Emily’s Walk Of Hope Eases Pain of Losing a Child

“We are deeply sorry about the loss of your loved child and baby,” the website, emily’s gift of hope, opens. “The pain you are feeling now, is excruciating. Our wish is to give you hope, at such a devastating and painful time.”

The words are heartfelt and come from experience.

On Feb. 5, Anne Morrison was four months into her third pregnancy at a regular prenatal checkup of what would be Anne and her husband Chris’s third child.

“I am sorry. There is no heartbeat,” the ultrasound technician said.

Three days later, on Feb. 8. Emily Ann arrived, silently, "without a cry, or a glimpse of this world as we know it,” Anne wrote. “As sad and hard of a time it was, it was amazing. Seeing her body, her nostrils, arms, her fingers, were so delicate and beautiful. I just wanted to take it all in, and remember forever.”

A funeral was planned and on Feb. 15, Emily Ann was laid to rest.

The Morrisons, parents to children Matthew, 4, and Ryan, almost 2, never learned—despite much testing--why Emily died in utero, but wanted to reach out to others who have experienced a loss.

“We are very sad, but feel moved to do something with our experience,” Anne said. “Something positive. We started our non-profit this past April, two months following her death and burial, called emily's gift of hope.”

“We placed Emily's obituary in The Plain Dealer, and stated how long she lived,” Anne said. “A stranger wrote in her guestbook something like, ‘Thank you for publicly acknowledging your loss. I have suffered three. So many of us grieve silently.’ And it is true. We become a part of this club that nobody wants to talk about, or become a part of. Especially with babies. Babies don't die. But, sadly they do.”

The non-profit's website offers resources for mothers and fathers suffering the loss of a baby while pregnant, or in the first year following birth. 

While the website is targeted for the parents enduring the death of a baby, it is also for everyone involved - siblings, grandparents, friends, and more.

“We realized through our experience that there is a lot more support for these types of losses versus many years ago, but there still needs to be more,” Anne said. “And with that, there are many decisions, sometimes if not always, very overwhelming decisions that have to be made rather quickly. We would like for that time to be a little less overwhelming, and help with guidance and resources, that we wished that we had during that time.”

On Saturday July 27, Emily’s due date, the first Emily’s Walk of Hope will be held at Avon Lake High School’s Memorial Stadium. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.; the walk is at 9 a.m.

The walk is to promote awareness of those who have lost a baby or child, no matter how old our babies were, or when our losses happened.

“Our hope is also to build friendships that will last a lifetime, connect families with a proper support network, and provide a platform where available resources can be shared and utilized,” the website said.

Emily’s Walk of Hope Details

The walk will start with 16 laps, for the 16 weeks Emily grew in utero.

Those attending, are encouraged to wear a tag with their loved baby or child’s name on it, and if desired, how long the baby lived. The thought it to connect others with similar stories and situations.

Children are welcome and there will be a children’s area. Water tables and face painting will be within the track area.

There will also be a gift shop area which will include emily’s walk of hope t-shirts and bracelets. Next to the gift shop, will be a table for our $1 raffle with a variety of great prizes.

And at the end of the day's events, there will be a balloon release.

Rio Coffee will provide coffee and Giant Eagle is supplying fruit and water Café Melissa, of Avon Lake, will have sandwiches and dessert following the walk.

Registration is $25 before July 20 for those 18 and over and $20 for those 17 and under. Cost is $30 for all ages registering July 21 or later. Registration includes an emily’s walk of hope T-shirt and emily’s walk of hope bracelet, “love never ends.”

The first 120 registrants will receive a free board book called, Special Delivery.