Happy Father's Day!

Reading to Gabi

Me with Bella

Me and my Dad

Happy Fathers Day to ALL Dad's. Hope you have a wonderful day today.

Darryl Owens article about the Angel of Hope

We had the opportunity to speak with Darryl Owens about our cause and our goal to bring the Angel of Hope. Here is a little excerpt:

"In search of an Angel for Gabriella" by Darryl Owens

Four years ago, Anthony and Kristen Bencomo learned they were expecting.

They were thrilled. Their first.

They told everyone. Debated names. Enrolled in Lamaze classes.

Kristen kept doctor appointments. Marveled at her budding baby bump. Wondered why she never felt a kick. Endured headaches. Spiking blood pressure. Nerves?

Complications. Time to deliver.

Too soon?! No choice.

Doctors performed a C-Section. Hooked the tiny thing to a ventilator. More tubes and wires than baby.

Scary.

After a dozen whirlwind days in the Florida Hospital neonatal intensive-care unit, life finally slowed to a pause.....

Click HERE to read the full article...

My 1st tattoo

Check out the process:



2010 will mark the 4th birthday and anniversary for the loss of Gabi. I have wanted a tattoo in her name since she passed. After much research and thought. I decided on a tattoo that had meaning behind it and something I would want to have forever.

I came up with the idea of a pocket watch with the time 12:07 with wings and a halo. That is all I wanted. As you can see I got so much more.

I did much research looking for the right artist and luck should have it I met a guy, Michael, standing in line at the Johnny Cupcakes tour and his friend Ryan's had this awesome rooted tattoo (it is a tree and going down to the roots) and it was awesome. He told me the guy was in Orlando and he had done both of his tattoos. Through him I got introduced to Enrique Zayas at Chrome Lotus Tattoo.

Here is the rationale behind what I wanted for a tattoo:

12:07:
12:07pm was the time that Gabi was born and it was also the time I looked forward to. Every time the clock read 12:07pm it meant I had another day with Gabi. We had 12 awesome days with her. Hence the clock on the tattoo reads 12:07.

The numbers on the watch:
I looked and looked for the font of the numbers and it hit me that my dad had given me a pocketwatch that had been passed down to me on my wedding day. His pocket watch has numbers 1-12 but for the tattoo I could only do 12, 3, 6, and 9.

The G:
The G is Gabi's 1st initial.

The Wings, Halo and Pocket watch:
In my initial thoughts I had it being just a G with wings or something and I also did not want a tattoo that was just her name. So I went with the wings and halo and the watch since it has a few meanings- an angel in heaven and also that time flew bye and it wasn't enough time to be with Gabi.

The Sunshine:

The amazing part about this is that I never told Enrique that on Gabi's headstone we have: "Our Grace from God. You will always be our Sunshine." Since Kristen would always sing to Gabi- You are my Sunshine. When I saw his initial sketch, having only told him about the watch, halp and wings and saw the Sun and the Sunshine. I was blown away and asked myself how did he know.

Did it hurt? Check out the video of me and my initial reaction to it. Now I will not lie and say it was pleasant. After the outlining and his shading I was fine. It was when he started coloring that I was in some pain.

Click here to see Enrique's website.

I get to wear pants for the next 2 weeks but it will be well worth it is fully healed and the true colors come out. I know some don't like tattoos and others do. I've wanted one and glad that this was my 1st tattoo

Happy 4th Birthday Gabriella!

Happy Birthday Gabi. She would be 4 today. I miss her and she is always in my thoughts. Happy Birthday!
Figured what better person to sing her Happy Birthday then Bella, her little sister.



I will be getting a tattoo to remember Gabi this Friday! Been thinking about it and finally came up with something I want to have forever. Pics and possible video will be posted.

Few days before Bella arrives: Thoughts!

Am I ready?  We'll find out soon enough

I am a few days away from meeting my 2nd daughter, Bella.

This is a lot different experience then when Gabriella came.  For one this pregnancy will be 10 weeks longer then when Gabi came.  When Gabi came it was like a whirl wind and we knew we had a lot to deal with.  With her we did not have anything ready, we just wanted to take her home and deal with anything that came with it.

With Bella's arrival we have her room ready and have so many things for her coming home.   We also have an idea of when she will arrive.  So you are excited and waiting in anticipation.  At the same time I am like HOLY COW - she will be here next week!  Are you kidding me?  My life will TOTALLY change again!  

We are so blessed and it will be such an emotional day for us, when I get to hold and carry Bella.  

It is tough because I am already a dad, but at the same time I am not.  When Gabi was here I got to become a father and loved every second.  When she passed, I not only lost my daughter but also missed out on so many great things that you get to feel when you become a father.

Bella's arrival will never replace Gabi's passing, but I cannot wait to be a Daddy again.  I cannot wait to hold her and most of all I cannot wait to introduce her to all our friends and family.  It will be awesome!

I am just trying to soak it all in and get as much sleep as possible. Time to enjoy the few days before Bella arrival with Kristen and Jupiter  Bella's coming!

