that was almost impossible to process.
For the past few months, her life had centered around the arrival of her unborn child. Not only did Valerie have the mental and emotional side effects of her loss to deal with, but she also had to face up to the fact that her home’s nursery wouldn’t be used. Valerie was devastated to hear the news. As the weeks passed, Valerie became a shell of herself. She was hardly eating, and she hadn’t left the house in weeks. Valerie could feel herself sinking further and further. It didn’t help that there were so many reminders of her baby everywhere she looked.
But 11 months after her baby passed, Valerie knew she had to make a change. It was what her baby would have wanted. Valerie missed smiling and laughing; she missed her old self. So, first on her list was to have a yard sale and get rid of any unwanted items. She came across the crib she had bought for her baby, and she felt a lump in her throat. She knew she had to sell it. She didn’t need it anymore, and perhaps somebody else did.
When Gerald and his wife came across the crib advertisement online, he thought of his own pregnant granddaughter and how much joy it would bring her. A piece of its wooden frame changed everything. As he looked closely, he saw a faint but visible message scribbled into the bottom of the crib. With wide eyes, he read what it said: “R.I.P. Noah 2019-2020.”
Gerald and his wife immediately felt like they could not buy this. Something about the scribble was so painful it would drive anyone to tears, but Gerald reacted differently. Straight away, Gerald felt heartbreak and devastation knowing the truth about this crib. He felt guilty for buying it off Valerie, as it obviously meant a lot to her. Valerie wasn’t being rude; she was just sad—very sad. Gerald thought it was because of him, but it had nothing to do with him at all.
The guilt was unbearable. Gerald knew what he had to do to make things better. So he got to work and completely transformed the crib into something spectacular. As parents to 15 children, Gerald and Laureen knew what a child meant to a young mother. Gerald and Laureen agreed that the crib needed to return to Valerie. Still, Gerald knew it couldn’t go back to her in its current form. He needed to work his craftsman’s magic.
Gerald brought the crib into his workshop. The retired grandfather started tinkering away at the little white crib. He started cutting and measuring the wood, hammering nails, and mixing paint. He had a vision in mind and hoped to transform this into something that would last a lifetime. It would now serve a different purpose. Instead of reminding Valerie of a loss, he hoped it would honor a life. He worked day and night, putting in countless hours until he got it finished.
And when he finished, he stood back and hoped that Valerie would be delighted with his incredible handiwork. Gerald turned the crib—once relegated to spend a lifetime in the corner of a dark garage—into a bright, beautiful bench: a memorial for the beautiful life taken far too soon. This, Gerald figured, was the perfect way to honor the boy he never knew.
He explained, speaking about the idea behind the crib. Gerald said, “An unused crib is a sad reminder. A bench is more of a memorial. It’s part of that sad happening, yet it’s not a reminder like an empty crib would be.” He wanted to turn the crib into something that Valerie could use and keep with her.
Valerie offered Gerald money: money for his time, money for his work, money for being so kind in a sometimes painfully cruel world. He declined any payment.
“It’s just nice to be able to do something for someone,” he said. It’s people like Gerald that make the world a better place.
