Loss of Of Our 5-Day-Old Baby Boy (Cooper)

Hi my name is Debbie Wade, my son Nathaniel, and his loving and devoted partner Whitney, tragically lost their precious 5-day-old infant to SIDS last month (June, 2022).

As you can imagine, this is any parent's worst nightmare, and just as soon as these first-time parents fell completely in love with their newborn baby boy, he was gone.

Nathaniel and Whitney brought their beautiful baby boy Cooper into the world on May 29th, 2022. Only a few days later, Mom and Dad attempted to wake Cooper from a short nap, and he was found unresponsive. Since Mom had been a practicing medical professional for a few years now, she immediately called 911, and felt comfortable and competent providing the life-saving CPR, which would ultimately be responsible for resuscitating Cooper and extending his life here on earth for a couple more days.

We were all relieved that Cooper’s heart was beating again; however, he required a breathing tube, extremely high doses of blood pressure medications, and constant EEG monitoring, which revealed to our family that Cooper’s brain activity was extremely limited. The MD’s explained to Whitney and Nathaniel, as well as their 4x sets of parents (Cooper’s grandparents), who all showed up to support their little guy at WakeMed Hospital of Raleigh’s PICU, that Cooper’s prognosis was not looking good.

Although our little guy had a pulse, his heart was extremely weak, requiring very high amounts of blood pressure medication to keep it going. The medication’s side-effects would cause multiple organ failure, and no way for us to reverse these side effects without additional vein access. The MD's attempted this life-saving procedure (obtaining additional venous entry) multiple times throughout Cooper's first night in the PICU; however, these valiant attempts proved to be unsuccessful. In addition, the oxygen deprivation that Cooper sustained caused significant brain damage that would present with profound and devastating outcomes for function that were irreversible.

The emotional rollercoaster for our family continued as I had to watch these first-time parents make difficult and heart-wrenching decisions regarding their infant in critical condition and requiring life support. Ultimately, we would all have to come to accept that our beloved baby boy Cooper was dying. Throughout this time at the hospital, our 10-person family made the most of our time left, and spent it together in support of one another, rarely leaving Cooper’s side. Tragically the night of June 3rd, about an hour after my oldest son, William (Uncle to Cooper) arrived, Cooper was called to heaven.

Cooper was literally surrounded by the love of his parents, grandparents, his uncle, and the absolutely amazing WakeMed hospital staff at the time of his passing. Whitney and Nathaniel are now challenged with facing their worst nightmare, and have had to return home to begin the excruciatingly painful healing process of finding their new normal without their beloved son Cooper in their lives.

A parent and family can never plan for the loss of a child, and I can’t even imagine the pain they are in. I am asking for donations to help this young, loving family with funeral expenses, hospital bills, and support to help them continue to manage their ongoing expenses, which have brought even more burden to bear upon this young couple. Our goal is to help raise money to assist in covering these unforeseen expenses, while also providing the necessary monetary support that Whitney and Nathaniel require as they continue to support one another at home.

As a community, we can help this heartbroken couple to grieve and to heal as comfortably and as fully as possible, without the additional stressors of compounding financial hardship during this time of extreme sadness and loss. Whitney’s work as a Speech-Language Pathologist, did not offer her paid maternity leave, and I do not want them to have to worry about anything other than taking the time that they need to heal their hearts as they grieve the loss of their son and continue to provide support for one another. Whitney and Nathaniel are amazing loving parents who work really hard so that their son could have the best life, and now they need our help.

Please donate to help this young family have the time they need to heal. If you are unable to donate, please help by sharing this post. And if nothing else, please pray for healing and health for this broken and grieving family.