WINNEMUCCA—On October 15th Humboldt General Hospital’s Mother and Baby Unit hopes to ease the pain of those who have experienced the loss of a pregnancy or an infant.
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and October 15 marks each year’s “Wave of Light Ceremony,” a candle lighting service that brings together those who have grieved the loss of a child in a ceremony of unity.
At 7 p.m. in all time zones, candles are lit and kept burning for one hour, creating a 24-hour “wave of light” as it moves around the world in reverence of beloved babies who are dearly loved and forever missed.
For the fifth time this Oct. 15, Humboldt General Hospital will bring the ceremony to Winnemucca, adding one more link to the chain of light that encompasses and spans the globe. HGH OB Nurse Tiffany Andersen will once again oversee the event.
She said the local ceremony offers another means of acknowledging and remembering pregnancy loss and infant death, including miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, or the death of a newborn.
“This ceremony illuminates the night in love and light,” said Andersen. “It’s a chance for grieving parents to come together and to be surrounded by love and support from their friends and families.”
She added, “We want to help give our parents a place to express the grief and love they continue to experience long after everyone else forgets.”
This year’s “Wave of Light” will be held on Saturday, October 15, 2022, in the Mother and Baby Unit at HGH. This year there will not be an in-person event. All community members are welcome to email their angel’s name to andersent@hghospital.org or call 775-623-5222, ext. 1268.
If any community members would like to decorate a luminaire bag for a candle to be placed in, please pick up the luminaire bag from HGH’s OB unit on 10/13 and 10/14.
The candles will be lit from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on 10/15. A memorial with the Angel Tree from past events will be placed on the Labor and Delivery unit to illuminate during the Wave of Light.
For more information or if you would like to add a name to the Angel Tree in honor of a lost loved one about the Wave of Light Ceremony, please call Humboldt General Hospital’s Mother and Baby Unit at 775-623-5222, ext. 1268.