Tara Jeffrey
Charlotte Reinders’ memory will live on at Bluewater Health where a state-of-the-art heart monitor is being purchased in her honour, thanks to this community’s overwhelming generosity.
“Each year we try to do something to remember her,” Amy Reinders said of the baby girl she and husband Chris lost shortly after birth three years ago.
“Chris and I were the only ones who got to meet her, and we want to make sure other people know she’s still a huge part of our lives.”
The couple learned their baby girl had a heart defect following a 20-week ultrasound.
Follow-up tests showed Charlotte suffered fetal hydrops — fluid buildup on her other organs.
“At that point, there wasn’t any way to fix it. Either she was going to pass away in utero, or deliver her early, and that was our best chance of meeting her alive,” Reinders said.
Charlotte was delivered on April 19, 2016. Chris and Amy spent 92 minutes with her before she died.
“It was too short of a time, but we were thankful we at least got that.”
Reinders said the staff at the hospital’s maternal-infant unit were phenomenal, especially one nurse named Patti.
“She was my saving grace,” she said.
Each year that passes, the Reinders try to do something special to honour their little girl. Last year, Amy Reinders donated her wedding dress to be made into ‘Angel gowns’ provided to families whose babies have passed away.
This year, they reached out to the Bluewater Health Foundation after learning of a need for a new heart monitor.
“They heard about this monitor that helps with the screening of Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD),” Foundation executive director Kathy Alexander said of the device, which costs around $15,000.
More than 1,000 babies are born each year at Bluewater Health, and in 2017, CCHD testing became an Ontario newborn screening guideline. A second hospital unit will ensure the tests are done timely and effectively, she said.
“Every baby born at Bluewater Health is screened for CCHD, and the monitor is an essential piece of equipment. The connection fits nicely with what the Reinders were hoping to do, which was, make sure that no other family has to go through what they went through, or if they do have to go through it, that they know the reason why.”
On Good Friday, the Reinders’ launched a fundraiser through the Foundation’s online donation site.
Almost immediately, Alexander was flooded with messages and donations.
“I was blown away by the number of people in our community who have suffered the loss of a baby — whether it be a miscarriage, CCHD, or other diagnosis,” she said.
“So many people sharing their experience of loss and grieving, and just wanting to give back.”
That weekend, friends, family, and strangers raised $2,000. Then came the call from Lacey Drew.
The board member of the family-run Charles Kennedy Charitable Foundation came across a Facebook post about the Reinders’ story, and it struck a chord.
“In 2015, we lost our little girl Evelyn to a heart defect,” said Drew, adding that, at the time, the couple had to travel to London for further testing, which added to their stress.
“My husband Joe and I always thought it would be great to have more options here, which of course, meant more equipment.”
She decided the foundation — which donates regularly to Bluewater Health — would give whatever amount the Reinders’ needed to reach their goal — so they’re covering the remaining $13,000.
“We think it’s a great way to remember baby Charlotte,” she added.
Both moms say they were inspired by the story of Jenny and Bobby Redman, the Sarnia couple who, in 2018, raised money for the hospital to purchase two Cuddle Cots, which allow parents to spend more time with a child who has died. The fundraiser, held in honour of baby Bowie Redman, doubled its goal in days.
“We live in one of the most incredible, generous communities,” said Alexander. “The fact that, over the course of a weekend, these gifts made it possible for us to purchase this monitor, and make sure that Charlotte’s name lives on at Bluewater Health, is incredible.”