In remembrance of Birdie

This past week, our baby Birdie was born at Kennestone hospital at 5:46 pm. Diagnosed with a life-limiting condition, she stayed for eighty-four wonderful minutes. She was able to meet her siblings, and we got to sing Happy Birthday to her as we gave her all of our love and affection. As her siblings left the room, God chose that very moment to call her to his side, and she went to be with Jesus. Here is a link to our dear baby Birdie’s obituary:

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ourbabybirdie/journal/view/id/6354137706fd7c537169ec7b

When our family reached out to ask if we would like to start a GoFundMe, Jessica and I were initially opposed to the idea of raising support for ourselves because God has been so faithful and we have already been so blessed.

However, in subsequent days and after more conversation and prayer, we thought it would be a great way to raise support and bless others who are walking a similar journey. What a privilege to be able to do so!

Our primary goal is to provide a Caring Cradle for Grady hospital in Atlanta. This need would be the highest priority for any funds raised. Grady hospital serves a less affluent community, which means it does not have the budget to purchase one. As a result, at Grady hospital, any parent who has a child pass away during birth only has minutes to say goodbye before the child is taken from them. A Caring Cradle can change this. A Caring Cradle is a device that keeps the baby at a cool temperature, allowing the baby to stay in the room with the recovering parents for up to 3-5 days. Most parents never have and could never consider such a scenario. Still, for a grieving parent, the extra hours can mean all the difference in having some time for closure and grief rather than handing their child to a funeral home mere minutes after birth. We were blessed enough to have this option at Kennestone Hospital because another family in a similar situation had donated one. We would like to pay it forward to other families in Birdie’s honor. With that in mind, our goal is to raise $7,000 to be able to donate one to Grady Hospital.

If further funds are raised beyond this initial amount, we intend to use them to donate to organizations that help families in need like ours as well as help to pay some of the high medical and funeral costs incurred for our family.

Thank you so much for partnering with us as we seek to bless others as we have been blessed.