On the morning of August 9th, 2021, our lives would change forever. Kenzie passed away suddenly, and unexpectedly. Our world, and life as we knew it instantly shifted. We could not understand what happened to our beautiful, healthy baby girl and spent weeks awaiting an Autopsy, and subsequently the results. When we got the results, our hearts sank even further. Kenzie’s death was ruled as Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood, better known as SUDC. Up until that point, we had never heard of SUDC.
According to RareDiseases.Org Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood, (SUDC) “Is the Sudden Death of a child 12 months of age or older that remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history”. This was now our unfortunate reality.
Worse, SUDC cannot be predicted or prevented at this time. We were completely blindsided. This made the process and acceptance of Kenzie’s death that much more difficult and also, very very lonely. Who would understand? Who could we connect with who got it? And where was the SUDC categories online in Grief Forums or groups?
It was from this feeling of exclusion that the idea to birth Kenzie’s Garden came. I wanted a website where Bereaved Parents could come and instantly locate or create their tribe. A place where you didn’t have to scroll through hundreds of childloss stories to find one similar to yours because there were categories in place that you could fall into without searching too far and wide.
Nothing can bring our children back, but our aim is to be that beautiful space online where we can honor & celebrate the life of our children. A place where we share our common grief and where if only for a moment, we can feel Kenzie’s gentle virtual touch on our arms, letting us know that we are not alone.
Welcome to Kenzie’s Garden!
Shaniqua Trotman
– Kenzie’s Mom.