"Grace was born on February 16th and this time we both knew ahead of time that we were carriers. We knew to expect it," said parents Robbie and Anne Bridges.
They knew exactly what to expect with the cystic fibrosis diagnosis because their now 9-year-old son Josiah has it too.
"As he approached school-age he started to get more lung infections and so now a lot of it is focused on his breathing," Anne said.
Things are more difficult this second time around.
Just a week before Grace was born, Robbie was laid off from his job at a call center. Anne is still on maternity leave from Holmes High School, but they still see the positives.
"It's been a blessing in disguise because we've been able to be at the NICU together and be trained on some home health care that we are going to be dealing with when Gracie comes home," said Anne.
When she does come home, they tell Grace, who right now gets nourishment through a feeding tube in her nose, that along with her other brother 3-year-old Levi, that this is what's waiting for her.
"You are going to see your crib," Robbie said. "You're going to see your room that mom decorated so cool."
It is not what the Bridges planned, but they keep looking forward.
"This is the path that we are on now. So we are going to enjoy this path and we are going to see the sights this path has to offer and not worry about the path we were not able to take," Anne told KENS.
This path has shown them how great of a support system Gracie and the entire family has.
"With the layoff and maternity leave, we desperately needed the support we have been given. The faculty and students at Holmes High School have just surrounded us with love and meal offers and babysitting," they said.
One of Anne's former theater arts students, who now attends college in New York City, even started a GoFundMe to help them.
"Being a former youth group student, I know that they continue to bless countless others so I created the GoFundMe to help baby Grace and her family, because they deserved to be blessed the same way they did for me and countless others," Jared Pereida said.
The Bridges have an incredibly positive attitude, and offer this advice to parents who may have a child with an illness similar to Grace.
"Don't try to be Superman or Superwoman. Hold their hand and let them know you are there. Take it one moment at a time and celebrate the things that are happy, and persevere through the things that are hard. Look for moments of hope," the couple told KENS.
