Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day - October 15th

 

In support of Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day, there will be a dove release and candle lighting ceremony on the Festival Lawn at the World’s Fair Park on October 15th. Please join us to remember all the babies gone too soon. 6pm – Gather on Festival Lawn (directly connected to fountains) 6:10pm – Dove Release (the doves will need an hour of daylight to fly home, so please arrive in time to see this) 6:20-7pm Welcome & Introductions, Refreshments, Mingle 7-8pm – Candlelight Remembrance Ceremony *Feel free to bring a chair. This event is open to anyone who has suffered the loss of a baby or knows someone who has suffered the loss a baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS or death of a newborn or child. World's Fair Park Festival Lawn 954 World's Fair Park Drive Knoxville, TN 37916 **PLEASE NOTE: Parking is available at Fort Kid and next to the Knoxville Art Museum. There is no parking on World's Fair Park Drive.   For more information, please email carrietyler78@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/events/429316873839699

Why we named her Memphis

Throughout our pregnancy, we were asked all the time why we chose the name Memphis for our little girl. So…to explain her name and the reasoning for naming this blog “Still Love Me Memphis”, here it is.

For the past two years, Adam and I have gone to Memphis in May for The Beale Street Music Festival. It’s a fun get away with good food and great music and we have grown to love the city more and more with each visit. The first year we went, we happened to stumble across Little Richard in concert. I knew some of his songs and was aware of his energetic performances, so we decided to stay and watch. Little Richard had just gone through hip surgery prior to this show and was not able to dance around and give the crowd what he was used to doing. His band members actually had to carry him out and place him in a chair at his piano. He sang a few songs and then explained to the crowd about his recent surgery and apologized that he was not able to move around the stage. Then he asked “You still love me Memphis?” When those words came out of his mouth, the crowd went WILD! After coming back home to Knoxville from that weekend trip, Adam would randomly look at me and ask “Still love me Memphis?” and I would respond “I sure do!”  This past year, when we visited Memphis for the music festival, I was 16 weeks pregnant. We did not know if our baby was a boy or a girl but I had a strong feeling that I was carrying a baby girl. Two weeks later we found out that Baby Tyler was in fact a girl and with no discussion her name became Memphis. Who names their child after something Little Richard says? We DID!

Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month

While I know many will be supporting Breast Cancer Awareness this month, please remember that October is also Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. So many mothers and families have suffered the loss of their child. I am one of them, so this is very important to me.

In 1988 October was declared Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in the United States with a Presidential Proclamation from Ronald Reagan. This month is dedicated throughout the world to raising awareness of infant and pregnancy loss and to honoring and remembering babies and infants who died due to miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, SIDS and all infant deaths.

The growing energy to join in the global "Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month" can help us all in our efforts to make a difference for families who have had babies die and to do our best to reduce the risk and the numbers of these bereaved families over time.

Being a voice for Memphis Grace

When we lost Memphis Grace almost 2 months ago, I immediately said that I would be a voice for her. Not really sure what that meant, I have constantly prayed that God would show me how to carry this out. At first I thought once we had an answer as to why this happened, I would jump on the bandwagon and be an advocate for more research, more awareness, etc. As each test came back normal, my opportunity to be a voice for my daughter dwindled. Last week the final test came back and it too was normal. As much as I am thankful NOT to have a medical condition that caused the loss of our sweet girl, I am equally as frustrated that we DO NOT have an answer. Throughout this journey, I have been amazed at the peace God has provided for me. Sure there have been days when I have wanted to give up but there have also been days that I have celebrated. It has been a rollercoaster emotionally, physically, mentally and even spiritually. Honestly I am exhausted. One thing that has remained the same during this time is Him. When I have lost all hope, He has provided the hope I needed. When I have felt lonely, He has opened my eyes that He is with me and I can be alone with Him. When I break down for no reason, He picks me up. My faith is stronger than it has ever been and now I see exactly what it means to be a voice for Memphis Grace. My purpose in this life is to share the Gospel through her story with others, especially those far from God. I can say without a doubt if I was not a believer and did not have a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior, this story would be completely different. I hate to think of what this journey would look like if it had happened at an earlier time in my life. I can only imagine the results would not be pretty. God is still showing me how to be her voice but in the meantime I have decided to start a blog and share my journey with others through writing. Not only do I feel this is a perfect way to share the good news with others but it will be another step in the grieving and healing process for me. I do not know what this blog will look like, what I will write about or how often I will write but I do know it will be honest. Some might find what I write about uncomfortable to read and I am perfectly fine with that. It is real life. It’s not something that I planned. It’s not something that I had time to prepare for. It happened and I want to embrace this opportunity to impact whoever it is meant to reach.

So…hang on for the ride. Here goes nothing!