Asa Shackleton Duckworth

Here are some pictures and some excerpts from the e-mail that Eric sent about Asa:

"Little Asa entered our world at 12:29 PM, Friday, 18 January 2008 (1/18/08). With an original due date of 10 March, Asa’s little body was just short of his 33rd week of growth. The circumstances requiring his preterm delivery resulted from a rapid onset of prenatal hypertension and preeclampsia in Shannon, which complicated his umbilical blood flow and threatened her life if untreated."

"After the initial scare of an emergency delivery, Shannon and the wonderful staff at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle were able to stabilize the situation long enough to buy a critical eight more days in the womb to allow his lungs to develop. And boy did they!"

"Shannon delivered Asa via C-section. He weighed in at 3 lbs, 1 ounce and measured 15 inches, and scored extremely well on all initial testing. Though small, he looks perfect in every way."

"The name “Asa” is Hebrew for Healer/Physician. Shannon and I had been undecided on names throughout the pregnancy. Asa was one name we liked long before the pregnancy, but never committed on. It was the name of her Great Grandfather Asa Nolan, who was tall and strong (we even have a chair of his in our house)."

"'Shackleton' is the last name of my late step grandfather, Don. As I knew him, Don was a wounded survivor of the Korean War, a physically powerful man with a gentle and concerned nature for animals and his neighbors who remained active in helping the community. Some of my most joyful childhood memories are the lessons he taught me about character and love. Shannon and I thought that since he never had children of his own, this was an appropriate homage. Shackleton is also homage to Don’s related namesake, Sir Ernest Shackleton, a British Antarctic explorer who led one the 20th Century’s most harrowing tales of survival and leadership against the odds.

"Given how Asa was coming into the world, we thought both these names would be fitting to giving him a strong survivor and healing spirit."