6/6- The best and worst day of my life!

Yes that is my wedding band.

Today is the 2 year anniversary of my daughter, Gabriella passing away.  That is right she passed on 6/6/06 -  It was a good day because I got to be with my little angel and I got to hold her for the 1st time.  It was the worst day because it was the last day and the last time I ever held her.  

She has forever changed our lives and she is now looking down on us and is protecting her little sister that we are expecting in the next 10-14 weeks.  What a mix of emotions I have.  I miss her so much and not a day goes by that I do not think or miss her.

It gets a little easier but it is never easy.  I will forever be her dad, however I will never get to experience all the things a little girl and parent should experience.

We are blessed with the coming of Bella, but what I would give to have Gabriella be with us on the day her little sister comes into this earth.

I miss you Gabriella! 

Happy Birthday Gabriella!

We miss you very much and think about you ever single day.

I know you are having an awesome birthday party in heaven today!

Gabi's birthday

We decided to take the day off and do something special on Gabriella's birthday. We went to Epcot and MGM. It got our minds off of things and we got to do some enjoyable stuff. It was a rough day, but I am glad Kristen and I spent the day together.

You can see more at:

Happy 1st Birthday Gabriella

Daddy misses and loves you!

I know I usually post light hearted stuff and it is mostly odd news or sports related items. I figured this is my blog and it is about my thoughts. I have never written about this and it has changed my life forever. I may ramble through this. I just have lots in me....

Tomorrow, will be a reminder of what happened last year; the 12 best and saddest days of my life. On the 24th, my daughter Gabriella will be 1 yr old. Words cannot describe how the birth of such a little angel changes your total being. It was the most amazing day. At the same time it was also the scariest day. Gabriella was only 10 inches and 14 oz - we knew that we had an up hill climb when Kristen gave birth @ 12:07 to Gabriella.

Those were the best 12 days for the obvious reason- I got to spend many hours/days with her. I tried to soak up as many firsts as I could, for I did not know if I would have another minute, hour or let alone a day. I wanted to make the most of what I would have. It was the worst roller coaster ride I have ever been on. More then twice, Kristen and I had to give orders of Do Not Resuscitate for our little girl. There would be good half days and then she would crash and it would be restless night by her side. Praying she would be with us another day. I gave thanks every day @ 12:07 that we got another day with her.

As bad as it was and as stressful as it was. I know Kristen and I would give anything to experience her moving around, kicking her arms and legs and grabbing onto our fingers again. She was such a little angel. Our little angel.

It is tough now because I wish I was the person I use to be, not to have lost that innocence. After all the pain I have felt since her passing, I would not change anything in order to have spent those 12 days with Gabi.

I know I have changed. I know that things are not the same. I know that we have either pushed friends and family away or friends and family have pulled away from us. It is understandable. There is no rhyme or reason to it. We know that some people may think that we should be over this. I also know that if I was in there shoes I would have no freaking clue on what to do or say to someone in our situation. A year later and I still wouldn't know.

Do I give them space? Bring it up? Leave them alone? Don't acknowledge it? No clue.

To be honest neither do we. Sometimes we want to talk about it and sometimes we don't. Sometimes we want to be with others and other times we just want to be alone. I know it is awkward for some. What do we talk about? What do I say? It is awkward for us too. Friendship is a two way street.

I am proud to be Gabriella's father and though the pain is a little easier to deal with a year later. I will always grieve her loss. No other child can replace my baby girl.

Happy Birthday my grace from God. You are always in my thoughts and prayers. Happy 1st Birthday!

Want to leave Gabi a message? Click here

Want read what we wrote? Click here

NEW VIDEO: My daughter on June 5th

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

I miss you Gabi.

Click on her footprint to see more!



Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing


Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

In loving memory of Gabriella Bencomo A Memorial Tribute has been established to support
Florida Children’s Hospital’s Newborn Intensive Care Unit.
In an ongoing effort to recognize and honor the memory of baby Gabriella, we encourage you to support the needs of critically ill newborns.
Florida Hospital Foundation (407) 303-7152

You can also make a contribution in Gabriella Grace Bencomo's name to:
Ronald McDonald House of Orlando
You can make it payable to RMHC of Central Florida, to 2201 Alden Road, Orlando, FL 32803 or call 407-206-0957 to charge your donation.
Thank you all for your support.
Gabriella Grace Bencomo
5/24/06- 6/6/06

Thank you to our friends

Today we said goodbye to Gabi. Although she is with us in spirit we laid her to rest at Greenwood cemetary. We want to thank all of our friends for coming to Gabi's funeral. I know she only met a handful of you, but she is watching over each and everyone of you. I know she is very happy that her Mommy and Daddy have great friends. We are greatful too for all the friendships we have near and far. All of us are in and around the same age range and never would I imagine among hanging out, tailgates, game nights, and birthday parties that we would be having a funeral for our own daugther. This whole process is still quite sureal for us. The words that the priest and deacon said at mass and the burial were comforting to us. Some of the most comforting in the past couple of weeks. When I look at the stars each night, I will definately think differently knowing that Gabi is one of those special stars. Today brought some closure for us. And we hope day by day it gets easier. We love each and everyone one of you. You can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends. There is a reason we are all friends, and I am glad we have chosen each and everyone of you!

