Lucas was only three days old when he was taken into surgery.

In this episode of Still Living Well, I share one of the most frightening moments of those early days—learning that Lucas had a diaphragmatic hernia and needed major surgery to move his bowel back into his abdomen and repair the opening in his diaphragm.

I talk about the hours leading up to surgery, the helplessness of watching my newborn surrounded by machines, and the unbearable wait while he was in the operating room.

Then came the words every parent in that situation is desperate to hear:

“The surgery went well.”

This episode is about fear, trust, survival, and the strength that can appear when you have no choice but to keep going.

In Episode 9 of Still Living Well, I finally meet my son, Lucas.

After everything we had both been through, I was wheeled into the neonatal unit and saw him for the first time outside my body—tiny, surrounded by tubes and wires, and fighting for every breath.

I share what it felt like to see just how small and fragile he was, the heartbreak of watching machines help him breathe, and the unforgettable moment I was finally allowed to reach into the incubator and touch him.

When Lucas wrapped his tiny fingers around mine, something shifted. The fear was still there, but so was hope.

This episode is about that first connection between mother and child, the helplessness of the NICU, and the quiet promise I made to my son: I would be there, no matter what.

Episode 9: Meeting Lucas is a deeply personal story about love, fear, survival, and the first precious moment we truly met.

After months of uncertainty, tests, procedures, fear, and waiting, the moment finally arrives — it’s time to meet Lucas.

In this deeply personal chapter of A Star for Lucas, Celine shares the emotions surrounding her son’s birth and the moment everything she had been preparing for became real.

What should have been a joyful beginning carried with it fear, unanswered questions, and the knowledge that their journey was far from over. But in the middle of it all was Lucas — finally here.

The Arrival is a story about motherhood, love, uncertainty, and the beginning of a journey that would change one family forever.

Still Living Well: True Stories of Life, Hope & Resilience Real stories. Real hope. One chapter at a time.