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Jessica’s story, in her own words…..

After my daughter Aliyah passed away at 11 days young from a rare birth defect called gastroschisis, the innocence in life itself for me diminished. I lost faith in everything I knew. With each doctor’s visit I was constantly reassured she was doing fine and all would be okay after a couple of surgeries. After 72 hours of preterm labor I finally gave birth to my little angel, only to learn the very next morning she wasn’t going to make it. All of my hopes and dreams for her were shattered, my trust in everything and anything was lost. I became lost. I began to numb myself with partying and stopped taking life so seriously, I felt that I had already been through the worst and what more could happen? Finally I opened my eyes and realized all I needed was a fresh start, decided to distance myself from the constant reminders of the pain. It was time for me to focus more on my education and get my life back on track, that’s right about the time I met a Marine that changed me forever. EVENTUALLY we learned together that by letting our guards down that we could share a life. I never thought I could trust again and I never thought I could be truly HAPPY again. My husband has shown me what REAL love is and I thank him for it all, he gives me a reason to smile everyday. We recently decided to start a family of our own, and that too was taken from us during our 2nd trimester. Through it all he has been my rock and soon as he returns we’ll try again…

As a side note please don’t tell a mother (specifically me) who has suffered a loss of her child or miscarriage, that “the timing wasn’t right” or that “it just wasn’t meant to be.” It’s not what we/I want to hear, it doesn’t help, and it doesn’t change anything. Just be her/my friend.

Jessica’s beautiful daughter, Aliyah would have just turned 9 years old. Happy Birthday, Aliyah. Thank you so much for sharing your story, Jessica.