Couple donates CuddleCot to Orange City Area Health System
If parents experience a stillbirth or the death of their child, they typically only have a few hours with them. A recent donation of a CuddleCot to Orange City Area Health System can provide extra hours to days to ease the grieving process.
Mackenzie and Nathan Kanis live in Washington state but met in Northwest Iowa when they attended Dordt University. After getting married, they experienced a stillbirth, losing their first son Maverick John Kanis.
”A couple of days before he was due we found he had passed away, his heart had quit beating so they induced us,” said Mackenzie. “We knew we wanted to create a non-profit and were like ‘what is it going to do?’ So as we began researching this community, we discovered CuddleCots.”
The Kanis family didn’t have this when Maverick was born, prompting them to raise money for CuddelCots in his name.
“So we were like ‘Okay, this is our goal. We want to give as many hospitals as we can Cuddlecots.’ So that is what the Maverick John foundation does. We just look for hospitals in our area or areas we’re familiar with like the Sioux County Area,” said Mackenzie.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 21,000 babies are stillborn each year in the United States and 20,000 infants died before their first birthday.