October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Month On Sunday, October 1, 2023, On Angels’ Wings helped usher in Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month with a remembrance event for the Springfield community. In collaboration with The Doula Foundation, Life Meant to Live, M.E.N.D., and staff from local hospitals, families gathered on private property in…

By Samantha LaBargeMommy to RileyInfant Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Everything started when Riley was about 4 or 5 months old – she had a bump on her head and what seemed like a cold with a fever that wouldn’t break with Tylenol. We took her to the hospital because she was becoming lethargic. When they took…

By Tonya MorrisMommy to LanaNeurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) Lana’s journey started when she was born (August 2017). She scream-cried every day and almost all day long. She projectile vomited after every feeding and wasn’t keeping any weight on. After many doctor visits and admissions in the hospitals, I was finally able to get answers to…

Tina CaudleMommy to TaeziaNeurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) As a mom you know when something is wrong with your child. Taezia was born with a scary looking brown spot on the skin on her lower back. We asked her pediatrician about it at 8 months old. He sent us to Columbia and they did the genetic testing…

By Janet LopezMommy to GabrielGrade 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma of ThalamusApril 8, 2016 – February 4, 2023 Gabriel was born the spring of 2016. He was a happy, healthy baby, and we were so happy to finally have him in our arms. He had all his regular newborn screenings, and we were discharged two days later.…

Tyra JohnsMommy to ElijahMalignant Rhabdoid Tumor Predisposition SyndromeFebruary 23 – May 20, 2022 I found out I was pregnant unexpectedly in June 2021, just 4 months after giving birth to Elijah’s older sister. Being only 21 at the time and a single mom of 2, I had many emotions but I knew there wasn’t anything…

When I started On Angels’ Wings 10 years ago, I intended to fill a need in the 417 area. That was my vision, and we did 41 sessions in and around Springfield our first full year. By 2015, we were looking for volunteers in St. Louis because so many of the families we served at…

By Becky HuffmanMommy to ShylaBorn December 2014Bronchial Pulmonary Dysplasia, Cerebral Palsy  Shyla came to us through foster care when she was 9 months old, in September of 2015. We did not know she was medically fragile at the time, but there were several indicators from her past medical history and some reported care issues with her…

Whitney WoodringMommy to WillaBorn November 2017Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome Willa is our second child. Like most parents, we were excited to have a new baby, to give our other daughter a little sister to grow up with and play with.  Willa was born six weeks early (at 34 weeks) in November 2017. We knew that…

By Allyson MattinglyMommy to ArcherBorn May 2021BPD (Bronchopulmonary dysplasia) – chronic lung disease Overall, my pregnancy with Archer was normal. At my 20-week anatomy scan they thought something was wrong with his heart. So, from then on I had an ultrasound at every appointment. At 24 weeks, they told me I wasn’t going to have…