Found this...

The 5 stages of Grief:

DENIAL, ANGER, BARGAINING, DEPRESSION, ACCEPTANCE

• Any Change Of Circumstance can cause us to go through this process.
• We don't have to go through the stages in sequence. We can skip a stage or go through two or three simultaneously.
• We can go through them in different time phases. It could take maybe 5 to 10 minutes, 5 to 10 seconds. or it could take years.
• The intensity and duration of the reaction depends on how significant the change-produced loss is perceived.

It is mentioned that Grieving only begins where the 5 Stages of "Grief" leave off. Grief professionals often use the concept of "Grief Work" to help the bereaved through grief resolution. One common definition of Grief Work is summarized by the acronym TEAR:

T = To accept the reality of the loss

E = Experience the pain of the loss

A = Adjust to the new environment without the lost object

R = Reinvest in the new reality

This begins when the honeymoon period is over, the friends have stopped calling, everyone thinks you should be over it, the court case is resolved, "closure" has been effected, and everything is supposed to be back to normal. It's at this point that real grieving begins

The first step of Grief Work is ACCEPTANCE

The day has come..

Well the day has come, where we are going to put Gabi ashes to rest. She is already in Heaven and looking upon us.

Yesterday was a very long day. We picked up Gabriella's ashes, Kristen bought a necklace for our cross keepsakes that have her ashes. We found out that the Hilton Garden Inn was kind enough to let us use their conference room for free so that we could all meet after the burial. We had family coming in last night we had to see and we also needed to pick up more food and stuff from the supermarket because we will have an unknown amount of people there today.

It is funny because this is a burial, but it sometimes has a feeling like it is celebration "get together/party" and we have no idea how many people will come. So you also have to deal with the questions of do we have enough food, enough to drink, etc.

This whole funeral/mass/after burial activities are all so much. I think we need the closure.

Today is a celebration of Gabi's life and a day many will come to be with her and with us.
I love you Gabi.

Funeral arrangements for Gabi

Hi Everyone
Here is the finalized funeral information:
June 17th at 10am a Memorial Mass will be held in the Chapel at St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Winter Park, Florida. Immediately following, the burial will be at Greenwood Cemetary in Orlando (off of 408 and Mills Ave).

Friends and Family are welcomed to attend.

Here is a Map of St Peter & Paul:Map of Saints Peter & Paul Cath Chr: 407-657-6114 5300 Old Howell Branch Rd Winter Park, FL 32792, US

Directions from St Peter & Paul to Greenwood Cemetery:Driving Directions from Saints Peter & Paul Cath Chr, 5300 Old Howell Branch Rd, Winter Park, FL to Greenwood Cemetery, 1603 Greenwood St, Orlando, FL

If you are planning on flying:
You would be flying into MCO- Orlando International Airport.
Some online site to use for travel:
Kayak.com - searches multiple airlines at once
JetBlue.com - Great airline and has TVs.

Looking for a Hotel? The church is located at 5300 Old Howell Branch Road Winter Park, Florida 32792 The cemetery is located at 1603 Greenwood St, Orlando, FL 32801 The Church and the Cemetery are located you can look at hotels near Winter Park, Downtown Orlando and East Orlando (University of Central Florida).

Hotels.com- Great site for hotels.
Hotwire.com- Helps you find hotels, car rental, and more.

I know our families are looking into blocks of hotels room. We will post that information as soon as we get that.

The toughest loss

Well if you do not know or have not checked out Gabi's site. Kristen and I are going through one of the roughest and hardest times in our lives. In case you don't know: My wife was pregnant and we had to deliver early due to sudden complications. Via C-Section we were blessed with a very small (10 inches long and only 14 oz) girl, a grace from God. We had the opportunity and are so greatful to have spent 12 Amazing days with our daughter, Gabriella Grace Bencomo. So much Love and Spirit in such a small body.

We now have to deal with the loss of the gift God gave us. She was so special and it is so amazing what impact she has made to us and many others that never even met her.

We are so greatful for the people and staff of Florida Hospital. They did everything they could and were so wonderful to us and Gabi. We grew very attached to them.

Gabi is in a better place now and we will forever love her and miss her. I now know the name of one of my guardian angels, Gabriella Grace Bencomo.

I love you Gabi.

Gabriella Grace Bencomo 5/24/06-6/6/06

Gabi has a website!

Check out Gabi's new website. Thanks to Uncle Jay you can keep up to date on Gabi's progress.Visit: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/gabi

My Baby.. Gabriella Grace Bencomo

Gabriella Grace was born on May 24, 06. She is 10 inches long and weighs 14 oz. Please continue to pray for our little Angel!