Owasso Mother Donates Device to Give Families More Time to Grieve After Stillbirth or Infant Loss
CUDDLE COT FOR SAYING GOODBYE: After the loss of her son, Dylan, Owasso mother Kendra Brown donates two Cuddle Cots to two Owasso hospitals, Bailey Medical Center and St. John Owasso, facilitated by The Jaxon Kade Foundation. These cooling bassinets allow parents to get extra time to say goodbye to their infant. From left are Brittany Martin, Jaxon Kade Foundation; Kendra Brown; Catie MacDonald, Jaxon Kade Foundation; and Julia Johnson, Bailey Medical Center.
In 2019, Kendra and Kevin Brown, of Owasso, were excited to welcome their firstborn child to their family. Unfortunately, their world came crashing down when they learned their son, Dylan, had passed away in utero. Kendra delivered Dylan at St. John Tulsa in April 2019. Although delivering a stillborn child was incredibly difficult, Kendra and Keven had access to a special cooling bassinet to use with Dylan. This bassinet, called a Cuddle Cot or Caring Cradle, gives families more time to say goodbye to their infant after a stillbirth or infant loss. The Caring Cradle she got to use with Dylan was donated to St. John Tulsa by the Jaxon Kade Foundation.
Often after a stillbirth or infant loss, parents only get a few hours to say goodbye to their infant before the baby’s body begins to change due to composition. This happens very quickly in an infant. During the few hours they get, the mother is still recovering from childbirth, making this precious time very difficult physically. A Caring Cradle or Cuddle Cot allows the infant to stay in-room with the parents as long as they would like, for the mother’s entire hospital stay if she wishes. This allows time for families to take photographs, invite family members to visit, make memorial tokens such as footprints and handprints, and make funeral preparations without being rushed. These units currently cost $3,000-$5,000, and hospitals usually do not have the budget to purchase these units themselves. Recently, these devices have gotten media attention by their feature on the major network show New Amsterdam.
Kendra saw the nameplate featuring The Jaxon Kade Foundation on the side of her Caring Cradle, contacted the foundation for support, and made several connections with foundation members. In October 2019, Kendra decided to raise funds to place another Cuddle Cot in memory of her son, Dylan. Kendra’s fundraiser was very successful and she raised over $6,000 in a matter of weeks, most of which over social media on Facebook.
Kendra’s donation will purchase two Cuddle Cots, and she has chosen Bailey Medical Center in Owasso and St. John’s Medical Center in Owasso as the recipients of her cradles. These cradles were delivered to the hospitals in a dedication ceremony on Friday, Jan. 10 at Bailey Medical Center and 2:30 p.m. at St. John’s Owasso.
About The Jaxon Kade Foundation
The Jaxon Kade Foundation is a nonprofit organization benefiting families facing pregnancy and infant loss. Our current focus is fundraising for and purchasing Cuddle Cots and Caring Cradles for Oklahoma hospitals. To date, The Jaxon Kade Foundation has donated 18 cooling bassinets to Oklahoma hospitals. Each year in October, we host the state’s only exclusively 4×4 auto show, The 4×4 Show, as the largest fundraiser of the year. This show combines President Brittany Martin’s passions of offroading and pregnancy and infant loss advocacy, all to honor her son Jaxon who was stillborn in 2014.
