'We remember:’ Hoan Bridge lights up on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- On Saturday night, the famed Hoan Bridge shone with bright pink and blue lights.

While it was a beautiful spectacle, the colors meant more than just an illuminated backdrop on the river.

Oct. 15 marks National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.

In a mission to honor those who have gone too soon, Milwaukeeans worked to raise $500 dollars to light the bridge.

Milwaukee resident Hazel Jones, who spread the fundraiser, said being able to see the pink and blue was incredible.

“When it comes to the babies who go too soon, I will do what I can, so their voices are always heard,” Jones said.

For Jones, her passion to be a voice for the voiceless started ten years ago.

“I lost my son July 28th of 2012. He was still born at 21 weeks,” Jones said.

His name? Matthew Aaron.

Jones said the hospital, while kind to her and her husband, unfortunately lacked supportive resources.

That’s when she and her sister came up with the idea to start Mattie’s Memory.

“Originally, we were just gonna be a support page and then somebody said to me, ‘well don’t you remember what you received at the hospital when Matthew died?’ I said, ‘not very much’ and they went, ‘well, why don’t you start making memory bags for the hospital where Matthew died?’” Jones said.

Now, a decade later, Mattie’s Memory has become a key support system for women and families across not only Southeast Wisconsin but around the globe. 

“I’ve made and donated 23,000 burial gowns, 10,000 memory packs, 10,000 hats, and 10,000 baby blankets across the world,” Jones said, while sitting proudly next to her sewing machine.

Jones said the feeling is bittersweet.

“I’m sad because there’s the need but I’m happy that I’m able to help so many people,” Jones said. “Never in a million years [did I think] that it would grow to be this big. It took on a life of its own.”

Oct. 15 also marks International Wave the Light, where families across the globe light a candle that burns for at least one hour to honor those lost.

On Saturday, dozens gathered under the colorful lights to read aloud the names of babies departed.

“We turned the Hoan Bridge pink and blue. We showed Southeast Wisconsin that we remember their babies,” Jones said.