Thank you for visiting my fundraising page! I am currently fundraising for the MISS Foundation's Kindness Walk, taking place May 13th (Mother's Day morning) at the Phoenix Zoo. The MISS Foundation is a wonderful organization, providing support and services for families who have lost their children at any age, both during pregnancy and after.
Our Story: My husband and I were expecting our first baby in early January 2012. The first Grandchild on both sides of the family, it was something that everyone was anticipating with such joy; but God had a different plan for our child. Our beautiful baby boy was born still and silent on November 1, 2011. Born on All Saints Day, we named him BelloSanto (Beautiful Saint). We spent time with him, held him, and kissed him after he was delivered...but we had to say goodbye the same day we met. Our grief journey has been long and winding, filled with both tremendous sadness and sprinkles of hope. We are lucky to have a family who validates our son's brief, but very real life, and friends who speak of and love him as we do. We could not imagine going through this journey without the strength of our love for each other and the gentle support of all of those surrounding us. The MISS Foundation offers this type of support for families who have lost children, whether it be at 4 months pregnant, 4 months old or 14 years old. They offer comfort during families most trying, and often lonely times.
My hope: Through the Kindness Walk I hope to not only provide a sense of community and strength for those who have lost children at any age, I hope to raise Stillbirth Awareness. After the death of our son, my husband and I quickly found that there has been little research done regarding this type of loss. Miscarriage and Stillbirth is a subject not many people talk about, and fewer people understand. There needs to be more of a conversation being made about this type of loss so more research can be done and, God willing, more losses prevented.
I encourage you to also visit the following websites to help raise education and awareness on stillbirth.
International Stillbirth Alliance: http://www.stillbirthalliance.org/index.php
Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network: https://scrn.rti.org/
March of Dimes/Stillbirth: http://www.marchofdimes.com/baby/loss_stillbirth.html
I want to also mention another wonderful organization, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS). NILMDTS is a group of professional photographers who donate their time and talents to families of children who have died during pregnancy and infancy. A NILMDTS photographer came to the hospital after Bello was born and took beautiful, peaceful photos of our son. We are so lucky to have these photos to validate his life and remember the beauty it was to have him in our lives. It cannot be an easy job that they have, but these photographers provide a healing, compassionate service to families like ours. http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/our_beginnings/
Many thanks for your support -- please feel free to share my story and pass this on.