SIDS America

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From Loss to Life

This blog is written by SIDS America founder, Cheryl Darnell, whose son Billy died from SIDS. The thoughts reflected here come from Cheryl's heart to encourage others who are also experiencing the death of a child from SIDS. Her desire is that you might find hope and healing through her words and know that you are not alone.

SUDDEN

Posted Mon, 10/19/2009 - 18:23 by Cheryl Darnell

“I just hate death.” These were some of the first words uttered by my husband as he sat in shock, disbelief, and overwhelming sadness after receiving the news this past Wednesday that the father of one of my best friends had died suddenly of a heart attack. This man had been like another father to me growing up, and to Bill, he was also a father figure and mentor. Scotty was one of the friendliest people you’d ever met, and he made his opinions known on matters that were most important to him, namely his family and his faith.

Darkness Before the Dawn

Posted Wed, 10/14/2009 - 00:28 by Cheryl Darnell

When people visit this website, we want them to immediately sense peace... hope... healing. This “hope” that we speak of is not empty platitudes or “feel good” philosophy. Itʼs truth from the Word of God. But itʼs not like one day our son died, and the next day, week, or even month we were hopeful, happy, and healed. We ourselves have doubted and wrestled with the truth that speaks of hope and healing.

Gifts From My Son

Posted Thu, 11/05/2009 - 18:13 by Cheryl Darnell

Billy’s birthday was a few days ago. He would have turned 2. So hard to believe. Time seemed to stop at 5 months with him, so envisioning him any older is difficult. Although anytime I see a child at the age he would be, I try to imagine what Billy would look like and what he would be doing.

Running Patiently

Posted Wed, 10/14/2009 - 00:50 by Cheryl Darnell

The following is an excerpt from my journal 7 months after our son Billy died of SIDS. We had sold our home in Colorado, relocated to Texas in a temporary corporate apartment, boarded our cats, and were trying to figure out what to do next with our life.

Frozen in Time

Posted Tue, 10/20/2009 - 15:55 by Cheryl Darnell

What parent doesn’t enjoy proudly displaying photos of their kids? Come on...our kids grace just about every wall of our home. And I am truly blessed to have a mother-in-law who has generously made it a tradition to have her grandkids’ photos taken professionally every year. We got new shots done of Avery and Nathan just last week.

At a Loss For Words

Posted Fri, 10/30/2009 - 20:26 by Cheryl Darnell

In a previous blog, I mentioned the death of my close friend’s dad, Scotty. His daughter Kim and I have been such good friends for about 20 years, and yet- I struggled trying to find any words to say to her when her dad died.

Another mom here in Dallas lost her baby to SIDS a couple weeks ago. When she attended our support group for the first time last week, it was very difficult thinking of what I could say to her.