I got the opportunity to chat with Owen’s mom, Ana, about Jasper. I met her in a Lucky Anchor Project meet up for bereaved mothers and we connected immediately. We planned to talk for about 30 mins but ended going over 75 mins!
I love talking about my Jasper and he always reveals new angles of his story to me. He lived a whole life after all, and I am still learning from him.
In this conversation, I shared some of the lovely keepsakes and grief gifts I won in very generous giveaway Ana did for Owen’s 6th birthday. I talked about Jasper’s heartbeat elephant and how his heartbeat was a homing call for me during my pregnancy. It still is. I shared some of the signs we’ve gotten from Jasper, how we keep him close everyday, and how we create a legacy for him though CHD awareness and play support at Children’s Hospital of Richmond. I talked a little about my book and how healing my grief community has been for me.
When I think about how to describe Ana, a line from the song “Non-stop” (Hamilton The Musical) comes to mind: “Every day you fight, like you're running out of time”. Her passion to end preventable infant death is non-stop. Her Owen and my Jasper ran out of time, and I commend her deep-seeded motivation to save other babies. Follow her advocacy at stillmyson.com
Listen / watch our conversation here:
