On Sunday, October 27th Miles and I will be walking with our dear friends, Amber and Brian Packer in honor of their son, Camden and to raise awareness and research funds for the 1 in 160 pregnancies in the United States that result in stillbirth.
On April 2nd of this year, Amber and Brian learned they had lost Camden at 37 weeks due to a very common, typically normal bacteria called GBS - which had infected him in utero (which is incredibly rare) and led to his death. We were stunned and heartbroken. And kept trying to understand how this could happen? In the following days, I witnessed the strength of two parents as I have never seen before when they brought their sweet baby boy into the world with so much love and so much grace. I got to hold Camden and whisper how much we loved him and told him how incredible his parents are. A gift I am thankful for every day.
Months after his birth, Amber and Brian have been rebuilding their lives and began to navigate through the very small amount of research and knowledge on GBS infections and stillbirth. Through their research, I learned from them that GBS (group B strep) is a very common bacteria found in an estimated 20-40% of all women - and during late pregnancy, it can rarely affect women and infants after birth. But current protocol requires those who test positive for GBS during pregnancy are only to receive a course of antibiotics during labor, which usually takes care of it. However, if the medical community was better prepared and sufficiently educated to recognize and treat different strains of GBS or had known to be cautious with women who carry a high concentration of the bacteria, more babies would be saved.
The Star Legacy Foundation has connected Amber and Brian with families who share similar stories and we are asking for your donation to help raise stillbirth awareness and devote much-needed attention to research and education.
We are honored to walk with Amber and Brian on Sunday and every day in memory of Camden. We are honored to learn with them and share in this journey. And we would be honored if you would join us.