CITY OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WKBW) — On February 16, 2018, the light Katie Meyer carried for nine months went out. Her son, Arthur Woodin was born still at 10:56pm.
"I think I knew Arthur was gone before I even knew what was happening, nobody could survive something so horrific," said Meyer of the City of Tonawanda.
She held him in her arms for the next three days at Mercy Hospital and in her heart every day since.
"It's a never ending journey and honestly, it's a nightmare I live in a nightmare most days, but I've learned to cope," said Meyer.
About 24,000 babies are stillborn in the United States each year, according to the CDC. Meyer was eating dinner when she started bleeding and had to be rushed to emergency surgery, almost losing her own life.
She sees this experience as a second chance at life, one she's using to bring light to other bereaved families. When she lost Arthur she got a memory box, full of teddy bears, blankets and baseball caps.
"Unfortunately, we didn't have much of a need for those things, we didn't have a baby to wrap in the blanket or give those teddy bears to," said Meyer.
So working with the WNY Perinatal Bereavement Network, Inc., she's given thousands of families a different gift: candles. A way to bring light to their darkest days.
And now she's releasing a new gift to help people experiencing any kind of grief. It's a book, called 'Arthur's Light'.
"It could be loss of any type, I don't want people to be afraid to talk about the difficult things in life," said Meyer.
She originally hired someone to write on her behalf, as a way to rekindle her own healing. She eventually found strength in typing her story out herself.
"I know that I am his voice and his feet and doing his work. He speaks through me every single day," said Meyer.
The book is now available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon, click here.
You can help grieving families through WNY Perinatal Bereavement Network, Inc., by clicking here.
