Dear Friends,
I have posted a letter with information on the gowns that are being made for the small babies that pass away at St. Mary's. Many of you have asked how you can get involved in this ministry......... This is an amazing blessing to families. I was told yesterday that 3 gowns were used in the past week at St. Mary's. God Bless you and thank you!
WeeCare Ministry
Many of us were greatly touched by the brief life of Hogan Sayer Dominy, son of Kip & Angie Dominy of Athens. Hogan was born at St. Mary’s Hospital on April 2, 2010, weighing 3 pounds, 3 oz., and left this world two weeks later.. His father Kip chronicled his life story on his blog (http://hogandominy.blogspot.com/). We all became very familiar with “Hogan, my hero,’ as he was called by his father. We cried over his daily struggles, rejoiced over his victories, and above all, prayed for this special family. Throughout his brief life, his dad called him a warrior.
A friend of the family from Dublin realized the need for a tiny gown for Hogan, long before his birth. She had heard through another friend involved with a ministry for a Macon hospital to provide special tiny gowns for tiny babies who don’t survive birth or live only a short time. She made 3 gowns for Hogan, and then enlisted the help of friends to provide these tiny gowns for their local hospital. WeeCare of Dublin / Laurens County makes the tiny gowns in different sizes, targeting 1 to 5 pound stillborn babies.
We would like to get a similar project going at St. Mary’s in Athens, in memory of Hogan. The Dublin project was modeled along the guidelines of the WeeCare ministry sponsored by the Smocking Arts Guild of America. SAGA provides free patterns for these bishop style gowns.
The website of the SAGA says it best. For more information, go to SAGA WeeCare.
SAGA members sew and smock simple bishop-style gowns and donate them to local hospitals to clothe babies who die at birth or shortly after. Many groups also donate smocked bonnets for premature infants. For a parent holding a dying baby, sorrow is often overwhelming. Life isn't supposed to end before it's really had a chance to start. In those moments, even the strongest have their faith tested. What comfort there is often comes in simple acts - an arm wrapped around grieving shoulders, shared tears, the gentle touch of a hand. At many hospitals across the country, comfort also comes in the form of small gowns lovingly hand-smocked by members of local smocking chapters. A social worker at one hospital stated, "We use them almost exclusively for babies that have died or are going to die. We're able to cover up a lot of the medical equipment with the gowns so that the parents get to see their baby looking great. Sometimes, the parents keep the gowns as a keepsake; sometimes, the babies are buried in them. I try to let the parents pick out which gown they want on their baby. Sometimes, it's the only parenting they get to do."
These patterns are all for smocked bishop gowns, but please keep in mind that a tiny gown of any type, sewn with love, will minister to these families. And, many times, even a tiny handsewn blanket to wrap around the baby can be used for those too tiny for a gown. Please let me know if you would like to help with this ministry in memory of Hogan to provide gowns for the babies who die at birth or shortly after, for babies born at St. Mary’s Hospital. If I can just get some help putting the gowns together (done before they are smocked), I can take care of the smocking.
Please call or email if you can help.
Love in Chirst,
Jill Langford
770-725-6281
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