Elizabeth mother creates 'something beautiful from something bad'By Jodi WeigandPITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEWThursday, April 22, 2010 
Little things like having a pen, notepad and tissues are the last things parents think about when their infant is in the neonatal intensive care unit. And those little necessities are missed once the initial upset of having a sick baby passes.
"When you get there, you're totally unprepared, and you don't have anything you need," said Kate Crawford of Elizabeth, whose four children all spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU.
Crawford, 26, co-founded Project Sweet Pea, a nationwide network of mothers who take gift bags to NICUs. There are 15 local projects in 14 states and Canada. Since July 2009, Project Sweet Pea has delivered 350 gift bags to families across the United States.
"We stick as much as we can into these bags that will help parents get through at least a couple of days," said Crawford, who delivers the care bags to Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. She and her family make the bags and ship them to other moms, who are responsible for filling them.
Crawford's bags contain handmade baby blankets, booties and hats, toiletries, a camera and crossword puzzles to help pass the time while the baby sleeps. They can cost up to $50 to make, Crawford said.
"It's something that others who went before them know about, but that they don't even realize they need at the time," said Karen Ewing, a unit director of Magee-Women's NICU. "The staff are grateful to be able to give something to families in those situations. It really comes in handy."
Many mothers who have started projects have children who are NICU survivors, while others use the project to keep their babies' memories alive. Crawford has experienced both.
She and her husband, Steven's, twin daughters, Grace and Lily, 20 months, spent two weeks in Magee-Women's NICU and son Stephen, 4 months, was there for 19 days. About three years ago, their 3-day-old daughter, Shannon, passed away at Children's due to birth defects in her diaphragm and heart.
A year after that, Crawford connected online with two other mothers, from Connecticut and Indiana, whose babies each had one of the same birth defects.
"We decided there was something more we wanted to do," she said. And Project Sweet Pea was born.
Crawford's project is known locally as Shannon's Star.
"After Shannon died, I had no support, no comfort and no friends who had gone through the same thing," she said. "I don't want any parents to feel like I did after Shannon died."
In addition to care bags, Crawford makes papier-mache memory boxes for parents. They contain a broken heart pendant, a heart-shaped box for a wisp of the baby's hair and tins in which parents can make hand and foot molds.
Wilma Powell, a registered nurse and clinical leader in Children's Hospital's NICU said it's a beautiful way to help parents cope with the loss of a child.
"We just lost a child (Monday), and the mother is so grateful she has something for her other children to remember the baby," Powell said. "It means a lot to us to provide that kind of support for a family."
Crawford does it all with the help of her family, including her husband, parents, sister, niece and nephew, who are NICU survivors.
"So many bad things happen to people and they can take that experience and turn it into something beautiful like what we've done," she said. "I believe that (Shannon) died so that we could help other parents."
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Project keeps baby's memory alive
ANTHONY S. BUSH/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
Megan and Willie Skaggs and their son, William Glen, sit in front of some memorabilia, poems and pictures of Michael Joseph, who died 35 days after his birth from a congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
Created November 15, 2009 at 4:46pm
Updated November 16, 2009 at 2:41am
Topeka residents Willie and Megan Skaggs are hoping to keep the memory of their infant son alive through a project that will provide comfort to parents whose children need medical care at neonatal intensive care units in the area.
The Skaggses' identical twin sons, Michael Joseph and William Glen, were born July 25. Will was a healthy baby, while MJ was born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. CDH occurs when the diaphragm doesn't fully form, allowing the abdominal organs to enter the chest cavity and hinder lung and heart growth.
After his birth at The University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., MJ was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., where he was placed on an artificial heart-lung machine and had surgery to repair the hole in his diaphragm.
But MJ's health continued to worsen, and he died Aug. 29.
The Skaggses were grief-stricken.
"We were looking for something to fill the void," Megan Skaggs said. "We never want him to be forgotten. The best 35 days of our lives was when we had both of our boys."
Skaggs, who works at Friends University, said she and her husband had joined a Facebook page for parents whose children have CDH. Through that connection, they learned about Project Sweet Pea, which was started by parents whose children had been cared for in neonatal intensive care units and who wanted to provide comfort to others. The organization helps get local efforts off the ground and advertises them on its Web site at www.projectsweetpeas.com.
"(Project Sweet Pea) was started by a group of parents who have one thing in common. We have all experienced what it is like to have a critically ill child in the NICU," she said. "Through our experience, we came together for support and comfort. Now, it is our turn to give back."
In October, the Skaggses started MJ's Memories with a simple goal: to provide gift bags to parents in need and let them know they aren't alone. The gift bags -- filled with baby blankets, booties, disposable cameras, picture frames, gift cards and other items -- will be distributed to neonatal intensive care units at Children's Mercy Hospital and Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center.
Willie Skaggs, a career development counselor for Topeka Unified School District 501, said he and his wife hope to be able to provide 50 gift bags by January, and then an additional 50 gift bags every three months.
In addition, Megan Skaggs is making and selling glass-bead bracelets to benefit MJ's Memories. The bracelets can be purchased at braceletsforawareness.blogspot.com.
"This has really helped us a lot to help other families," she said. "We know what they're going through."
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MJ's Memories
Uniting Through Loss
December 7, 2009
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Mother's project brings others comfort
Project Sweet Peas assist parent's . . .
