Stella’s Heart Foundation

05/12/2022

This is a promising finding that will hopefully help families find some peace and lead to a way to screen and prevent SIDS in the future.

From the article:

Dr. Carmel Harrington, the lead researcher for the study, was one of these parents. Her son unexpectedly and suddenly died as an infant 29 years ago. In an interview with theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Harrington explained what she was told about the cause of her child’s death.

"Nobody could tell me. They just said it's a tragedy. But it was a tragedy that didn't sit well with my scientific brain.”

Since then, she’s worked to find the cause of SIDS, both for herself and for the medical community as a whole. She went on to explain why this discovery is so important for parents whose babies suffered from SIDS.

"These families can now live with the knowledge that this was not their fault," she said.

Link to Dr. Harrington’s research article:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396422002225

Researchers from The Children's Hospital Westmead in Sydney, Australia released a study that confirmed not only how infants die from sudden infant death syndrome, but why.

05/26/2021

Absolute truth.

The truth?

Some days I don’t feel like a survivor. Or a warrior. Or a source of strength.

Sometimes I just feel like a person who has a body that hasn’t figured out to keep babies alive.

I feel like a person who got sick with preeclampsia and who almost died from it.

I feel like a person whose body managed to live but only after my baby died inside of me.

I feel like a person who figured out a way to get out of bed in the morning even when it didn’t seem like it was worth it.

I feel like a person who managed to have a living baby and not because I wanted it more than anyone else. But because these things are more about luck than we realize.

I feel like a person who started writing because I wasn’t good at talking about my feelings and I had to find a way to let them out because they were destroying me.

And sometimes I just feel like a person who has had to figure out a lot of hard s**t and I’m only doing a mediocre job.

And it’s fascinating that I can feel that way and have others see me as a survivor. A warrior. A source of strength.

I’m not mad about it. It’s simply another reminder of how we can look upon others with more admiration than we do for ourselves.

Because we all have things that break us apart and drag us down. We have all needed to figure out a way to overcome that which seems impossible.

Not just because we’re strong. But, because were human.

And as humans we like to tell ourselves that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.

But sometimes it just makes us who we are.

04/16/2021

Well said. 💖🌈🌟

Someone asked me today if my work with traumatic grief felt like living in the past.

No. No. No.

This was my answer:

My child died but she does not belong “in the past” and I won’t “move on” from her because she lives within me, in the present. We are one in this moment and the next. Bringing her with me is the only way I can continue to exist.

We have a few choices when one we love so deeply dies. We can put their memory away, tuck their pictures and strands of hair and toothbrushes into a shoe box in the closet next to the torn garments we’ve been waiting to repair for two decades, and leave them there. We can try to forget. There is a high price to pay for this, though, one that may reverberate through generations.

Or we can remember them, integrate their being into our lives, claim our grief, burn incense for them, embody their love, and refuse to pretend they didn’t exist.

For me, the cost of cutting myself off from her would be a fragmenting of my essence. The realization that we are one (One) and that I carry her forward into the world (despite that I wish it wasn’t this way), is what saved me. I can’t forget her. I won’t forget her. I’ll carry her with me in the present until my last dying breath.

For me, not to do so would be to cease to exist for us both.

—-

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted. Someone I love very much is actively dying and I’ve been pulling in my energy more these days. Sending loving compassion to grievers everywhere. 🙏🏽

Resources at
www.centerforlossandtrauma.com
www.MISSFoundation.org
www.SelahCarefarm.com

02/06/2021

People will speak of "closure," or "moving on," or "getting over it," of grief coming to an end. Smile kindly, and know, anyone who says these things hasn't lived this thing called grief.

01/01/2021

So many people are (rightfully) thrilled to say goodbye to 2020, but we understand the bittersweet sting the drop of that ball can bring. Sending you all peace, love, and health in 2021💖

12/14/2020

Thinking of all of the children who lost their lives 8 years ago today at Sandy Hook Elementary ♥️🌟

12/02/2020

Spread some kindness and finish off by donating to Stella's Heart Foundation. With your generosity, we can give together even when we’re apart.

Visit stellasheart.org to make a donation today and share with your friends and family.

We can't do this without you. ♡☆

10/15/2020

Most of you know that October is International SIDS, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Help us create a ‘wave’ of light across our nation! Share this post with your network of people to create awareness and understanding.

10/15/2020

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak at my local Town Board meeting and witness the Town of Babylon Board members unanimously vote to pass Resolution 669, officially proclaiming October 15th as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day!

"Town Board of the Town of Babylon does hereby proclaim the 15th day of October, 2020, to be Town of Babylon’s Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day and urge our citizens and all agencies and organizations to unite on that day in remembrance of all babies gone too soon, in support of all families grieving the death of their baby at any time during pregnancy or infancy, and in dedication to healthy pregnancy and the prevention of these tragedies."

Thank you so much to Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer for taking the time to listen and quickly respond when I reached out to him, Councilmen Terence McSweeney and DuWayne Gregory for sponsoring the resolution, to Star Legacy Foundation - New York Metro Chapter for your advocacy and for bringing awareness to our community, to everyone who voted yes, and to everyone else who made this happen. Thank you for your support and for remembering and honoring Stella and all of the babies within our community who have died way too soon. 💖🌈🌟

10/02/2020

October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month. You can help us share awareness by adding one of our Awareness Month frames to your profile picture! 💗

Simply click on your profile picture, click "add frame," and search for Stella's Heart Foundation. 🌟

10/02/2020

October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month. You can help us share awareness by adding our Awareness Month frame to your profile picture! 💗

Simply click on your profile picture, click "add frame," and search for Stella's Heart Foundation. 🌟

09/28/2020

Another sweet reminder, he is still yours. 💙

He is still yours. 💙