Remembering Julia

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A year ago today, Little Julia gave her mom the tightest bear hug before she lay down for a nap as if to say farewell for the final time.  During her slumber, she was called to Heaven and left behind her older sister, Jordan, and her parents, Jackie and Bob.  

 

 

At 15 months old, Julia passed away to a SIDS related death also known as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC).  

 

Taken from SUDC.org

SUDC is not new, but it is very rare. Sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) is rare, with a reported incidence in the United States of 1.3 deaths per 100,000 children, compared to 57 deaths per 100,000 live births for SIDS in 2002. It is not surprisingly, therefore, that there is very little known in the medical literature about SUDC.

 

Last Cinco de Mayo, I hosted a dinner play date at Tijuana Flats.  Jackie and her girls along with several other friends joined us there.  Julia had just started walking and her baby curls bounced with every wobbly step she took.  That was the last time I saw Julia’s piercing blue eyes and smiley face.

 

Her untimely passing shook our moms group to the core.  As an organizer, I lacked the experience to deal with such a tragedy.  As a parent, I only hugged my girls tighter and counted my blessings.  Sadness now loomed over the group and no one knew how to handle the grief or how to help this family heal. 

 

In the weeks that passed, the members of Moms on the Go with the help of their friends and family supported Jackie’s family with love, prayers, groceries, delivered meals and funeral expenses.  None of which could help fill the hole in this poor family’s hearts.

 

Jordan, Julia’s older sister, guided her family through this tragedy.  With her child perspective on life and death, she helped her family heal by offering explanations on why God chose Julia to be His angel.

 

A year later, I am amazed by Jackie’s strength.  She openly talks about her angel and cherishes stories that others share about Julia. 

 

Since Jackie is an avid runner, Moms on the Go will host a Race for a Reason this October to honor Julia and to raise awareness and money for SUDC.org.  

 

Please say a prayer for the Julia’s family to help them through this difficult day.

 

For more information about SUDC, please visit SUDC.org and What You Should Know About SIDS and SUDC.

 

About the author

Denise
From start to finish, Denise is Run DMT, a Tampa Bay homeschooling mom on the run trying to maintain an easy pace through it all between races and raising three beautiful, brilliant adultish kids (ages 23, 19, 14). In 2007, I discovered a passion for running and in February 2015, I completed my tenth marathon. I continue to train for a variety of races and even host annual 5K. In 2023, I became a certified group fitness instructor and teach P.E. in my homeschool co-op.

8 comments

  1. becelisa says:

    please keep me posted on details on the race. by all means i will be there if i can be to help support sudc.org and to keep julia’s memory alive. what a beautiful little girl she was. i will hug my daughter a little tighter tonight after reading this.

  4. Healthy Moms says:

    What a great cause to run for. I couldn’t imagine losing a child at any age but having a beautiful young toddler just dying in her sleep is tragic! I prayers go out to this family.

  6. Scarlet O'Kara says:

    It is always so very sad to hear about a life that is lost, especially when that life has only just begun.

    My prayers are for their comfort at this hard time of rememberance. I know that their sweet Angel Baby is watching over them.

  7. lindsay says:

    wow. very touching story and hard to imagine. the race sounds like an awesome event though! thoughts to the family and best wishes for the race.

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