99 Balloons Touches Tens of Thousands

Parents of Eliot, a Trisomy 18 child, celebrated every moment of what they knew would be a brief lifespan. In an age when abortion on demand is the norm, and when doctors routinely advise pregnant mothers to abort children found to have genetic abnormalities, parents who choose to give birth to handicapped children are becoming less common.

These days it takes a special type of courage to ignore the advice of physicians, friends, and public sentiment, and to embrace the sacrifices that come with bringing a seriously handicapped child into the world.

Eliot Mooney was one such child. Despite being diagnosed 30 weeks into pregnancy with the typically fatal condition Trisomy 18, Eliot’s parents chose to bring the pregnancy to term.

Their son defied statistical probability by surviving the pregnancy. Eliot Mooney was born with an undeveloped lung, a heart with a hole in it and DNA that placed faulty information into each and every cell of his body.

He would live for only 99 days.

As Eliot’s father says, however, the short length of his son’s life “could not stop the living God from proclaiming Himself through this boy who never uttered a word.”

Knowing that Eliot’s chances of long-term survival were almost nil, on each of the 99 days of his life Eliot’s parents, Matt and Ginny Mooney, celebrated their son’s birthday, noting significant developments in Eliot’s life.

After their son’s death, Matt and Ginny compiled some of the photos and videos of their son’s life into a touching and inspiring 6 minute long tribute video. The video begins two months before Eliot’s birth, when Matt and Ginny found out about their son’s condition, and continues up until, and after his death.

The video, called “Ninety-nine Balloons”, concludes: “Not a pulpit, not a slick presentation, not a best-selling book, but a six-pound boy with Trisomy 18. God showed great pleasure to take a lowly thing in the eyes of the world and show truth…And so today we celebrate. Eliot you are well, and although we miss you more than we can express, we are only separated by our time left on earth. See you soon son. Mom and dad.”
The Mooney’s video has already been viewed over 35,000 times on YouTube alone, with many taking inspiration from the selfless love shown to baby Eliot by his devoted parents.

** Watch the Mooney’s tribute video to the life of their son, “Ninety-nine Balloons**
http://youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

Read Matt and Ginny’s blog at:
http://www.ninetynineballoons.com/ 
[23May07, By John Jalsevac, Arkansas, LifeSiteNews.com]