infant loss

By Haley & Brice WiggsParents to Izzy Lynn CatherineAnencephalyAugust 23, 2025 Our journey to get pregnant was not easy. We are only able to get pregnant through IVF, and this pregnancy was our second IVF baby. We found out about Izzy Lynn’s diagnosis of anencephaly at our anatomy scan. Because we were an IVF pregnancy,…

Our baby, Levi-Ronald, passed away 45 minutes after he was born. He didn’t have a long time here. We were connected with On Angels’ Wings through a hospital social worker after Levi’s diagnosis, and they have been a lot of help. I really appreciate the photos they have done – maternity pictures and pictures of…

Jensen was placed on my chest, and he cried. A sound we weren’t sure we would ever hear. Jensen’s six days were filled with both beauty and heartbreak. He brought Heaven into our home. It was tangible and real. Family who came to meet him could feel it and commented on it often.

As the weeks went on, more symptoms began to appear. Serenity started having seizures that stopped her breathing every few minutes. That’s when I knew she was suffering, and we were faced with the hardest decision we’ve ever had to make. We never wanted this outcome, but we knew it was coming. And when the…

We worked hard to become heart defect experts—something we never imagined we would need to do. We had barely heard of congenital heart defects before this, yet they are the most common birth defect, affecting about 1% of the population. At first, we were terrified, but over time we learned to accept this new reality.

Three days later, Blakely passed away in my arms. As I held him, the doctors came in to share the news that Dericka had tested positive for Trisomy 18. Until that moment, we had hoped the Trisomy 18 diagnosis belonged to Blakely. But in another rare twist, it turned out each of our twins had…

OAW has been instrumental in keeping Genesis Makenna’s memory alive, giving me a place to heal and a way to give back to families like mine. Being directly involved in this work — the same work that meant so much to me during my darkest moments — has brought healing and meaning I never expected.

The photos of Caleb are the only ones we have, aside from the few my husband took after birth. I look at them often. They remind me he was real, even if only for part of a day. I didn’t know how much I’d treasure them until after. I’m so thankful for the nursing staff…

Learn more about what stillbirth is, why stillbirth still occurs, and stillbirth risks to help educate yourself and others about this difficult-to-talk-about topic. 

I named him Joseph Alexander Dean, after my grandfather who was like a father to me. I held him, memorizing every inch of his face. My eyes flooded with tears, full of love, pride, and heartbreak. My son lived for 41 miraculous minutes. He defied every expectation. And then, he was gone.