My son Ryder Garrison was born at 17 weeks and 1 day on February 25th, 2022 by spontaneous delivery. We conceived him 5 months postpartum, after taking 5 years to conceive our first son Cayde. Needless to say, we were shocked to be pregnant so quickly. It took 3 weeks to come up with his name.
Ryder means “a mounted warrior” and Garrison means “stronghold." I picked Ryder because I thought it was cute that both boys would have a 'Y' in their names. I was an only child, adopted, so genetics and family traditions have always been important to me, so the thought of both my sons sharing something like that brought me a lot of joy.
The morning after I picked out his name, I went to use the restroom after putting my son down for a nap and I felt a pop. I didn’t realize that was my water breaking. There was no warning or signs of labor. I went to lie down and then went back to the bathroom where I gave birth.
My son lived in my hands for 7 minutes before he went to be with Jesus.
When EMS finally arrived, we were taken to the ER at our local hospital, who thankfully had a women’s hospital attached. The nurse staff was very kind at Betty H. Cameron Women’s Hospital.
It wasn’t until we reached L&D an hour later that we were met by some very kind nurses, one of whom gave us our cradle from Bridget’s Cradles.
The nurse gave me a beautiful white and blue cradle for our son, Ryder Garrison.
I held him in his cradle for hours. I couldn’t let him go. That cradle means the world to me. It sits proudly in our china cabinet so I can look at it as often as I need to. It was the last thing to touch my son.
I know others will understand that, without my needing to attempt to put it into words. It’s still so hard to try to put into words how it makes me feel. But I feel closer to my son when I see it, feel it, or even smell it.
We celebrated Ryder's first birthday with a couple of family members coming over, ordered takeout, and had a cake to celebrate the 7 minutes we had with our son on this earth. It’s a deep feeling of sadness and it still hurts something fierce.
I’m very thankful for my son’s cradle. It makes me feel close to him when I so desperately yearn for him. Thank you so much for this priceless gift. It was perfect for my beautiful boy.
Written by Sarrah, mother of Ryder, born into Heaven 2/25/2022 at 17 weeks
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Sarrah, Thank you for your lovely letter. As a volunteer, it is so nice to hear how our work touches the recipient. I hope that it gave you some comfort at such a sad time. I am so sorry for your loss. I pray for peace, love and happiness for your family.