Most people may not realize that 30,000 babies are stillborn in the U.S. each year. The worst nightmare of 60,000 parents inevitably brings about a deep loss, but it also creates an unforeseen issue — what will the stillborn wear?
We may not think about it often. I certainly associate death with the elderly. When my grandfather passed away, we had known him, his life, and his legacy. Choosing his final attire was a difficult task, but we knew that he felt best in his favorite brown suit. A stillborn child doesn't have that luxury. Moreover, many stillborn children are too small to fit into the baby clothes sold at clothing stores. When a parent is thrown such a heartbreaking loss, the last thing they want to do is fuss about their child's funeral details.
Enter Marie Murphy, a seasoned nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit. Unsure of what to do with her old wedding dress, Murphy realized her special garment could be the solution for another family's special child.
Donate or volunteer to work with Little Angel Gowns over at Helping Hands.
One Woman's Trash Is Another Woman's Miracle!
Three decades after her wedding, Marie Murphy had no idea what to do with her wedding dress.
Then she realized the soft, white fabric was an ideal solution for a terrible tragedy she was all too familiar with as a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit.
She reused her beautiful wedding gown to create burial clothes for premature babies who had passed away in the hospital.
Hospitals normally wrap the tiny children in blankets because such small clothing is difficult to find.
Murphy quickly began to receive donated wedding dresses.
She gathered volunteers at the Horizons of Faith United Methodist Church and taught them to sew. Soon after, Murphy started a nonprofit called Little Angel Gowns.
Faran Cheema, the first Little Angel Gowns recipient, looked for something appropriate to bury her stillborn daughter in. She had purchased a garment from Etsy, but it was still too small.
A friend referred Cheema to Murphy’s organization and an Angel Gown was delivered to her the very next day.
Cheema said, "It gave me so much more peace of mind, because I felt inadequate... When you bury an elderly person, you bury them in their best, and that's what I felt like I should do for my child, but we weren't prepared."
We may not have realized that one woman's special dress...
...may help another woman's little angel. God bless Marie Murphy for her divine work.
