Maryland mom Sarah Gliem and her husband, Jared, share an 11-year-old son named Collin. They always knew they wanted to add to their family, but tragically, after becoming pregnant with a baby girl they named Chloe, the baby was stillborn at 36 weeks.
“I worked from home, watched a lot of TV, and was having a relatively quiet day,” Sarah wrote. “I went to the bathroom and my heart dropped. Blood. A lot of blood. Everywhere.”
Fearing the worst, Sarah and Jared rushed to their nearest hospital emergency room. After an examination, the couple left for home, having been reassured by doctors that everything was fine. However, Sarah felt uneasy.
“[I]n the depths of my soul,” the mother wrote, “I knew this baby was going to meet Chloe before I would again.”
The worried mom secured an appointment at Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, Maryland, but when they arrived, Jared was excluded from the waiting room because of safety protocol pertaining to the virus outbreak.
“I began to sob,” Sarah wrote. “He watched me through the glass door and was texting me. He told me I don’t have to be the super hero in every situation and that it was okay to not be strong enough for this.”
Sarah took a picture of Jared sitting alone in the hallway outside the hospital waiting room “as a reminder” for everyone. It was then that Sarah received the devastating news that her 7-week-old baby no longer had a heartbeat.
Jared had to hear the news through the phone.
Quickly, the grieving mom’s despair turned into anger. Back in the family car, Sarah composed her thoughts into an emotional social media post.
“Today Jared had to sit in the hallway and listen through speaker phone to hear that our baby, Cameron, went to be with Jesus and their big sister Chloe,” Sarah wrote.
“We didn’t get to grieve together, we couldn’t even hug, and tell each other it would be okay and we would survive this,” Sarah wrote. “I understand the precautions, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”
“For the love of God,” Sarah pleaded, “just stay home. The next time you want to go out because it’s not that serious, just remember that a father couldn’t look one last time at his baby, and a mother had to get the worst news about their child alone.”
Sarah reached out to a friend, Katy, of Sweet Grace Ministries support group, in an effort to make sense of losing baby Cameron. Katy, in support of Sarah’s journey, shared a portion of the grieving mom’s heart-rending story on Love What Matters.
“Miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death... these experiences do not cease during a crisis,” Katy wrote. “Our support whether in person, via Zoom, FaceTime, or messenger/email has never been more important.”
Even the CDC highlights how vital it is to manage stress during times of crisis. The experts advise taking care of the body, making time to unwind, and connecting with others. In times of personal crisis such as the Gliem family’s loss, these practices may become even more imperative.
“I pray that when Cameron arrived in Heaven she was greeted by Chloe,” Sarah wrote on her blog. “I pray they both look after us every day until we can all be together again.”
Sarah signed off by writing that they are now the “family of 5.” “Not anything that we ever envisioned but that doesn’t make it not beautiful,” she wrote.
