recap of the pregnancy & infant loss film night & panel discussion in ottawa/gatineau

From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU to everyone who supported our 1st-ever Pregnancy & Infant Loss Film Night & Panel Discussion on Friday April 28th, 2017!

The event was 1 week ago today, so in case you didn't have a chance to attend the event, we thought we'd share a bit of a recap:

• We viewed 4 short films on pregnancy and infant loss - links to the films are shared below so you still have an opportunity to view and/or share them;
• There was a panel discussion which covered a variety of topics from parenting after a loss to teaching compassion for health care workers;
• We had a bake sale with all proceeds supporting Aaron's Butterfly Run; and
• We shared a sneak peek for our upcoming Silent Auction in support of our Run (if you haven't already, please join our Facebook group to participate in the Silent Auction)!

Overall, we got a sense that many people felt a sense of relief to be in a room full of understanding people where they could talk openly about their losses. It was interesting to hear how many people came to the event because they knew someone who lost a pregnancy or an infant and were looking to find ways to better support them (thank you to those amazing people in our support network).

We were very moved by many people in our community who got up to speak at the event. Some of those people just experienced losses of their own, as recent as two weeks previously. Our hearts go out to them as they experience their loss, but we hope they know how much support they have in our community. Even if our event helped just these people, even just a little, we feel it was a success. 

Here is some of the other feedback we've heard so far:

"Thank you so much for organizing this event. When we discovered it was taking place on the one year anniversary of our daughter's stillbirth we knew we'd be there. We especially appreciated the film about father's grieving and the fact that that young couple found the help they needed. You're hard work and dedication to this cause is making a different. Thank you again!"

"I just want to thank you for the opportunity to attend the Film Night last night. It was such a range of experiences; compassion, education, wealth of knowledge and strength. One of the things that struck me the most, was the nurturing environment of the church and its community. I think such a welcome encouraged dialogue and reflection and I am sure helped the couple who had lost their baby two weeks ago,to come forward and see help and support. So thank you."

We value your feedback on this event, and our cause. If you have additional feedback for us, feel free to comment here, or send your feedback to [email protected]

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For those of you who weren't able to attend the event in person, you can still have a chance to view the videos here:

100 Minutes with Aaron

An Ottawa-based family's experience with Perinatal Hospice. This film will explore Rachel and Rob Samulack's journey with Perinatal Hospice at Roger Neilson House and the 100 precious minutes that they spent with their son Aaron Samulack.

When The Storm Hits

Created by the University of Quebec in Gatineau. Five fathers share their experience of their child's death and the tools that have helped them to live through this storm. These stories can inspire bereaved families, professionals' practices toward men, as well as the development of policies and services for them. .

Jacob

A film on pregnancy and infant loss by Shawn Lovering on his mother's experience with pregnancy loss.

PAIL

Link to be added in the future (we're sorry that it's not publicly available at this time)

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Again, THANK YOU so much to everyone who supported this event!

Thank you for supporting individuals and families who have or will experience pregnancy and infant loss. Ottawa/Gatineau is an amazing place to live and we have such an amazing community!

Thank you again to our panelists, including:

• Lynn Grandmaison Dumond, Nurse Practitioner with the Roger Neilson House Perinatal Hospice Program
• Viola Polomeno, Registered Nurse, Ph.D, Professor at the University of Ottawa, specializing in Perinatal Education;
• Alex Pigeon, Bereaved Father and blogger;
• Sarah McIlwham-Shipley, Doula specializing in perinatal loss with MotherWit Ottawa; and
• Rachel Samulack, Bereaved Mother and Aaron’s Butterfly Run Ottawa/Gatineau Organizer (she isn't writing this post, so we still get to thank her :-) ). 

Thank you to our volunteers, including all of our wonderful bake sale contributors!

Thank you to everyone who made and purchased butterfly wings! If you didn't have a chance to purchase a pair of wings and you'd still like to, they are still available at 3 Sisters Bakeshop & Gourmet Creations for $30/pair. Thank you to Fabrications Ottawa for donating the organic cotton for these wings! All proceeds are supporting the Run!

And last but not least, thank you to everyone who attended the event!

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