Helping a Family Through the Unthinkable.

For Kelsey and Logan McCollum of Canton, New York, July 8, 2024, was meant to be the happiest day of their lives. Instead, it became the day they met—and said goodbye to their firstborn daughter, Adalynn Mae.

Kelsey and Logan were married in 2023 and dreamed of starting a family right away. After a few months, their hopes came true when they discovered they were expecting, just before Thanksgiving. “It was an easy, uncomplicated pregnancy,” Kelsey recalls. “Adalynn was a little sassy. She didn’t like ultrasounds, but everything always looked perfect.”

Adalynn was due on July 16, and Kelsey was just shy of 39 weeks when her water broke after an afternoon nap. They had just celebrated with a baby shower that morning, and Adalynn had been really active all day.

But when they arrived at the hospital, everything changed. In the triage room, nurses had trouble finding Adalynn’s heartbeat and called an ultrasound tech to help, thinking that mom’s heartbeat was covering Adalynn’s. It wasn’t until a doctor entered the room, quiet and solemn, that they knew something was wrong. “He said how sorry he was. That’s when everything stopped.”

An ultrasound confirmed the unthinkable—Adalynn’s heart had stopped. In shock, the couple agreed to induce labor that night since Kelsey was five centimeters dilated. Just after 1 a.m. on July 8, Adalynn Mae was born. “I still expected to hear her cry,” Kelsey said. “That’s when the finality set in.”

Despite the heartbreak, there was beauty in the moments that followed. The hospital staff provided a keepsake box from Rachel’s Gift, giving Kelsey and Logan the tools they now treasure: a small bear, a homemade blanket, a beautiful burial gown, and a roadmap for navigating the first hours of grief. “The Rachel’s Gift box gave us direction when we were in shock,” Kelsey said. “We used everything in it.”

Adalynn’s grandparents found comfort in the brochures from Rachel’s Gift. “We all leaned on the materials,” she said. “They helped us start processing.” The staff also used items from the box to create a tender photo shoot. The couple held their daughter, memorized every detail, and invited their family to meet her. “We were fortunate to have that time and guidance from the nursing staff,” Kelsey said. One of the most healing items for Logan was the weighted bear, custom-made to match Adalynn’s nursery and exact weight. “He slept on the couch with it when we got home,” Kelsey shared. “I have her footprints as a tattoo now, and we created a memorial shelf in our home with some of the items from Rachel’s Gift.”

To honor Adalynn, Kesley and Logan took part in Rachel’s Gift’s Angel Dash, forming “Team Adalynn” and raising over $1,600 to help other grieving families. Kelsey said, “We want every family to receive the care and keepsakes that we did.”

Now, almost a year later, the McCollums are expecting again—a baby girl due in August. “We’re very excited. Very blessed,” Kelsey said. And Adalynn? “She’ll always be part of our family. She changed everything.”

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If you’re experiencing a loss currently, have recently experienced one, or never processed a loss you had in the past, please consider joining the weekly pregnancy and infant loss support group by Rachel’s Gift. It’s currently held on Thursdays at 7 pm EST via Zoom. This free group is open to both or either partner (men and women) and their family members. The group is led by licensed counselors and social workers and is a safe space to grieve among others who have had similar experiences. It has helped 800 people and counting through their loss journeys since its inception.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Do not rely solely on this information. Consult your health care provider for medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment.