Fable : Waiting for a New Heart

Michelle Slavens, newly “promoted” to Vice President of On Angels’ Wings in addition to her Support Coordinator role, reflects upon her nearly nine years with the organization, and her hopes for the future. After nine years with On Angels’ Wings, I’m stepping into the role of Vice President and reflecting upon my journey with the…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 20, 2021On Angels’ WingsMichelle Cramer, Executive Directormichelle.cramer@dev-on-angels-wings-photos.pantheonsite.io417-834-3670 Open to the public again, the carnival saw pre-pandemic numbers! Springfield, Missouri: On Angels’ Wings (OAW), a Missouri non-profit, hosted its 9th annual Making Memories Day carnival event on Saturday, June 4th at New Covenant Academy’s Warrior Campus. OAW recipient families with medically fragile children obtained…

By Tiffany SmithMommy to Bowen DeanAnencephalyAugust 2021 In August 2021, my husband and I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Bowen Dean. Bowen had the most beautiful dark blue eyes, the longest salon curled eyelashes, an adorable button nose, some of the chubbiest cheeks, and legs for days. Bowen was only on this Earth…

Nine years. Geez. I know ‘surreal’ gets overused a lot, but that doesn’t diminish it’s meaning for me. It really is hard to believe that On Angels’ Wing has existed for almost a decade. While you might think that I would save this post for that coveted 10-year mark, this year has a whole lot…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 20, 2021On Angels’ WingsMichelle Cramer, Executive Directormichelle.cramer@dev-on-angels-wings-photos.pantheonsite.io417-834-3670 After two years of limited access, the annual carnival is open to the public again! Springfield, Missouri: On Angels’ Wings (OAW), a Missouri non-profit, is excited to host its 9th annual Making Memories Day carnival event next Saturday, June 4th at New Covenant Academy’s…

When I began doing bereavement photography nearly 15 years ago, the organization I volunteered for provided pictures for families in their most dire moments of distress, but nothing beyond that. It was so very hard for me to hand over a disc of photos to a family (back in the days before digital galleries) and…

By Carah HicksMommy to Brian EarlCongenital Diaphragmatic HerniaOctober 17-21, 2018 I found out at 12 weeks that I was pregnant. We were shocked but excited. As an early Mother’s Day present I found out at 16 weeks that our sweet little caboose was another boy (youngest of three). After two healthy pregnancies I had anticipated…

By Krista ThompsonMother to Kamry Ann “Super Girl”Trisomy 13 My husband and I knew we were ready to start a family, unfortunately we got the news he was going to be deployed July 2013. So we prayed about it and decided that we would let God decide if we would get pregnant before he left…

Jessica CorbelloMommy to AshlynTrisomy 18Journey session recipients since 2014 I found out my sweet baby girl, Ashlyn, had Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) at my 20-week ultrasound. Doctors in Springfield – where we lived at the time – found I had only one artery on my umbilical cord and that she had a cleft lip. She was also…

Ashley KamlerMommy to WatsonCongenital Heart Defect#heartwarrior Baby Ace, as we called him before finding out his gender and deciding a name, was a beautiful surprise! The moment I found out I was pregnant I did all the healthy things you can imagine. I was very conscious about what I put into my body and was…