Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebekah Mitchell.
Rebekah, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My second son, Jonathan Daniel Mitchell, was still born on June 24, 1995, due to a cord accident.
Although my family and friends lavished their love on my husband, my living son who was 3 at the time, and me, I had a deep need to connect with other women who had endured the same type of loss.
Just before the one year anniversary of Jonathan’s death, I felt compelled to browse the obituary section of the Sunday edition of the Dallas Times Herald to see if there was maybe a notice of an infant’s death. Indeed there was, so I reached out to that grieving mom who lived in McKinney. A few days later we met for lunch and shared our stories and our babies with one another. At this meeting, she asked me if I had seen the obituary of another baby whose family lived in Duncanville.
I had not, so she said she planned to reach out to that family like I had reached out to her. A few days later, we met another mom who had just moved to the metroplex from Washington, whose baby had also recently died. The four of us moms spent hours and hours on the phone with each other, met for dinner a few times, and countless email was exchanged between us. A couple of months later, I realized we had actually started our own support group, which I eventually named M.E.N.D. (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death).
Today, 21 years later, M.E.N.D. is a national organization. We reach out to families who have suffered the death of a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or early infant death. We currently have 7 active chapters in Texas and a few other states, and we plan to open two more chapters in 2018. Each of our chapters hosts a variety of monthly support groups and annual remembrance ceremonies.
Every chapter has its own Facebook group, and we give presentations in area hospitals on how to care for families when a baby dies. We also publish bi-monthly newsletters, which are distributed to over 1,300 households all over the United States and six other countries. Additionally, we host a monthly online support group for those who may not live near one of our chapters.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I started MEND as a young 27-year-old woman, I had no idea what I was doing or what the future held for this ministry God placed in my heart. For the most part, I’m in awe of how quickly and easily MEND began and flourished. But certainly, as with any business, there have been bumps in the road. First, just dealing with such an emotional issue every single day can take its toll at times.
We’re not the happy, fun club people are wanting to join. In fact, none of us signed up to be a part of this group. But under the circumstances of having endured a loss, I’m thankful MEND is here for all of us. Secondly, MEND is made up of all volunteers. None of us have ever been paid a dime for our time and effort.
This is a wonderful aspect of our organization when it pertains to donation solicitation, but it can also be a bit challenging at times to depend on the goodwill of people to follow through with their volunteer commitments.
Please tell us about M.E.N.D. (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death).
Some hospitals have their own infant loss support group that are run by nurses or chaplains, which is great. But MEND is a little different in that first, every leader in MEND has personally experienced the loss of a baby.
Secondly, we are a Christian organization. Does this mean families have been Christian to attend our support groups or remembrance ceremonies? Certainly not. What it means is our remembrance ceremonies and newsletters are Christ-centered and every one of our leaders professes the Christian faith.
Additionally, all of our services are free of charge. We do not ask for a subscription fee to receive our newsletters, we don’t charge admission to our remembrance ceremonies or support groups, nor do we have a presentation fee for our speaking and training engagements.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Christmas! My twin sister and I are the youngest of six kids and my parents always made Christmas extremely special and memorable for all of us.
Contact Info:
- Address: 800 W Airport Freeway, Irving, TX 75062
- Website: www.mend.org
- Phone: (972) 506-9000
- Email: Rebekah@mend.org
- Facebook: M.E.N.D. (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death) of Dallas/Fort Worth
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