03/29/2016
Here's a sneak peek at the new website:
You're lying in bed wide awake with excitement to finally see your little one again in the morning. You're mind is racing, will you have a girl or maybe a little boy, will they look like you, how much hair will she have, is he going to be big and strong like his daddy, all of these questions, all of theses memories you're hoping to have in the near future. Morning has come and it's time to see your baby.
The doctor comes in, she has you lay back and pull your shirt up to show your little bump, she pressed the ultrasound against your belly and everyone holds their breath. The doctor doesn't smile and say congratulations it's a boy, she doesn't say you're having a girl. She doesn't say anything at all. That's when you know, that's when you something is wrong. In an instant all of your excitement is gone and there's nothing but fear to replace it. The few seconds of silence feel like hours and you're just waiting for your answer. The doctor turns to you and says I'm sorry but there's no heartbeat, your baby is gone. You're left laying there with no answers, nothing but the tears streaming down your face.
Now, imagine walking onto the labor and delivery floor. The floor that was supposed to be full of excitement is now full of sadness and tears. All you can tell yourself is you aren't supposed to be here, your baby isn't supposed to be gone, you're not ready, you can't do this. You don't hear anything the nurses are telling you and honestly, you don't care. You have to deliver your baby knowing they're already gone. Everything you're used to is gone. Logically you understand that you won't hear her first cry once she's born but in the back of your mind you are hoping and praying they're wrong, that you'll still hear her. But you don't. She's here and she's born sleeping just like they told you. Instead you hear the baby next door crying for the first time and the grandparents in the hallway on the phone telling the rest of their family of the new arrival.
Now that I have your attention I would like to tell you of our ultimate goal. The goal of, A Piece of My Heart, is to raise enough funds to create a new ward in the local hospitals for the family who has to have a stillbirth and for those who are suffering a miscarriage. This new ward will be away from the labor and delivery floor. These grieving families won't hear the cries of the newborns or the grandparents in the hallway who are full of excitement. These families will have their own place, a place where they can be with their baby and grieve as they need to. The rooms will be like a bedroom or a hotel room. There will be a nurses station close by in case anyone has questions or needs anything for the recovering mother.
I firmly believe that we as a nation could do better for families who have lost a baby. We can't continue to act as if it doesn't happen because it does. And yes, it's extremely depressing and upsetting but imagine how these families feel, the ones who have to live this life. Families of stillborn babies and those suffering miscarriages need support and love, and they especially need to be able to grieve.
