Green Country Mothers Share Their Heartbreak To Help Other Women

By Dan Bewley, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Parents who have lost a child are gathering Friday evening for a special night of remembrance.

The goal of the event, happening at Floral Haven Cemetery, is to honor children and families whose child died in infancy or suffered a miscarriage.

News On 6 reporter Dan Bewley talked with two moms who are all too familiar with that pain.

The News On 6 first met little Ella Magee in March 2009. She was just over seven months old, cute as a button, but slowly dying of Mitochondrial Disease.

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Six weeks later she passed away, leaving her nine-year-old brother and loving family to wonder why.

"It's hard and no parent should ever have to go through it but we're really blessed with great families," Jennifer Magee, Ella's mother, said.

It's been more than year since Jennifer Magee lost her daughter. The pain is still there, though slowly getting better, and the memories are strong.

"We would not even say anything, we'd look at her and she'd just bust up laughing and reach for us and she was a happy baby," Magee said.

Magee's best friend, Heather Lyon, also lost a child in infancy in 1998.

"We got to be with him for about nine hours before he passed away," Lyon said.

Dawson was born with half a heart; he only lived nine hours after birth.

"Obviously, it doesn't take much to get my tears flowing if I think back to those times," Lyon said.

Both women are sharing their stories, hoping it helps anyone who has lost a child in infancy or to a miscarriage to know they're not alone.

"It needs to be known that it exists and we need to talk about it," Jennifer Magee said.

The numbers can be staggering: 700,000 women lose a pregnancy every year in the U.S., 26,000 of them lose their child after sixth months of pregnancy, and 20,000 babies die in their first month of life.

"They're not alone, not alone at all," Magee said.

Magee and Lyon encourage anyone who's experienced a loss to talk about it and know that help is out there.

"I know at the time that you feel like you won't survive it and your grief is very powerful, it's very strong. But with time you can heal," Lyon said.