premature birth

On Angels’ Wings has walked beside us through unimaginable grief and incredible joy. They loved us through the loss of Ian, celebrated our miracle with Frankie, and have continued reminding us that neither of our boys will ever be forgotten.

Jacob taught us so much during his eight months with us. We will always cherish the memories we have of him and never let his memory fade. Reid will always know how strong and brave his big brother was. Our family has grown closer through the pain of losing Jacob, and it has made us…

Sarah and Michael showed incredible strength. We had been told they likely wouldn’t survive birth, yet they stayed with us for 30 precious hours. They fought with everything they had until they couldn’t fight anymore. They taught us how to love. They taught us what strength truly looks like. They gave us the resilience to…

After losing both of our boys, grief is complicated. For me, one of the hardest parts is my fear of forgetting the little things—their features, dates, and details. Part of me wants to stay lost in grief because that’s where I feel closest to them. When I allow myself to feel joy, sometimes I feel…

Her BPD diagnosis felt incredibly overwhelming. Every day we watched her struggle, even with the level of support she was receiving. Her doctors explained that she would continue to struggle until her lungs grew and strengthened, and that simply took time. We were fearful that she would tire out from working so hard to breathe…

As soon as Theo and his brother came to live with us, we began working closely with a pediatric GI team, determined to find answers for our boy. Within a few months, we learned that Theo had Hirschsprung’s disease, a congenital birth defect that should have been diagnosed within the first six weeks of life.…

Cole is full of joy, love, and wonder. He truly takes in the world around him and approaches life with incredible grit. Every milestone he has achieved has required hard work, and he meets each challenge with joy. Everyone who meets him is drawn to his positive, fun, and silly personality.

Acknowledging what has happened is such a significant part of processing trauma. What OAW provides is a tangible way to acknowledge both the loss and the love. Giving families something real to hold onto—especially when everything else feels shattered—is something that cannot be replaced.

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.