Saturday, October 26, 2013

Inspirational Bereaved Parent - Guest Post from Rodger & Leann Creators of Kyleigh's Gift Fund

Today I am honored to welcome Rodger and Leann, Kyleigh’s mom and dad.  Both are an INSPIRATION as in memory of their daughter they created the Kyleigh’s Gift fund that is working towards bringing Halo sleep sacks to every newborn at their local hospital along with planning a walk/run for next October 2014.  The legacy of love Rodger and Leann are creating in Kyleigh's name is beautiful.  I hope you enjoy their story as much as I do.  


At the end of what was a healthy, normal pregnancy, we were excited to welcome a new baby into our family of four. What we did not expect was to leave the hospital without our only daughter. Due to complications during delivery, our baby girl passed away at birth. On April 5, 2012, Kyleigh Elizabeth, was born into the arms of Jesus and our lives were changed forever.
As we were planning Kyleigh’s Celebration of Life, we knew that she was given to us for a reason. She was placed on this earth, albeit only inside of her mother’s womb, to make a difference. We decided to start a fund, Kyleigh’s Gift, at the hospital where she and her two brothers were born. “The Weller family created the Kyleigh’s Gift Fund as a way to not only keep Kyleigh’s memory alive, but to recognize the loving care and support that they have and continue to receive from the Birthing Center doctors, nurses and staff.” – The Liberty Hospital Foundation, http://www.libertyhospitalfoundation.org
The Kyleigh’s Gift fund is currently working on providing Halo sleep sacks to every newborn at Liberty Hospital. We hope to launch this project in January 2014. It is our way of reaching out to all families who deliver at the birthing center and provide a tool to encourage safe sleeping habits. We are doing what we can to prevent other families from going through the unimaginable pain of losing a child at any age and of any cause. We are also in the early stages of planning a run/walk event for October 2014, to not only support the Birthing Center, but to bring awareness of pregnancy and infant loss. While the Kyleigh’s Gift fund is still very much in the early stages, our goal is to ultimately share Kyleigh’s story, honor all babies born and find a meaningful way to support other pregnancy and infant loss bereaved families.
A blog, http://kyleighsgift.com, and Facebook page by the same name, Kyleigh’s Gift, have also been established in Kyleigh’s memory. We not only share our journey of grief and faith through both of these avenues, but also bring awareness to pregnancy and infant loss. By sharing our daughter’s story and how she has changed our lives, we are healing and hopefully bringing healing to others.

Rodger, a software manager, and Leann, a stay at home mom, have been blessed with five children; two sons, ages 3 and 6, and three babies in heaven, two lost to miscarriage and their daughter, Kyleigh.

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