Those who attended the 2012 ILCA Conference had the wonderful privilege to view a video presented by Ryan Comfort, of Milk for Thought, which told the story of Amy and Bryan Anderson and their son, Bryson. There was an intense emotion in the room as they shared of their milk donation since his birth and death and we wanted to offer an update of their journey.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmId_ekok9s]
Amy shared with us the following:
Bryson’s legacy begins eleven years after I fell in love with my high school sweetheart. We had been married for five years and were already the proud parents of two precious children. Our firstborn, Brody, was a passionate 3½ year old boy. And our Joey Skylor was born into heaven in December 2009 for unknown reasons early in the second trimester. Our family felt prepared for the additional joys and love that a new baby would bring, so we were all overjoyed with anticipation to find out we were expecting a baby boy due to arrive March 28th, 2011. However, the Lord had special plans for our precious baby Bryson.
After a month of constant medical interventions to save our son from the complications of a rare condition called LUTO (Lower Urinary Tract Obstruction), Bryson went home to join Joey on heaven’s playground. It was a beautiful, sunny and windy day on that October 30th, 2010 at 1:04pm when I finally stopped trying to hold onto my baby boy as his body was torn from mine. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, relax and let go of my precious baby, whom I had been incessantly praying for and loving for what seemed like an eternity… I remember as soon as I felt him leaving I bawled and tearfully called out. I was hopeless and helpless. My whole body shuttered with the reality of what was happening. I just wanted him back, I already missed him so badly.
My husband and I were beyond ourselves, completely lost in our grief and despair and yet so proud of our son’s journey/life. Daddy noticed how he already resembled his big brother especially in the brow… that warmed our hearts. What a beautiful and fragile baby he was… I can only imagine how gorgeous he is in heaven, no longer weakened by his delicate body. Bryson’s body was 13oz and 10in of perfection, with 10 tiny fingers and toes with nails already formed on them. I fondly remember watching him on the dozens of ultrasounds we had… he certainly was a fighter and a persistent little one, much like his mommy. His personality was very strong and he had every intention of being a significant part of our family and our hearts… in that respect his life was a complete success! He has made a huge impact in the lives of many.
As we heard at the conference, Amy began pumping and donating her pre-term milk. Their “Donation Through Grief” has totaled 3,239 ounces of milk to Mother’s Milk Bank of New England and 8,523 ounces to Mother’s Milk Bank of Ohio…that’s nearly 92 gallons of breast milk! Bryson’s milk was literally sent all around the country and even around the world.
Amy and Bryan are currently involved in advocating for bereaved parents by educating medical professionals and the community at large in how to care for those who have lost infants, especially in terms of lactation options after a stillbirth or earlier loss. Amy says,
I’m persistently advocating to amend the US federal law “Break Time for Nursing Mothers” under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The law is intended to support appropriate break time for expression as needed at work for “nursing mothers”. However, this verbiage has made it possible for my place of employment to say that the law doesn’t apply in my situation because I don’t have a nursing baby, therefore am not considered a “nursing mother”. Regardless of the fact that my body was lactating uncontrollably even though my baby was not at home to latch on. My goal is for the law to pertain to any “lactating women”, so employers cannot use the law to discriminate against a bereaved mother whose already experiencing unfathomable grief.
So far I’ve been completely unsuccessful with getting the attention of any of my state representatives, the Department of Labor has directed me to my local La Leche League, and the White House has also yet to reply to my e-mails (lol, yup, I even reached out to the president/first lady). My best bet so far is to get as many people as possible to hear my Bryson’s legacy. People need to know lactation can happen even after only 20 weeks gestation (and even earlier), and that donating their baby’s breastmilk is a precious, much appreciated gift that gives meaning their baby’s short life and helps with the grief process. I’ve already recieved a few responses that our story inspired a couple other moms to “Donate Through Grief” which is huge to me (though I understand it’s a very personal choice, the option needs to be available to the mom).
At Lactation Matters, we are proud to share Bryson’s story and know that there are many in our community who would have unique insight for the advocacy that the Andersons are pursuing. Please contact Amy at aranderson33@gmail.com if you’d like to help take up the cause.
Great article. Really touching. And I’m glad to have the follow up from their story. I remember them from Ryan’s conference session.
I’d also like to point out a great resource on this topic. Melissa Cole has written an article for the latest issue of Clinical Lactation on Lactation after Loss. It is available for free online. Here is the link. http://www.clinicallactation.org/article.php?id=78&journal_id=14
It’s no secret how very much pride, love and honor we have for Amy, Bryan, Brody and our angel grandbabies. Years ago when my husband and I had Amy, we prayed for the best and knew she would accomplish lots. Well, my daughter has grown into an awesome young woman. Through love and laughter, tears and fears, prayers and faith we now know she will make her mark on the world. She amazes me and just in case it wasn’t clear….I am Susan and I am Amy’s very proud mother.
Words cannot describe how very proud I am of my sister in law Amy, and brother Bryan. In the face of loss and grief they decided to open up their hearts and lives to help others around them. When the gift of life was taken, they gave life back with Amy’s precious gift of milk. Instead of closing their hearts to keep them safe from more hurt, they opened their hearts wide to all around them. Advocating for those who’s voices cannot be heard and fighting for the ones who cannot fight for themselves. It’s amazing to see how one families choice to use tragedy as an opportunity can affect the world around us. Jenny
Thank you Jenny & Susan for your amazing support also of Amy, Bryan and Brody, we are truly touched by the strength of your family.
I am so touched by this story to know there are such loving, generous people in the world that putting their own sorrow aside to help other mother’s who for one reason or another can’t give their babies the milk they need to start their sweet lives with…I commend Amy & Bryan for making this selfless choice…much love & admiration to you both Sandy Gagnon
I met this family through a fluke that I am sure was guided by a hand stronger and higher than mine. In helping them on the road to donating milk in working through their grief, they gave me so much more than I ever could have given them. They are an amazing family, all of them including Grandma Susan, and being accepted as a part of their family through this experience is one of the true joys of my life. If you have not seen the video, you must watch it. Ryan’s team caught the experience so beautifully. Be forewarned–a box of tissues is a necessity. No matter how many times I have seen it, I need them still! God bless this family and their strength, and their desire to continue to do good for others who find themselves in similar circumstances.
Thank you for sharing about Bryson’s Legacy. Discussing postpartum healing and lactation issues after loss is not spoken about enough and the collective sharing of experiences and wisdom benefits families and providers alike. I appreciate Kathy mentioning my article in Clinical Lactation found here: http://www.clinicallactation.org/article.php?id=78&journal_id=14
In my work with bereaved families I have found the process of milk donation to be very comforting to many. In addition, care providers are often unaware of how to best support mother’s through lactation concerns after loss. I hope awareness continues to grow so that we can all help families through the painful aftermath of loss to the best of our ability.
It’s great. Ethically kinship develops through breast feeds like blood related. So, the lineages must be tracked and known to doner and fed infants; infants feeding on same mother milk become siblings.