Losing someone we love in death is always difficult. When it is a child that is lost, however, it is especially hard to deal with.
When a mother loses a child, she feels as if she has lost a part of herself in the process. One mother who understands this all too well is Valarie Watts. She lost her child when he was stillborn in July.
As you might imagine, Valarie was grieving terribly. To make matters worse, she had been preparing to bring her son, Noah, home when he was born. This included purchasing a crib.
When she had a garage sale, she made the decision not to include it for sale. That is when a retired man asked to buy it. His name is Gerald Kumpula.
The 28-year-old hesitated at first but then she decided to sell it to the craftsman. She had heard how he would take old footboards and headboards and make benches out of them.
She sold it for $2, saying: “I was a little bit at peace with it because he’d be making something nice”
She spoke with Gerald’s wife, Lorene and told her about her situation. Lorene, in turn, shared the story with Gerald. They have 15 children of their own and many grandchildren and they made the decision to do something unexpected.
About a week later, Gerald brought the grieving woman a bench he had made from the crib. She said: “It’s beautiful. I thought, ‘There’s still kind people out there.’”
The bench is now sitting in her living room and provides a nice reminder of Noah.
“I’m overwhelmed with joy that it’s not just sitting somewhere unused. Now I can sit in it, hold his bear, think about him if I need to.”
As her pregnancy moved on, Watts began feeling less and less movement. When Noah was delivered via cesarean section, the family learned there was not a heartbeat. It seems that the umbilical cord was compressed and Noah wasn’t getting enough oxygen.
Gerald understood the pain of stillbirth because their first grandchild was stillborn. He said: “An unused crib is a sad reminder. A bench is more of a memorial. It’s part of that sad happening, yet it’s not a reminder like a crib would be, an empty crib.”
Watts did offer to pay but Gerald wouldn’t hear of it. He said: “It’s just nice to be able to do something for someone. It’s nice to help people.”
You can see more of the story in this video:
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