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| Joanne Cacciatore 623.979.1000 www.missfoundation.org Senator Mary Hartley Arizona Senate RE: MISSing Angels Bill April 20, 1999 Dear Senator Hartley, With great respect and as a registered voter I feel compelled to write to you regarding an issue that is very important to me. I write speaking for many families in your home state and nationwide. I hope that because of this, you will be prompted to take a little time and please consider what I am about to share with you. I am writing to tell you about my daughter, Cheyenne Cacciatore. When I first discovered I was pregnant, you can imagine how happy our family was. However, on July 27, 1994, what was supposed to be one of the happiest events of our lives, became the most devastating. During the excruciating pain of labor, my daughter died at 40 weeks gestation, 15 minutes prior to birth. The cause of her death was undetermined. The medical term for this is stillbirth, although she died from S.A.D. Syndrome. This is similar to SIDS, however, it occurs just prior to birth, and it too results in no answers during the postmortem evaluation. I never drank alcohol, did not smoke, and did everything ‘right.’ The statistics are shocking for this type of death. There are more than 35,000 babies ‘stillborn’ in the U.S. every year. In just our state, there are approximately 700 every year. Since her death, I founded a group for parents who lose infants called M.I.S.S. Our website receives more than 55,000 visitors a year. I also volunteer for the Compassionate Friends, and volunteer for the Crisis Center. In 1996, I began the first grief protocol in our state addressing death and ethics for professionals. I have taught this seminar at more than 500 facilities across the state of Arizona. I also wrote a book about the death of my baby girl called “Dear Cheyenne.” I also began the Kindness Project© in 1997 and was a featured guest on the national talk show, “Leeza Gibbons,” sharing my experience with Cheyenne’s death. I am requesting your assistance on supporting an issue critical to thousands of Arizona families. In 1994 after Cheyenne’s death, I was awaiting her birth certificate for her baby book. One of the most disenfranchising problems with ‘fetal’ death, or early neonatal death is the lack of tangible memories with the child- thus any memento of the child’s existence is critical in the healing process. Instead, two weeks after Cheyenne’s death, I received a “Certificate of Fetal Death.” I waited ten long months, endured natural childbirth, delivered an eight-pound, 21" long baby, and still had milk in my breasts for a child whom I buried one week earlier. Yet I received no birth certificate from the state acknowledging my ‘motherhood,’ nor the birth of this child. I am asking you to support a bill bynamed the MISSing Angels Bill. It would require a simple change from “Certificate of Fetal Death” to “Certificate of Birth resulting in Stillbirth.” On behalf of thousands of families in our MISS group, I ask you to help us in changing our current protocol. Their births are no different than any other except their parents must leave the hospital without their child. Mothers of stillborn babies must still give birth. For them, the immeasurable physical pain and trauma of childbirth is coupled with the most emotionally traumatic- death. It is an event that deserves far more respect than it receives. It is my hope that not only will Arizona meet the needs of parents who suffer such a devastating loss, but also serve as the forerunner for other states to do the same. Perhaps one day the state will deem in appropriate to acknowledge my daughter Cheyenne, and the fact that she lived, she died, and that- even in death, she very much matters. If it is acceptable to you, I shall contact your office for an appointment to meet with you regarding this, or if you have any further questions prior, you may contact me at the above number. For all you do to help Arizona families, and, In appreciation of your consideration- Respectfully, Joanne Cacciatore-Garard, RTS Counselor M.I.S.S. National-Arizona Chapter Mother of four who walk, and one who soars . |
