I was living and working abroad in Mexico when I lost my beautiful daughter Ina shortly after birth in 2008 after a healthy, full term pregnancy. The shock of the sudden loss, along with the uncooperative medical community created complicated grief for me and my family. I made a decision to return to the US and became a Registered Nurse to work in women’s health, labor & delivery and emergency medicine. I found Empty Arms many years after my daughter’s death while I was experiencing losses during fertility treatments. It was in the room of Empty Arms groups I found deep solace in being able to call myself a mother and a parent while the world outside saw me as child-less.
Since then, I have been on the Empty Arms board of directors and Equity Committee, and most recently as a birth companion at bedside for the families going through the loss inside hospitals. I am honored to meet families going through losses and to deeply witness such struggles in shared understanding. I am grateful to be part of Empty Arms.