Submitted by Scott Beedy, Channel 3000 Community Editor
Friday, June 24th, 2011, 3:22pm

Last June, Melissa and Mike Terrill had an experience that changed them forever. The couple was busy preparing for their second child, but what they weren’t expecting was for their child to be born so early.

Melissa gave birth on June 13 to Mikayla Grace, who weighed just more than 1.5 pounds, at just 24 weeks. Mikayla died 36 hours later. The Terrill’s have dealt with their grief, in part, by helping others.

“It is our hope to give parents leaving the hospital without their babies something to fill their empty arms,” they said. “Leaving the hospital without Mikayla was one of the worst feelings in the world. The keepsakes we received while Mikayla was in the NICU are few, but will be treasured for a lifetime. We would like to supplement this with things that have brought us comfort and resources that we have found on our own. We want to ensure that other parents will have the opportunity to have special ways to remember their babies gone too soon.”

Along with several other parents in the area that have lost children, the Terrill’s created Mikayla’s Grace, a nonprofit that provides care packages and support for families that lose babies.

Recently they made a special donation to St. Mary’s Hospital to help those in need.

For more information on MIkayla’s Grace or to help out, visit:  www.mikaylasgrace.com.