My niece gave birth to a baby boy Febr. 17th 2014. He was named Miles Gregory. He was beautiful, and for all appearances looked healthy. Sadly, this was not the case. Before he was born, doctors knew he had CDH (Congenital Heart Defects). His little heart was severely defective, and doctors were ready to do surgery as soon as he was born. He had two open heart surgeries, but his little heart was just too broken to repair. He passed away in his mother's arms six days later. This was a heart wrenching experience for his parents, and the entire family. I have never been to such a sad memorial service. Fast forward one year. We have just celebrated Miles first birthday, even though he is not with us. I have seen my niece go through hell this past year. There were some very dark moments for them. I am pleased to say that Miles' Mom and Dad have found a way to help heal their sad hearts. The past two weeks, there has been a charity shoe drive to bring awareness to Congenital Heart Disease, and to honor Miles. His mom and Dad spearheaded this drive. They did all the work to create the drive, and connect it with a world wide organization called Soles for Souls. The shoe drive is called SHOES FOR MILES. They ask people here to bring new or used shoes to donation sites of which there were about a dozen at local businesses. My niece has quite a gift for writing, and she did such a wonderful job of telling Mile's story and explaining his fight for life with his poor little defective heart. This weekend, our family is gathering to collect and sort all the donated shoes. There has been a huge response. It is uplifting to all of us. I'm so glad that we can honor this baby boy and help others.
I'm so sorry to hear of the death of little Miles but so proud of his parents for setting up Shoes for Miles. Anything that will help others from having to experience the heartache they have gone through can only be a good thing and it's a wonderful way to remember Miles and celebrate his birthday.
Such a nice way to commemorate the little soul they lost. They are a brave couple. They are lucky to have you and a supportive family to share their story.
Losing a baby is devastating - I speak from experience. Bravo to your niece for keeping Miles memory alive and raising awareness - that probably fills a tiny part of the huge void in their hearts.
Last night, we spent several hours sorting and counting shoes. All kinds of them! Big shoes, little shoes, fancy shoes, fun shoes, practical shoes, new shoes, worn shoes. At last count there are 2,298 pairs. Very proud to be sending them soon to Kansas City to the Soles for Souls organization, and from there to people in need.
I am soo soo sorry to read about Little Miles. Such a nice way to celebrate his little life. Makes me tearful, for you and your family, that you lost him without getting to know him at length. Makes me think, ALLOT. Thanks for sharing.
