Donate in memory of Perrie Grace McGrath

Our daughter, Perrie Grace McGrath, came into this world beautiful and still at 3 am on Saturday, April 16th. Perrie was pronounced deceased, in utero, at full term on April 15, 2022, only four days before her anticipated due date.

 

“Would you like to hold your daughter?” The nurse asked us gently through the beeping and whirring of hospital machines. In disbelief at the scene unfolding before us, we quickly realized that we had to respond to this painful question and many other questions no parent should ever have to answer in the coming days.

 

My (Karen) first reaction was that I didn’t believe I would be emotionally strong enough to handle holding my deceased daughter. I wanted to push away the scene and hide under a blanket until it went away. But reality soon set in that time in the physical presence of my daughter would be brief, and that I needed to capture it and hold onto the limited memories I’d be allotted. Additionally, Perrie deserved to be held as much as possible and to be near her Mommy and Daddy. In truth, she deserved so much more than that, but the gift of touch and presence was the only thing we could offer her.

 

After taking turns holding Perrie for the first time, we weren’t sure what the next 48 hours would look like. Would we have to say goodbye right away? All we knew was we didn’t want Perrie to be alone, and we wanted her to be in the coziest place possible. The nurse offered up the option of bringing in something called a “Cuddle Cot,” which shaped and bolstered our experience in the hospital with our baby girl in a way we didn’t know was possible. It is a resource that made a special impact on our family and prompted us to transform our heartbroken energy into something more productive and hopeful.

 

The Cuddle Cot is what brings us here today to ask for your support. In essence, it is a special cooled bassinet/bed that provides grieving families the gift of time by preserving a physical body. Time allows the family to form an important bond with their baby and helps them deal with their loss. Not only did the Cuddle Cot give us the opportunity to keep Perrie in our hospital room with us throughout the duration of our hospital stay, but it gave us the ability to hold our daughter whenever we needed to. To memorize the shape of her tiny nose, and to clasp her little hands in ours. We didn’t have to wonder where she was being kept or worry that she was all alone. Our baby was able to spend her little time right where she deserved to be – in her family's arms.

 

We were so, so lucky that our hospital had one of these special beds in stock and were surprised to find out that many hospitals across the country do not have one. In these cases, grieving families must endure their hospital stay with very limited access to their beloved baby.

 

To honor Perrie’s memory, we wish to assist other grieving parents by offering the gift of time with their deceased child by access to the Cuddle Cot. We are raising funds to purchase 5 cuddle cots to donate them to rural and other hospitals in need. If we raise more funds, we'll buy and donate more cuddle cots. Each cuddle cot, with shipping, costs 3,300 US dollars.

 

None of the funds raised are coming to our family.

 

Please help us give this cuddle cot experience to other parents who experience loss by donating any amount you feel comfortable with.

 

Your donation can be made in any currency and will be converted to US dollar.

 

With loving and grateful hearts,

 

Karen and Conor McGrath--