Lesley Patry-Kerford knows firsthand what it’s like to lose a baby. Following the stillborn birth of her daughter in 2017, she attended a Butterfly Run in Ottawa.
The event inspired her to raise awareness and supports available for families in her community. While researching, Patry-Kerford stumbled upon a medical device called a cuddle cot, which provides an in-room cooling system that allows families to have more time with their baby.
She says any family who suffers a loss wishes for just a few more minutes – time they will never be able to have again. Patry-Kerford explained the cuddle cot provides families with this precious gift of time.
She organized Brockville’s inaugural Butterfly Run in 2018, to raise awareness of pregnancy and infant loss, which brought in the funds to purchase a cuddle cot for the Brockville General Hospital’s Women & Children’s Program.
Patry-Kerford and her team also held a Wave of Light event last year to bring in dollars for memory boxes for BGH’s Women & Children’s Program. Plans are in the works for a Butterfly Run in October, 2020.