Per reports, when the unfortunate mother, Valerie, delivered her stillborn son in July, she was heartbroken. Still grieving, she decided to part with most of the items she’d bought in anticipation of bringing her son, Noah, home. However, she was unwilling to let go of the white crib, and decided to exclude it from the garage sale she held last month. However, when retiree Gerald saw it, he asked to buy it.
The then-28-year-old mom initially hesitated, but finally relented when she heard that 75-year-old Gerald was a craftsman who made benches from secondhand footboards and headboards. “I was a little bit at peace with it because he’d be making something nice,” the mother said. She parted with it for $2. The mother also had a conversation with Lorene, Gerald’s wife, and she shared her heartbreaking story after Lorene saw the newborn clothes at the sale and asked Valerie how old her son was.
On the way home, Lorene shared Valerie’ story with Gerald. The couple, who have 15 kids and dozens of grandchildren, knew that the crib belonged with the unfortunate mother. A week later, the couple delivered a bench to Valerie made from the crib (SEE PHOTO). Speaking to TODAY.com, Valerie reportedly said: “It’s beautiful. I thought, ‘There’s still kind people out there.’” She placed the bench in her living room, where she can remember Noah.
“I’m overwhelmed with joy that it’s not just sitting somewhere unused,” she said. “Now I can sit in it, hold his bear, think about him if I need to.” Valerie had felt less fetal movement in the final days of her full-term pregnancy, and Noah was delivered on July 22 via cesarean section, just hours the mother and fiancé Jimi learned that there was no heartbeat. According to doctors, the umbilical cord became compressed, depriving Noah of oxygen. Lorene and Gerald, whose first granddaughter was stillborn, understood Valerie’ pain better than most. “An unused crib is a sad reminder,” Gerald said. “A bench is more of a memorial. It’s part of that sad happening, yet it’s not a reminder like a crib would be, an empty crib.” Valerie offered to pay him, but Gerald refused. “It’s just nice to be able to do something for someone. It’s nice to help people,” he said.
