I
had no intention of crafting another blog post so soon following my last entry
on Kate’s second anniversary…but I never anticipated this…
Last
Wednesday we were graced by a visit by one of Matt’s life-long friends, Katie
Wildman, whom we had not seen in a few years.
Along with the smiles, warmth and love that always accompany Katie she
brought with her a non-descript cardboard box.
Unbeknownst to me, the box was filled with handcrafted treasures made
possible by a circle of love…all in honor of my sweet Kate. Below is the letter I found inside the box
from Katie’s mom Sandy.
Matt and Betsy,
The day Betsy posted information about NICU
Helping Hands on her Facebook page I was taken with the idea of sewing in your
Kate’s honor. I volunteered immediately
and waited patiently for instructions.
My reaction was sincere and didn’t diminish over the five months it took
for the organization to contact me. They
had been very, very busy in the meantime.
Originally, a NICU doctor in Fort Worth
asked his wife to organize support for the families of the babies he cared
for. Her small local group provided
education, counseling and funds. She
knew her wedding gown wouldn’t be used again, for she had four sons. The dress was used to make the first Angel
Gowns. After four years the organization
was invited to do a local TV spot. The
spot was picked up nationally and internationally and NICU Helping Hands became
an overnight sensation. Within weeks
they had 8,000 donated wedding gowns and 400 volunteer seamstresses. That’s about the time I volunteered. Since March of 2014 they have worked
tirelessly to deal with the overwhelming challenges of becoming an overnight
nationwide organization. First, where do
you store 8,000 dresses?
A family who had benefited from the
organization’s care donated warehouse space.
The group spent Saturdays in an un-air conditioned warehouse in Texas
heat, packing wedding dresses to be shipped to their volunteer
seamstresses. They built a Facebook page
and a sewing support team to guide them.
Finally, an official press release was
posted and I asked Shannon Sloan Datitilo to post the NICU announcement on her
Facebook page because she has 1,500 friends.
I received 15 weddings gowns as a result.
Shannon also has challenges for she adopted
a daughter with CP. She knew she would
never marry and wanted to donate her dress, but wanted a picture of her
daughter in the dress. Adrianna, who is
nine, nonspeaking and wheelchair bound was not happy with our attempt at a
photo shoot and with tears in both their eyes, Shannon sent me home with her
wedding dress. I couldn’t bring myself
to cut into her dress and sent a message that I was returning it. Shannon called a professional photographer
and the enclosed pictures are a result.
The photographer had also experienced NICU services. She offered to take pictures of the finished
Angel Gowns from Shannon’s dress. They
will be included in the NICU Helping Hands blog along with a story about you,
Kate, Shannon, Adrianna and Hannah, the photographer. This experience has created so many
exceptional moments of love and kindness.
We have created a circle of love and it started with Baby Kate.
The idea of cutting into a wedding dress was
tantalizing; I couldn’t resist! Working
with the fabrics, beading, lace and buttons has been a treat, but with every
Angel Gown I finished I thought of your Kate and the day I could demonstrate my
sincere sorrow for your loss. I have donated
50 Angel Gowns and bonnets in Katherine Elizabeth Mitchell’s honor. Each of the 50 families who receive the gowns
will be comforted in her honor. Her
legacy is one of love.
Sandy
I
read the letter and cried with Katie.
Behind the letter I found the following photos and my tears were replaced with a huge
smile. What an incredibly beautiful
photo of Adrianna and of her and her mother Shannon! What a special memory! What love!
After
reading the letter and smiling at the photos I slowly, very carefully, admired
each one of the sample selection of Angel Gowns Sandy had sent. Holding each gown I held tremendous love…
…a
physical manifestation of the love
felt on one of the happiest days of a woman’s life...her wedding day…
…the
love and hope a mother feels
from the moment a she discovers she is carrying a new life and is expecting a
baby…
…and
the love and talent of a
volunteer seamstress to help honor a brief life and immeasurable grief.
Below
are just a few photos of the many gowns and bonnets Sandy sent to share with
me.
This
is Kate’s gown and bonnet. The photo does not begin to do it justice! It's beautiful! It was made from one of
my wedding dresses and I feel it embodies everything I pictured Kate to be…beautiful,
classy, refined, elegant and simply lovely. It warms my heart to know that I now have something that has been ‘passed
down’ to Kate. Matt and I have decided
we will have Kate’s gown and bonnet mounted and preserved in a shadow box until
she is interred with me.
I intend to keep a couple of the gowns and
donate them to the Iowa City NICU/PICU.
Our family owes a visit to the hospital staff who so lovingly cared for
us in the days before and after Kate’s time with us. With Sandy’s help I will send the remaining
gowns on to the Helping Hands organization in Texas who will then pass them along to
other families.
And so continues Kate’s story of lasting
love! Sandy...you are awesome! Thank you for sharing your love and talent with us and so many others! Your generosity and talented fingers have given us
a lasting memory and will undoubtedly give the families who receive your Angel
Gowns a little comfort knowing their baby was love, celebrated and
remembered.
Kate...Way to go baby girl! Keep up the good work! ;-)
xoxox,
Mama
About NICU Helping Hands ‘Angel Gowns’: Our organization believes that every life
matters and should be honored – no matter how brief that life may be. We are honored to help provide a little piece
of hope in the midst of these very dark days. Hope in knowing that someone
cares and that grieving families are not alone. Complete strangers joining
together to honor the life of a lost baby. A priceless gift in the form of a
simple Angel Gown garment provided by a donating bride, a volunteer seamstress
and NICU Helping Hands.
To read more about the organization, to
donate or to request a gown please visit:
http://www.nicuhelpinghands.org/lend-a-helping-hand/angel-gowns/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/nicuhelpinghands
Betsy,
ReplyDeleteI had the honor of hearing Kate's story yesterday at the panel at the Interprofessional Education Day for Des Moines University. Myself and my fellow peers are medical students and were very moved by your story. I just wanted to thank you and your husband for sharing your story with us, and helping to educate us on how to provide this quality of care to our own future patients. Kate is a beautiful angel baby, thank you again for sharing your story with us. The Mitchell family will be in my prayers!