Loss inspires parents to donate four CuddleCots to area hospitals
Haley and Robby Emerson of Danville recently donated a CuddleCot to UNC Rockingham Health Care. The CuddleCot helps extend the time families can spend saying goodbye to stillborn infants.
March 3 was going to be a special day for Haley and Robby Emerson of Danville.
On that Thursday, in the waning days of winter, they were going to welcome their daughter into the world.
It didn’t happen, though. Their daughter, Sydney Amelia Emerson, was stillborn.
The Emersons emerged from that life-shattering tragedy with a resolve to help other parents who might experience similar grief.
They started a GoFundMe page to purchase a CuddleCot, which cools a stillborn infant’s body so parents can extend their time bonding with their child.
Such time is critical to the grieving process, experts say, for it gives parents a chance to say goodbye.
The Emersons delivered their daughter at Sovah Health in Danville, Va., one of many rural hospitals in the region without a CuddleCot.
The couple’s original goal was to raise enough money to endow Sovah with a CuddleCot. Their successful campaign garnered enough funds with which to buy four CuddleCots for area hospitals.