Dearest friends, family, and clients,
About a month and a half ago I had the honor of meeting a very special little boy named Dallas. My wife and his mother were very close. Dallas had been awaiting the arrival of his little sister Leila Grace and came to stay with us while his mother was in the hospital.
What puts this little boy in my mind today is what follows:
Leila Grace had been diagnosed before birth with Anancephaly, a rare neural tube defect that is terminal. Very shortly after her birth, she passed away. I photographed the arrival and my wife was there supporting Emilee. My wife and I learned yesterday that after a month of struggling with the loss, the grief, the mother, Emilee Granatowski, took her own life yesterday morning.
We are heartbroken, to say the least, and our thoughts are constantly with this brave little boy who handled the passing of his sister with so much strength and must now endure the loss of his mother.
My wife has decided to get together a special care package for Dallas, who recently turned 6. If you are able to donate any new toys (he loves Legos, cars, building sets, etc.) art supplies, memberships to local kid friendly venues such as the Portland Zoo, Children's Museum, etc, or anything else you can think to offer to give him some wonderful experiences and things to look forward to, please let me know. There are many ways to help.
You can contact me through this post by leaving a comment below or directly by email at info@vanishedtwin.com.
Thank you.
Jayesunn -- Tomorrow we are hosting a memorial service for Emilee at Westside UMC in Beaverton (www.westsideumc.org) at 1 pm (Sat, 1/5). At this I thought I would mention this wonderful mission of yours. I am so thankful for your heart to bless this brave little guy.
ReplyDeleteMay God surround Dallas with a hope that penetrates through the unbelievable loss he has to carry in his young life.
I'd love to help too. Don't know what at this point but will come to decision.
Brian
Thanks you very much Brian,
ReplyDeleteMy wife Ashlee is the one who deserves the credit for this though. She is the one that suggested it and started the process.
She and I will be at the service today.