Like many young couples, Andy and Erica Logan were excited to welcome their second child. “I was 31 weeks and 5 days pregnant,” said Erica. “A sonogram four days earlier confirmed all was well.”
Joyful expectations suddenly spiraled into disorienting shock and crushing sorrow.
“We had no indication that our baby’s heart was going to stop…and then it did. Our dreams quickly turned into an unimaginable nightmare,” she said. “Despite many tests, we still don’t know why it happened. Be we do know we could not have endured this traumatic experience without the tremendous support of the Perinatal Bereavement program at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission.”
Guiding us through every bewildering step
On December 11, 2021, Andy and Erica’s beautiful daughter, Hannah, was unexpectedly stillborn. “We were looking forward to growing our family. Talking about things like autopsies and burials never crossed our minds. We didn’t even know what a stillborn was,” she said. “Though we were terrified, we were fortunate to have Tricia by our side, gently guiding us through every bewildering and painful step.”
Tricia Rausch, a nurse at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission, coordinates the hospital’s Perinatal Bereavement & Postpartum Emotional Support program.
“Tricia has been there for us every day since Dec. 11 to talk through the confusing, scary, sad feelings…the things no one can understand unless you’ve had a stillborn,” said Erica.
After her fourth child was stillborn nearly 15 years ago, Rausch threw herself into helping other families facing the same unthinkable situation. Today, she is the only nurse in the Kansas City metro dedicated fulltime to perinatal bereavement and post-partum emotional support, including training other team members to ensure continuity of care.
Stillbirth is one of the most devastating losses, affecting over 24,000 families in the U.S. each year. The causes for most stillbirths are unknown.
“We understand the complex emotional toll of infant loss. Families experience a range of emotions including guilt, anger, sadness, loneliness and disbelief,” said Rausch. “Everything we do is dedicated to surrounding families like Erica and Andy Logan with compassionate care and providing resources they need on this difficult journey. And we continue to walk this journey with them for months, even years.”
Hannah’s handprints, footprints and photos
“Tricia encouraged us to spend time holding Hannah — time we’re deeply grateful to have had with our baby,” said Andy. The program also coordinated handprints, footprints and photos of Hannah, along with a Christmas ornament and a special memory box that included the hat and blanket Hannah had been wrapped in. “They even provided a beautiful stuffed animal for us to bring home to Emma, our then two-year-old daughter, to give to her from her sister,” added Erica.
“We will always cherish the special mementoes of our daughter. Being in such shock as we were, I can’t imagine we would have had anything to remember her by without this very special program,” said Andy. “We’ve since learned that many families in our situation don’t receive the sensitive, caring and coordinated support like we did at AdventHealth.”
Logan Family Pickleball Tournament raises $30,000
After the loss of Hannah, Erica and Andy participated in support groups led by Tricia. Erica also started playing pickleball with her dad. “The game helped me get my mind off things and helped rebuild my confidence. I even put myself out there and joined a league,” she said. “Driving home after a game last summer, I had the idea to host a pickleball tournament to honor Hannah and also help raise funds to support the program.”
“At first, I was a little hesitant to draw attention to our personal experience,” said Andy. “But I liked the idea of raising awareness about all AdventHealth had done for us.”
They reached out to the AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation who helped them coordinate the event using the Foundation’s new event software. On November 6, over 150 people attended the Logan Family Pickleball Tournament at Chicken N Pickle in Overland Park, Kansas. The event raised over $30,000 to benefit the AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation’s Perinatal Bereavement Fund.
“Everyone grieves in their own way. Doing an event like this is what I knew how to do. It gave me something I could control when so much felt out of control,” said Erica.
Helping families feel less alone
“By raising funds, we wanted to help Tricia and her team continue to have the resources they need to help other families like they did ours,” said Andy.
“When tragedies like this happen in our community,” added Erica, “we’re grateful there are trained, dedicated and truly amazing people like Tricia and the staff at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission who were there to pick us up when we couldn’t pick ourselves up.”
“And by sharing Hannah’s story through the tournament,” added Andy, “we hope it helps others understand a little bit more about what families go through when they experience pregnancy loss or a stillborn child — and help others affected by such a tragic loss to feel less alone.”
The second annual Logan Family Pickleball Tournament is set for 2023 and you are invited! Funds raised will again support the Perinatal Bereavement program at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission. To play, attend or support the Logans and other families like theirs, please visit the event site: https://give-kcf.adventhealth.com/LoganFamily
