Walk To Remember Allows Families To Pay Tribute To Babies They've Lost

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The 11th Annual Atlanta Walk to Remember, presented by Northside Hospital, will be Sunday Oct. 4, 2015, 2-4 p.m., at Heritage Green in Sandy Springs.

The free event aims to raise awareness of pregnancy and infant loss. Parents, families, friends and health care professionals are encouraged to attend and remember the babies that they’ve loved and lost.

“The Atlanta Walk to Remember is an opportunity for parents to commemorate their loss with the support of family and friends,” said Melissa Petersen, clinician, Northside Hospital H.E.A.R.T.strings Perinatal Bereavement Office. “Many families join this community not by choice but by circumstance. It is a great day to come together not only to remember but to celebrate our babies.”

October is National SIDS, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal also has proclaimed October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month for the state.

The proclamation will be read at the Oct. 4 event.

Each year, more than 250 people participate in the Atlanta Walk to Remember, which is filled with special, commemorative activities. The free event begins with a short program and is followed by a ¾ -mile walk through the park.

Although the event receives strong support from Northside Hospital, anyone whose life has been touch by perinatal loss, regardless of where, is invited to participate. Children are welcome.

Margaret and Jeff Lowe of Marietta have been participating in the Atlanta Walk to Remember since 2011. After being told by two different fertility clinics that they would never conceive, they “surprisingly and miraculously” found themselves pregnant in the fall of 2010.

However, midway through the pregnancy they learned their son had a condition called bilateral renal agenesis, a genetic disorder in which the kidneys don’t develop during gestation. If their baby survived the pregnancy, he would not live long after birth.

Margaret and Jeff were referred to Northside Hospital’s H.E.A.R.T.strings Perinatal Bereavement Office, whose team of nurses, chaplains, bereaved parents and hospital staff are trained to help, guide and support parents through their loss and journey toward healing. They helped the Lowes develop a birth plan to meet the family’s special needs and allow them to share as much time as they could with their baby after he was born. On June 2, 2011, baby Nathan was born. He lived just 2 hours.

“We are so glad we made the call and forever grateful to Northside for having this incredible team of people,” said Margaret. “Our experience, although incredibly hard, was also one of the most amazing days of our life.”

Each year since Nathan’s birth, the Lowes and their family have participated in the Atlanta Walk to Remember.

“The Walk to Remember is important to us because it brings together the community of parents who have been through pregnancy and perinatal loss,” said Margaret. “Sometimes you can feel alone in this world after losing a baby; people who have not been through it cannot relate to the weight of the emotions and lost dreams. Parents need to know they are not alone and they need to know that the paralyzing emotions don’t last forever; there is hope and joy after loss. The Atlanta Walk to Remember allows us to publically memorialize our babies and also gain hope as we walk with others who have gone down this road before us and encourage us.”

The Atlanta Walk to Remember is free to participate; however, donations will be accepted and can be made online during registration or at the event. Memorial keepsakes including a pinwheel ($25) and brick ($100) will be available for purchase at the event. Pinwheels can be taken home after the event and the bricks will be permanently installed at Heritage Green in Sandy Springs. T-shirts and car magnets also will be available for sale at the event. Proceeds from sales, donations and sponsorships help to keep the event free for all to attend.

Heritage Green is located at 6110 Blue Stone Rd in Sandy Springs. To register for the Atlanta Walk to Remember or to make a donation, visit give.northside.com/atlantawalktoremember.

For more information about perinatal loss and Northside Hospital’s H.E.A.R.T.strings Perinatal Bereavement Office, call 404-851-8177 or visit www.northsidepnl.com.

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Photo credit: Northside Hospital