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Darren and Paige Honeycutt recently donated a CuddleCot to Atrium Health Stanly to be used for families grieving the loss of a baby.

A CuddleCot is a bassinet containing a pad that cools a deceased baby’s core body temperature, delaying the natural bodily processes and therefore giving families more time with their baby.

Paige first learned about the CuddleCot through another family’s donation to the hospital where she works, the Women and Children’s Center at Atrium Health Union. That family had experienced a loss and wanted to donate the CuddleCot to AH Union in memory of their baby.

Paige witnessed first-hand the blessing that the device can be, along with the many benefits that it brings to grieving families.

Little did Paige know, but one day she and her husband would have their own experience with the CuddleCot.

In April 2019, the Honeycutts found out they were pregnant with their first baby. During a prenatal scan, their baby was noted to have a thicker than normal nuchal fold and an omphalocele, an abdominal wall defect where the organs in that area form outside of the body.

They were quickly referred to a maternal fetal medicine specialist. Over the next couple of weeks, blood work, more detailed ultrasounds and further testing revealed Paige was pregnant with a little girl and the baby was diagnosed with Turners Syndrome. The prognosis, in addition to the ultrasound findings, were not good, with a miscarriage rate of 99 percent.

Only given a 1 percent chance that their little girl would survive, they were still willing to fight for her life.
Throughout the next several ultrasounds, the Honeycutts would continue to receive devastating news. The effects of their baby’s condition were taking over her little body.

At 19 weeks and 3 days, it was determined that their baby’s heart had stopped beating and Paige was immediately induced into labor. She delivered her the next day on Aug. 8, 2019 and was able to use the CuddleCot right away. This allowed time for their families to visit and grieve the loss of the baby. They kept her in the Cuddlecot until the next morning when they were able to have her baptized and say their final goodbyes.

That time with their baby would not have been possible if it had not been for the CuddleCot that another family had donated to AH Union.

After going through their experience of loss, the Honeycutts decided that they wanted another hospital to be able to offer the same opportunity to patients that mourn the loss of a little one.

Growing up in Stanly County, as well as working for a smaller community hospital, the Honeycutts knew that they wanted to donate a CuddleCot to Atrium Health Stanly. Through many donations from family and friends, they were able to purchase the CuddleCot.

Their hearts are grateful that now families served by AH Stanly will be given all the time they need to grieve and say their goodbyes during the difficult loss of a baby.