In Loving Memory of Lane David Reichard

"Lane's Legacy"

On January 8th, 2024, our son, Lane David, was born sleeping at 39 weeks. His loss shattered our world. We had made it to the finish line, yet our son never made it into our arms alive. Stillbirth was something we never imagined could happen to us, and when it did, we felt completely lost and unprepared.

A couple of weeks before losing Lane, I experienced symptoms of preeclampsia — all of the textbook signs: high blood pressure, severe headaches, blurry vision, swelling, and more. At 37 weeks, we went to triage concerned for both my health and our baby’s safety, but induction was not considered urgent, and we were sent home. Two weeks later, Lane’s lack of movement alarmed us, and we heard the words no parent should ever have to hear: “I am so sorry, we can’t find a heartbeat.”

After losing Lane, we made it our mission to help educate others and bring awareness not only to pregnancy loss, but also to preventable stillbirth. Our hospital experience was deeply traumatic. We did not have access to a remembrance cart or the support resources that grieving families so desperately need. A few weeks after Lane’s passing, we were connected with the Adalyn Rose Foundation, and that connection changed our healing journey for the better.

At the time we lost Lane, our hospital was not partnered with ARF. We often think about how different our experience could have been if those services had been available to us in those heartbreaking moments. The Adalyn Rose Foundation provides comfort, support, and compassion during the unimaginable, and we want to help make that possible for other families walking this same painful path.