Jewelyn

Picture taken by our friend Amy.

Today my heart broke for a newborn little girl and her daddy.
Today the world lost a genuinely good, fun loving person.

Today we lost Jewelyn.


I first met Jewelyn while planning my wedding on an online forum for brides to be. I remember she joined our lil forum as I was at the end of my planning. We reconnected again when she joined the 'the dark side' (as we jokingly call us married gals).


When I found out she was Filipino like me and that her husband is of Japanese descent like my hubs, I thought to myself...Hey! Her kids and my kids will have pretty much the same heritage. I know kind of weird, but really, that's what I remember thinking.


Jewelyn was so excited to be welcome her baby girl, Gabrielle. So excited. I remember her telling us that she was so glad it was a girl because she didn't like the name her husband had picked out for a boy. Man, did she dislike the boy name he picked!

The day before her induction on Saturday, she was asking for any final advice. She was upbeat, anxious, excited, nervous...just all rolled up in one! But she didn't have to be induced because she went into labor all on her own.


I expected to wake up today with news about how much the baby weighed, how long she was, etc.


Instead, the news was that she had to have an emergency c- section and ended up suffering an amniotic fluid embolism and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). She was put on life support and had no brain activity. Her newborn baby was taken to UCLA Medical and is expected to be under observation for about 3 days before they release her to Jewelyn's husband.

Around 3 pm today, we found out she was taken off of life support.

I know times are tough. But things will be tougher for baby Gabrielle and her daddy. If you feel inclined to donate, a Paypal account has been set up for donations at 4jewelyn@gmail.com

yes, the world truly has lost a jem.

Good-bye dear Jewelyn.