Today we’d like to introduce you to Bella Bruce and Kayla Johnson.
Bella and Kayla, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My Baby Wyatt was born on June 2, 2016, and passed after 2hours and 10mins. I never got to see his eyes open and he didn’t have the strength to move, but when they took him from me and laid him on the warming bed to clean him up, he let out a super small, really quick cry. It was shorter than a second but I heard it and it still means the world to me.
When I was 20weeks pregnant, I was sent to a specialist because my lab work came back abnormal. I was told on the phone there was a chance my baby had down syndrome but more than likely the blood work wasn’t accurate. I was told not to freak out because false results happen all the time. Well, my husband and I agreed that no matter what we were going to keep our son and care for our son the best way we could. Well, when I went to the Dr., I had an ultrasound done and I felt completely confident everything was fine. The Dr walked in and after a few minutes looked at me and said I’m sorry your baby is sick and isn’t going to survive’. He was diagnosed with bilateral MCDK (multicystic dysplastic kidneys) and my amniotic fluid was almost unmeasurable. His diagnosis was 100% fatal. His kidneys were covered in cyst which made it impossible for them to function. Kidneys play a major role in the way the baby forms. Babies keep the amniotic fluid level up. They drink the fluid and it goes through their body through the digestive system and then they pee it out and the process continues. All the organs are formed properly through this process. But in Baby Wyatts case, the process couldn’t be done because his kidneys didn’t function. So my son took in all the fluid but it never made it through the kidneys.
When I was 30 weeks, I went into labor on my own. By the time I made it to the hospital I was 8cm dialated. Because I didn’t have fluid the pain was a lot different and I didn’t think it was true labor pain. After about 5 hours I delivered my son. He was breech but I was able to deliver him with no complications. He came out weighing 3lbs 9oz. We had nothing for him to wear when he was born. I had to spend over 12 hours the day after I gave birth trying to find something to put him in. I went to so many baby stores but no one had anything. I ended up buying an American girl doll gown and adding blue to it for him.
In memory of Wyatt, we started an organization to make Angel gowns and Angel wraps for babies whose families find themselves in the position we were in. We take donations of wedding gowns and formal gowns and with the help of volunteers, we are able to turn them into Angel Gowns & Angel Wraps.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been smooth in some ways and a little bit of a struggle in other ways.
We have been blessed with a lot of donations of gowns and other supplies. What we have struggled with is having volunteers help us. We have a few dedicated volunteers and we have a few new volunteers, but with the amount of donations we get and the need of our Angel Gowns & Angel Wraps, we are behind.
Financially is another way we have struggled. It costs us up to $30 or more to ship an Angel gown or Angel wrap overnight to a family. We don’t charge families anything for our services, so having financial donations come in helps us out a lot.
Please tell us about WLJ Angel Gowns.
We are a small non-profit 501(c)3 organization that dedicates our time and effort into making Angel Gowns and Angel Wraps for families who find themselves in the position of losing a baby, no matter what gestation the pregnancy was at.
We are proud of the progress we have made in our community with donating Angel Gowns and Angel wraps. We have been blessed with meeting a lot of new people who have all struggled with loss. Some have opened up about their loss for the first time since their loss to us. It feels good to be able to give these families an outlet to talk about what they feel. We always try to make sure that the families know they are not alone and have someone to talk to.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think being open and honest with our feelings is very important. It helps families feel comfortable and it helps them open up on things they feel. Showing them love, compassion, and kindness goes a long way and its something we always show because we want everyone to know they have a friend in us.
Pricing:
- Our services are completely free to everyone who is in need of them
Contact Info:
- Website: www.WLJAngelGowns.org
- Phone: 706 414 5231
- Email: wlj6216@outlook.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/wljangelgowns
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/wljangel
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