Fort Bragg families find support at
annual Walk To Remember
By Rachael Riley, staff writer | October 16, 2018 at 9:18 pm
Hearts and butterflies fluttered Tuesday evening at Womack Army Medical Center, as lives were remembered and celebrated.
Pregnancy and Infancy Loss Awareness Month was observed by staff, support personnel and those who have experienced loss, for the hospital’s 16th Annual Walk to Remember.
“Regardless of your faith and your family in our community, you are not alone,” said Col. John Melton, commander of the hospital, as he gestured to the crowd of more than 100.
Lt. Col. Ken Godwin, chief of pastoral care at Womack, was able to relate to those in attendance.
He and his wife have twice lost a child during pregnancy.
Last year, was the first time he realized there was an event that commemorates the loss.
This year’s event included a mile walk around the hospital and a butterfly release to symbolize letting go of lingering pain.
“We are committed to helping you remember the babies you have loss, with all the dignity and respect that we can, and I hope that this will be of some help to you and your families,” Godwin said.
Ivori Lipscomb-Warren and her husband, Kevin, a former Fort Bragg soldier, lost their baby due to a miscarriage in August of 2017.
Ivori Lipscomb-Warren spoke about the excitement of learning she was pregnant — after 16 years of marriage and being told they would need to seek assistance from a fertility specialist — to the pain she felt when having a miscarriage.
“I cried. I screamed. I yelled. I slept, and the cycle repeated,” she said.
Through the pain, Lipscomb-Warren turned to faith and prayer.
“Working through my pain, I believe that God has allowed me to see that it is OK to not be OK,” she said. “It’s OK to cry. It’s OK to remember our baby. It’s even OK to talk about our baby and share our journey, and most importantly, to know that we’re not alone.”
Rhonda Barnes, too, knows the loss from a grandparent’s perspective.
Barnes’ grandson, Dominic, was immediately placed on life support when he was born three years ago, and passed away three days later.
As Barnes grappled with the reality and tried to remain strong, a social worker told her she was grieving for two — both her grandson and daughter.
“I let out gut-wrenching sobs as I allowed myself to process the pain and the heaviness of grieving for two,” she said. “I cried as I felt the deep pain of losing my grandson and for my daughter who had just lost her son.”
Barnes said she turned to the Journey Through Grief support groups held at Fort Bragg, and learned a lot.
“I do think about Dominic everyday, but my life has truly been enriched because he lived, and this is one of the reasons why I walk to remember,” she said.
Capt. John Aasman, who helped coordinate Tuesday’s event with others, encouraged the participants to ask others who they were walking in remembrance of.
Maria Petty, who is both a veteran and current military spouse, walked to support her best friend and remember her goddaughter, who died in April 2012.
“Stuff like this isn’t really talked about out in the open, so this is the first time I actually saw something like this out in the open, and I support it 100 percent,” Petty said.
Laurel Cocilo, who is part of the Protestant Women of the Chapel, participated in Tuesday’s walk as both a supporter and someone who has experienced two losses.
“The more we talk about it the more that we realize almost every other person that we talk to has been through a similar situation,” Cocilo said.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
