On December 13th 2024, I unexpectedly went into labor with our son, Arlo, when i was 22 weeks and 3 days pregnant. The doctors and nurses exhausted every option to stop my labor for hours, but nothing worked. I continued dilating until I reached 10 centimeters, unmedicated, and was rushed into an emergency classical C-section.

Arlo was born that day, and my husband went with him immediately to the NICU. Against the uncertainty of such an early arrival, Arlo was stable and doing well. After my C-section, I finally got to lay eyes on my son, and I was so completely in love with him. He was perfect. We took our first family pictures, soaking in those precious moments together, knowing we had an incredibly long road ahead of us.

On December 14th 2024, after Arlo had some X-rays, his NICU doctor told us they had discovered a tiny hole in his lung and that he needed immediate surgery. We were terrified, but we were hopeful.

Just a few hours later, we were called down to the NICU and told the surgery wasn’t working.

Our son was 1 day old, and all the dreams we had carried since the moment we found out I was pregnant felt like they were being ripped away from us. We were experiencing the unimaginable loss of our son in the NICU after a surgery intended to save his life was unsuccessful. How could this be happening?

We held Arlo close and memorized every feature of his beautiful face. We took as many pictures as we could, wanting to hold on to every second we had with him. We held our son in our arms until he passed away in them.

Our time with Arlo changed us forever. Our journey as his parents has looked different than we ever imagined, but our love for him continues to shape everything we do.

Arlo’s Light Foundation was created from that love. Everything we do is for Arlo. Through this foundation, we are committed to supporting every child who is fighting for their life in the NICU and committed to never letting the light fade for the children who have passed.