Lo-Anne Chan returned recently to the maternal infant child unit at Bluewater Health in Sarnia with a donation of 10 comfort kits for grieving families who have experienced the loss of a baby.
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Each kit, assembled with the help of donations to the Valeria Fund at the Bluewater Health Foundation, includes a book, a crocheted bunny, a locally made candle, a journal and “some comforting things like tea” and chocolate, Chan said.
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“I founded the fund through Bluewater Health Foundation last July, a couple of months after we lost our youngest daughter,” she said.
They named her Araminta Valeria.
Chan said they received “some really nice keepsakes” provided through donations while at the hospital, including plasters of their baby’s feet, “a lovely carved wooden box, and blankets” and things “she touched.”
Many are “very emotionally heavy,” she said.
“So, I thought it would be nice to be able to do additional things that parents could bring home that aren’t, necessarily, as emotional.” Chan said.
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The aim of the kits is offering comfort to families with “something to hold and bring home” that “they feel they can use without having to open the box of vulnerability, and not have it specifically tied to your baby,” she said.
Chan said she hopes the fund will make it possible to continue to provide the kits to the hospital.
Donations to the Valeria Fund can be made through the Bluewater Health Foundation.
“One of the things I’m looking for, going forward, is if there’s knitting or crochet groups that are interested in helping out to make bunnies for the kit,” Chan said. “That would be great.”
The fund received donations of books from The Book Keeper for the initial set of kits and the Sarnia store is holding a Buy A Book Campaign in May to where customers can purchase pre-selected books at a discount to donate for future kits.
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“They’ve been really great,” Chan said.
Along with the kits, Chan said the initiative aims to raise awareness of the need for support for families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss.
“The grievance community locally has been talking about needing more supports, and part of that is to be able to talk about it more openly,” she said.
“This past October we held a Wave of Light ceremony to honor all the babies that were lost,” Chan said.
“We’re trying to bring more of these events for the grievance community to come together, to just be together and share their stories.”
There will be A Walk to Remember in Sarnia, June 2, at Canatara Park being held in conjunction with the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Network at the Toronto area’s Sunnybrook Hospital.
Information on how to register for the walk can be found at the network’s website, https://pailnetwork.sunnybrook.ca. Chan said updates will also be posted to the Valeria Fund’s Facebook page.
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