Jaclyn Gangloff just wants people to know her son existed.
“No one got to meet him. No one got to hold him,” Gangloff said. “That was one of our biggest concerns. We didn’t get to talk about him at all. We were afraid no one would remember him.”
Gangloff, of Cicero, was 38 and a half weeks pregnant when she went into labor at Crouse Hospital in March of 2014. Just days after having a healthy prenatal checkup, and with no symptoms or outward signs of trouble, she learned she’d suffered a placental abruption. Her son, Chase Daniel Gangloff, was stillborn.
When: 9 a.m. registration; 10 a.m. walk/run, Saturday, Oct. 3
Where: Oneida Shores, Brewerton
Registration: $20; all proceeds go to the March of Dimes.
Details: The event also includes raffles, live entertainment by Shaun Halloran, face painting and more. For more information or to register in advance, visit chase-inghope.wix.com/chase.
Sadly, stillbirth is more common than one might think. According to the March of Dimes, stillbirth is defined as fetal death occurring after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It occurs in about 1 in every 160 pregnancies.
Placental problems like Gangloff’s cause about 25 percent of stillbirths; in a placental abruption, the placenta peels away, partly to almost completely, from the uterine wall before delivery. It results in heavy bleeding that can threaten the life of both mother and baby. Sometimes it can cause the baby to die from lack of oxygen. Other causes include birth defects, infections involving the mother, fetus or placenta, cord accidents (incidents in which the umbilical cord either becomes knotted, preventing the flow of blood to the fetus, or becomes wrapped around the baby’s neck), poor fetal growth or chronic conditions in the mother.
Gangloff said she was stunned to learn how many people had been through an experience similar to hers.
“It’s not something people talk about,” she said. “It’s seen as a very private thing.”
In order to help raise awareness, as well as to help her family members heal, Gangloff’s sister-in-law, Julie Brown, organized a 5K walk/run, Chase-ing Hope, last year. The second annual event will take place next weekend.
“[Chase-ing Hope] is a big part of bringing awareness to miscarriage and stillbirth,” Gangloff said. “It’s important for people to realize that Chase is part of our family. The idea that so many people go through it and so many people are unaware of it… We can’t forget that so many families have gone through it.”
Gangloff said Brown was entirely responsible for organizing both the inaugural event and this year’s follow-up.
“Julie came to us one day last summer and said she had decided to make plans for this, unbeknownst to us,” Gangloff said. She said her husband Chris’s sister fully understood their desire to keep their son’s memory alive. “Julie came to the hospital when Chase had passed. She got to hold him. She went through all of that with us, as did his mom and [his other sister] Becky. What stood out to Julie and what was at the forefront for Chris and I when it happened, we were worried that Chase would be forgotten.”
Gangloff said she also didn’t want her son to miss out on the sense of family that she and her husband had always felt and had wanted for their children (they also have an older daughter, Olivia).
“We had incredible family support. We wanted to make sure Chase had an opportunity to feel that love,” she said. “We felt awful that he never had that opportunity. [With the walk/run] he still gets a chance to feel that. That’s a significant part of its meaning to us.”
This year’s event will take place Saturday, Oct. 3, at Oneida Shores in Brewerton. Registration starts at 9 a.m. with the 5K walk/run kicking off at 10 a.m. The untimed, USATF-sanctioned race takes place on a certified 5K course. Registration is $20; all proceeds go to the March of Dimes.
The event also includes raffles, live entertainment by Shaun Halloran, face painting and more. For more information or to register in advance, visit chase-inghope.wix.com/chase.
Chase-ing Hope gives the Gangloffs an opportunity to feel close to the son they’ll never get to watch grow up.
“A good friend said to us, we’ll never celebrate his birthday or his graduation. We’ll never dance with him at his wedding. But at least we’ll have this,” Gangloff said. “That’s how we look at it. It brings us comfort in that way.”
