Laura & Tony McBride and their Angels.

January 25, 2016  •  1 Comment

Last November, Independent Journal Review shared the touching story of Anna Bozman Thompson and how her nuptials were brightened by an amazing photographer from Georgia who made sure her wedding photos included someone who couldn’t be there.

Now that same photographer’s work is bringing peace to another grieving family.

Brandy Angel got a call from 40-year-old Texan Laura McBride and her husband, Tony, after Laura was moved by the Thompson photos. Laura knew a similar set of photos would help herself and Tony cope with a devastating loss to their family — all three of their children were stillborn.

Image credit: Facebook/Laura McBride
 

Image credit: Facebook/Laura McBride

Though daughter Kieran passed away in 2014, the other two would be much older, according to “Today.”

Christopher would be almost 22 today, Tyler would be almost 18 and Kieran would turn 2 this year. But even though they would have been years apart in age, Laura thought of them as kids: “Young, vibrant, sweet, adorable,” she said.

Brandy said she was touched by the request, and made plans to shoot photos of the couple while she had an already-planned trip to Texas around Thanksgiving time.

This was the result:

 

Image credit: Screenshot/Today/Brandy Angel Photography

Brandy said, “Photos like this aren’t for everyone, but they are everything to some people who need them to grieve and hold on to someone they have lost. I wanted to help her so much.”

Laura told “Today”:

“This picture has been such a comfort to us and it has made us so happy because it has given us something to look at every day. We know they’re with us, we can see it.”

Image credit: Facebook/Laura McBride
 

Image credit: Facebook/Laura McBride

Stillbirths are largely “understudied” in the U.S., according to Suzan Carmichael, a professor of pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and their cause remains unknown in most cases.

NPR reports that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that the “autopsy rate in the U.S. for stillbirths is the lowest among developed countries.” While studying stillbirths could help to reduce their numbers, researcher Robert Silver, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Utah,said that they often aren’t done because quality autopsies by pathologists cost so much.


Comments

Linda(non-registered)
This post had me in tears. I couldn't even begin to imagine the heartache this family has suffered with having had three stillbirths. My heart goes out to them. What an amazing gift you gave them with that portrait.
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