18th annual Walk to Remember seeks healing for families who’ve lost babies

JACKSON, Tenn. — According to national statistics, for every four children born, one family will have to endure the loss of their newborn child.

The month of October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. For the last 18 years, Jackson-Madison County General Hospital has hosted a service to remember the babies gone too soon.

“Sometimes we need a time to remember, a time to memorialize,” West Tennessee Healthcare President and CEO James Ross said. “So we are gathered here to do just exactly that.”

There was a packed house Sunday for the 18th annual Walk to Remember, an opportunity for families to pay tribute to babies who passed away before birth or during infancy.

“It provides a family with a chance to go back in time and honor that baby, because some families never had that chance,” Perinatal Bereavement Coordinator LeighAnn Sutton said.

The Rev. Clifford Walker recalled his wife’s miscarriage 19 years ago. But one year later, the couple had a beautiful blessing.

“She’s our rainbow baby and she is 18 years of age,” Walker said. “There is peace that can come after the storm.”

Families were overcome with emotion, including the Grishams who gave birth to twin girls in March at just 20 weeks.

“They were alive. They were beautiful and precious and perfect,” grieving mother Addy Grisham said. “And then minutes later, we lost them.”

This walk to remember is meant to be therapeutic for families who walk through the serenity garden, placing flowers at the memorial wall that bears the babies’ names.

“Every time you walk through those gates, just like a peace rushed over you, letting us know how important our babies are and that they will never be forgotten,” Grisham said.

Organizers say this walk helps the grieving process.

“As you walk through heaven’s gates, that you will also be greeted by the one that you lost,” Hospital Chaplin Scott Bloodworth said. “And they will throw their arms around you. Say Mom, Dad, I’ve been waiting on you just to tell you I know. I know that you love me. And I love you too.”

Families say without family support and help from West Tennessee agencies they wouldn’t have made it through this tough time in their life. The service of remembrance was hosted by the West Tennessee Women’s Center, Heaven’s Cradle and The Foundation.