Sarah, Spreading HOPE for Jasmine Grace Cox
honorary Ambassador sarah cox, sharing in memory of Jasmine grace cox
“I was diagnosed with PCOS at age 16 and went through infertility. I got pregnant with my son the cycle after a failed fertility treatment. When we decided to try again for baby #2, I ended up going through two early losses (chemical pregnancy and an early miscarriage). We then got pregnant again the cycle after a failed treatment cycle. At our 13 week NT scan, we learned we were having a daughter and that she had a condition called a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. This meant she had a hole in her diaphragm and it allowed all the organs to push up into her chest cavity and compress her lungs. We were told she had a 50/50 chance of making it. I did research and found a specialist that could help. We met with him and were planning to relocate for her birth. Unfortunately, through an amnio we learned she also had mosaic trisomy 15. We lost her at 32 weeks when she was stillborn. Since we lost her, we had our rainbow daughter and our pot of gold daughter.
Jasmine is still a part of everything we do. I do everything in honor of her. I started Journey for Jasmine after losing her because I didn't want any loss parent to feel alone. We lost her 5 years ago and some days it feels like forever ago and some days it feels like just yesterday. Life is never the same after loss. We are forever changed and will never be the same person. But not every day will be horrible either. We can learn to have happy moments again and coexist with our grief.”
Pregnancy and infant loss is an unique type of loss, leaving the grievers to feel isolated and unsure of how to move forward. We'd be grateful if you you would consider making a contribution to RTZ Hope. Your gift ensures that other parents who endure loss on their journey to parenthood have the support, resources, and community they need in order to navigate life after loss.
With your support, here’s what we were able to accomplish during 2022 (2022 Annual Report):
Fifty percent of support group participants received financial support to ensure that all parents have access to services.
Enhanced outreach to and created support services for Black, Indigenous, and other Communities of Color as a response to the alarming rate of preterm births and stillbirths caused by racial disparities in perinatal and infant health.
Offered 50 different support group programs (virtual workshops, virtual support groups, and in-person retreats) to our community of bereaved families.
Supplied our unique perinatal bereavement guides to 400 hospitals and providers to assist in caring for grieving families.
Hosted 10 perinatal bereavement education webinars to parents and providers.
Created community and spread awareness about pregnancy and infant loss through social media.