Dear Friends,

          Normally you see me posting funny family photos and inciting words of wisdom from a three year old who is going on twelve. Most of you who know me, know that I have nothing to hide in my life and I enjoy sharing as much of my life with my friends and family as possible. I am asking you now to please bare with me, as what I am writing is extremely difficult to formulate and process. I encourage you all to read this in its entirety, as my family is trying to cope with recent events the best that we can, but we want to shed some light, in an effort to help us cope by putting it all out on the table.

          On Friday morning, my wife Christina, had her final doctor's appointment before we were scheduled to be admitted into Wesson Women’s for a planned delivery of our new baby boy, Bryce Thomas Rivest. We were ecstatic, we were now only days away from introducing our newest addition to the world and most importantly to his big brother Brayden. Over the past nine months, Brayden had been gearing himself up to be the best big brother he could be. He was ready and willing to give up his most prized possessions, so that his little brother would feel comfort in such a big new world.

          Friday was as much of a normal day as any other Fridays past. Alarm ring at 5am….snooze. Alarm ring at 5:15…..snooze. Bailey, our faithful hound dog’s final wake up call at 5:30. Yup, it was official, the day had begun. We went about our morning as normal, getting ready and heading out for the day. It was now 8:45 and I was at work when my phone rang, it was Christina. At that moment, I was not aware that this would be the most terrifying phone call I have ever answered. Christina was in hysterics, I couldn’t understand much of anything through the broken reception, but I finally heard the words, “we lost the baby”. I couldn’t tell you much of the next half hour, it is such a jumbled blur in my mind, but I do know, that I made it to the hospital where Christina was in record time.  

          I arrived a Wesson Women's and was given the presidential escort to where Christina was. My brain was now in overdrive, I had so many thoughts and feelings rushing through my head during that 3 minute walk through the corridor. Mainly, the fact that she was alone for the past half hour, dealing with this news all by herself. How could this be? Why is this happening? Why? Why! WHY!! How do we explain to a three year old, who was probably the most excited by having a baby, that he was not going to have his new best friend in his life?

          Finally, I was by Christina’s side. We both completely broke down, we had so many questions, most of which are still unanswered as I write this. It was at that time, that I found out that the baby had no heartbeat. More anger, sadness and probably millions more feelings that we cannot recall, consumed both of us as we grieved. I thought back to the night before, Bryce was kicking and moving just like he did every night as we settled in for the evenings. How could this be, we were so close, we were almost there, we were ready to bring this baby into the world, only to have he taken from us so abruptly.

          We were admitted into the hospital for Christina to be induced and proceed with the delivery process. By now, we have had some time to process and prepare ourselves. We knew, that in the coming hours, that we were in for the most terrifying emotional rollercoaster of our existence. Our families immediately rushed down to be with us, to comfort us and support us. The silver lining of that moment was seeing family, family who hasn’t spoken in many many years comfort each other lovingly. I guess if there is a positive in this whole ordeal, it was that moment.

          As we sit in our room, trying to pass the time with family, who are doing their absolute best to keep our minds occupied, while simultaneously trying to keep their minds occupied, I looked at my wife and thought, WOW, this woman is so amazingly strong. This ordeal would have surely broken most people, yet she is becoming stronger with every passing minute, helping comfort those around us. I knew though, that deep inside, she was an absolute wreck and I needed to stay as strong as possible for her, because at some point, we were going to meet our baby Bryce, and we were going to be confronted with never before experienced emotions.

          Fast forward to Saturday, we are preparing for delivery, our families still by our sides without a break. Let me also take a minute to tell you how amazing the hospital was. Normally only three guests are allowed into the delivery wing, but they lifted all restrictions, gave us an extra room for family to rest in and even supplied everyone with food and drink. I’m not sure if it was hospital protocol or not for our situation, but this was an absolutely heartwarming gesture that did not go unnoticed.  

          At 1:12pm Saturday afternoon, Christina gave birth to Bryce Thomas Rivest, weighing 6 pounds 11 ounces and measuring 21” long. The emotions flooded over us in waves, as we held him for the first and last time. He was perfect, beautiful and looked at peace with a natural smile on his face. Bryce had not known the world, but we know deep down that he had come to know his Mom, Dad and big Brother very well over the previous nine months. It’s that lasting smile he had that will be ingrained in our minds for the rest of time. While we are sad and completely heart broken, we understand the circle of life often has no rhyme or reason for its master plan.

We are thankful for the time we did get to spend with Bryce, though it was short, it will still be one of the biggest memories in our lives.

          We have been truly blessed with the enormous support from our family and friends, more so then can expressed with words or actions. I do not write this as a sympathy post, and I do not feel this experience should be treated as taboo and not spoken about. Will it be tough? Absolutely! Will we get through it? Absolutely! But Bryce Thomas Rivest will be, “Forever in our Hearts”.

          On Saturday November 12th, at Forastiere Smith Funeral home, 220 North Main Street, East Longmeadow, MA, we will be having a remembrance for Bryce from 12pm to 2pm with a celebration of life ceremony immediately following at 2pm.

          In closing, I will leave you with this quote, to remind you, that no matter what life deals you, there are people there to help see you through the darkest times.

“At the end of the day, as we watch the sun close out the memories of the past, we realize, that as the sun rises, a new set of obstacles will emerge for us to overcome, victoriously, with the loving help of those around us.”

Love, The Rivest Family