If I were in charge of the world, I would do away with words like bitterness, entitlement, greed, and selfishness. They abound. They fill the headlines. They never end in happiness. I'd rather hear - and see -service, selflessness, charity, cheer and kindness. These rarely make the headlines. Fortunately, I need not look further than the women in my life to see these exemplified in the highest.
We recently had a play date with my dear friends Kristie, Elizabeth and Paula and some of our children, wherein we celebrated what would have been the 2nd birthday of a sweet little girl, Katherine, Paula's precious daughter. As she is not on the Earth to do so herself, the children all helped to blow out her two candles-
From the time that Katherine inexplicably returned to her heavenly home in June 2009 at just 5 months of age, through today, her 2nd birthday, I have been ever amazed at my friend's strength and faith. And now, she has gone on to help facilitate a new and ongoing grief group at The Children's Hospital, to lift and bless other families who are going through the same heart-wrenching experience of losing a child. I am so proud of my friend. Paula has been sharing some of her experiences and memories of losing Katherine on her blog if you are interested. Don't even bother heading over there without at least 3 boxes of tissue. The Dec. 31 post is among my favorites. If nothing else, it serves as a reminder of how fragile and temporary life can be, and has repeatedly caused me to be more patient, kind and forgiving toward my children (and others).
This year, my sister- and brother-in-law will become movie stars. You might remember that nearly 4 years ago, Kelley (Brian's sister) gave birth to twins at just 25 weeks gestation. Ressa (girl) and Cameron (boy) each weighed roughly 1 1/2 pounds. After three weeks, Ressa developed a fatal intestinal infection and passed away. Cameron survived, but has faced many battles. After Ressa's passing, Kelley became committed to pumping and donating breastmilk to a mother's milk bank in Dallas (where they live), in order to help other premature and sick infants. In approximately 15 months, Kelley donated 100 gallons of milk (this is AFTER feeding Cameron!) becoming the highest human milk donor ever in Dallas. She literally saved babies lives through her selfless sacrifice; I believe she continues to hear stories of babies she helped. One example I vividly remember is a baby who had a heart defect and required heart surgery, but needed to gain enough to be at a healthy enough weight in order to undergo the surgery. The baby was allergic to formula, but the baby's mother had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and I believe had a mastectomy. So Kelley's milk was used to nourish this little baby until he gained enough weight to have his life-saving surgery. And that's just one story.
When I heard what Kelley was doing, I drew on my PR background and pitched their story to the Dallas/Ft. Worth network stations. The CBS station picked it up immediately, and did a story on Kelley and Leo and their family.
As often happens, this led to an invitation to Kelley to speak at a national conference of milk banks, where in the audience happened to be a documentary filmmaker who was making a movie about the importance of human milk donation. He has since made Kelley the star of his documentary. The film, called Prescription Milk: The Documentary, will be released this year. Info on the film:
- Starring: Kelley Durrant, Kim Updegrove, Christal Suson
- Directed By: Kevin Douglas West
- Plot Outline: Every baby deserves human milk and every grieving parent deserves to heal. Stricken by the loss of her pre-term baby girl, Kelley finds a way to heal by becoming a breast milk donor for other sick infants in the NICU. She encounters a world of giving volunteers, academics, practitioners, and one little special boy. This film chronicles the altruistic milk donations made by mothers as well as the service and science of milk banking.
- Awards: Prescription Milk is based on the short film, Mother's Milk which won the 2010 "Best Houston Production" at the WorldFest Houston Film Festival.
- Produced By: Jarred King & Kevin Douglas West
- Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/PrescriptionMilk
Why am I sharing this? For one, to remember how these experiences have affected me, and what examples these women are to me. Two, we hear so many negative stories, that I wanted to pass along some stories of triumph after the tears. And three, because I truly believe that the errand of angels is given to women.
