Non-Profit Supports Grieving Parents

This past Mother's Day I read a moving article in my local news paper that profiled the parents behind the non-profit Mikayla's Grace.  Created as a method of healing after the death of their prematurely born daughter, Mike and Melissa Terrill hope to ease the pain for parents suffering a similar loss.

The couple's second pregnancy did not goes as planned, and in June 2010 their infant daughter was born 3 months premature, weighing just over 1 pound.  She lived for 36 hours.  My heart went out to this couple as I read their story.  My daughter was born 1 month premature the following month.  Unlike them, her weight was strong and she came home as planned.

In an effort to address the pain of other parents, the non-profit they created supplies boxes with items to ease the process: notebooks to write down information (ofen mom and baby are in separate rooms), a tin for a lock of hair, disposable cameras, and a kit to make an hand or food inprint).

The fact that they have turned a devastating loss into a source of comfort for others, and a way to honor their daughter, is moving.

To learn more about the program, make a donation, or help spread the word, visit www.mikaylasgrace.com