Hello Family and Friends-
As you all sadly know our daughter, Laura Mae Hemphill, was stillborn at 38 weeks gestation on July 17, 2007.
We want to thank you for your friendship, patience, and love during these last two years. The depths of mankind we have experienced leaves us speechless.
We also must thank The Missing GRACE Foundation for our survival. They were there early on to help us pick up the pieces and continue to provide us support and guidance. The people and resources we have received through Missing GRACE give us hope where there is little to find. They work to continue providing support while raising awareness and prevention of stillbirth and infant/death loss. While the exact cause of Laura’s death is unknown, we later discovered that she had a marginal cord insertion of the placenta that was never detected during the pregnancy. The Missing GRACE Foundation encourages medical staff to monitor during pregnancy for these types of Umbilical Cord Accidents (UCA's) and to intervene if necessary. Its hard to think that if this UCA was detected earlier in our pregnancy, we may have been able to save Laura, as her records show she was a perfectly healthy baby in every other way. Of course, none of this is known for certain, but if we can save even one parent from having to endure losing their child, it is worth it.
Please join us if you can at the Fourth Annual Kaila & Grace Hope & Hearts Run on September 12, 2009 to raise funds for the Missing GRACE Foundation. We will walk as "Team Laura" as we did last year. Link to the registration site is www.hopeandheartsrun.org
Last year, "Team Laura" was in the top three fundraising teams at the event. We were also taken aback by the 25+ of you who turned out on event day to walk, run, volunteer, and cheer for "Team Laura". We would love to again make Laura proud, but can't do it without your support!
Our lives will never be the same since that terrible day when the doctors told us our daughter wouldn't join us on Earth, and we work to learn how to live in this world without her.
With Love for you and for our precious daughter,
Chad and Heather Hemphill