An unusual friendship was formed between two Louisiana families when Connie Despanie and Benjamin Hall were rejoicing in the birth of their new son at Lafayette General Medical Center. They had named him Kingston but were still contemplating on the middle name when they received a handwritten note by the hospital workers which inspired them.
The letter read: “To my dad’s angel, even though I will never know your name, you are the first child born here after my dad’s passing. When one life is taken, another is given. Please keep my dad in your prayers.” It was written by Jamie Fontenot who had lost her dad James at the same hospital at the age of 86.
Fontenot was grieving the loss of her dad when she suddenly heard music play on the overhead speakers and when she asked nurses about the song, they told her that whenever a baby was born there, the hospital played that song. She felt comforted that a new life that followed her dad’s death, and so she wrote the letter and asked hospital staff to give it to the new baby’s parents.
The boy’s mother, Connie was weeping as she read the letter and she and her husband both decided to name their son’s middle name as James. It didn’t end there, as the hospital staffers insisted on introducing Fontenot to Connie and her newborn son which was an emotional one.
The families have been in touch with each other and have forged a lasting friendship, Fontenot was even present for Kingston’s christening. Fontenot said, “Family is everything, and if you don’t have faith you don’t have anything.”