October 15th (continued)

I hope you had the chance to visit the website I posted about earlier this morning. It explains what October 15th stands for and that is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberance Day. There are SO many people that I have come in contact with over this past year and a half since first having my miscarriage and then losing Tori, one being Angie Smith, who lost her daughter the month after Tori died.

I read her blog after posting this morning, and thought she had offered a wonderful idea. If you are reading this and have a lost a child of your own, in any way, please leave a comment and share your story with us. Every child that has died had a purpose in this world, even if their life was very short or never even got started outside the womb. It is only fair for us to recognize and honor their precious little lives to make them count for something. Angie invited others to do this, and you can read her blog under Bring the Rain on my side column. I, too, invite you to do it in the form of a comment on this blog. I will share my story first, and hope to hear from you, too. Every person's loss is important and worth sharing.

My name is Melissa Wilhoit. I lost a baby when I was 13 weeks pregnant. On January 23, 2007, my water broke that morning at work. My friend and coworker rushed me to the hospital where I had to have a D&C done. I was almost in my second trimester and was already beginning to show a little bit. It was amazing to read at the time what all had developed and what my baby was doing at only 13 weeks gestation.

In March of that same year, I unexpectedly became pregnant again. This time I became very sick around 24 weeks and did not know it was pre-eclampsia. When I went into the hospital at 28 weeks, they told me I was too sick and would be admitted into the hospital until my baby was born. Tori was born 5 days later which was 3 months early. She weighed 1 lb 9 oz when she was born and over 11 lb when she died on March 8, 2008. She fought for nearly 6 months and then her little body was too weak to fight anymore, and the Lord called her home at 6:55 a.m. on a snowy morning in Nashville, TN at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

It was the saddest and most memorable day of my life. I will never forget looking into my sweet child's eyes moments before she died, feeling her warm body in my arms and seeing her breathe when only minutes later, she laid cold in my arms, still, no longer breathing with her eyes closed.

It was the most surreal moment ever and one I will never forget. No mother should ever have to lose an infant child in this way or any other way for that matter. However, we live in a sinful, dying world where the Lord allows things like this to happen in our lives for a reason. I accept that, but it's still hard. I miss her dearly, as well as the other life I never had the privilege of holding, kissing, or seeing, although one day I will. I look forward to that day and am encouraged that she is there if she can't be here with me!

Your story doesn't have to be as detailed or as long, however, make it as personable, with or without as many details as you'd like. I'd love to share this experience with you today. We should stand together and be there for one another. If you haven't ever had the experience of losing a child, thank God and hug your children you do have a little tighter tonight. Our babies would have grown up to be children just like that.