In The News...

As reported by KNBC - TV - Los Angeles
http://www.knbc.com
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SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Losing a child at birth and then struggling to pay the funeral costs is something no parent would want to face.

That's what happened to a Pennsylvania woman, and now she is working to help others, reported WGAL-TV in Lancaster, Pa.

Connor Matthew Kirby was born at 5:42 a.m. on May 26, 2003.

"I still remember what he felt like on my lips," said his mother, Adele Kirby, of Shippensburg.

But 90 minutes later, Kirby kissed her baby for the last time.

Connor's kidneys and lungs were enlarged and could not function outside of the womb.

For two months, Kirby carried a baby she knew wouldn't survive. She wrote him a letter four days before his birth.

"I hope that you will realize how much I love you and how badly I wish you could be a healthy baby," Kirby said.

On top of their grief, Kirby and her family had trouble paying for Connor's funeral.

"You were expecting to buy baby clothes, formula, diapers, toys. You were not expecting to fork out $1,000 or more for a funeral or a grave marking," Kirby said.

Life insurance for newborns generally doesn't kick in until they're at least a few days old -- sometimes as old as 21 days. The Kirbys were barely able to cover burial costs.

One day last year while visiting Connor's grave, Kirby said it clicked. She went over to the section where children are buried, and she saw many of them still had temporary grave markings from the funeral because families can't afford permanent ones.

"It broke my heart and I thought, 'You know, I've got to do something for these families who can't afford one,'" Kirby said.

So, Kirby started the Connor Kirby Infant Memorial Foundation. Through private donations, the nonprofit helps families pay for their child's funeral and grave marker.

So far, the foundation has helped 17 families nationwide.

"To know that you know Connor's name is out there, that we are able to tell our story and it really makes me feel better that it helps other people who've been through the same thing," Kirby said.