MP Kmiec grieves death of daughter
Family thankful for newborn child’s brief time at home
Calgary Shepard MP Tom Kmiec is mourning the death of his newborn daughter.
Kmiec and his wife, Evangeline, announced this week in a Facebook post that their baby daughter, Lucy-Rose, died on Monday, 39 days after being born.
Lucy-Rose was diagnosed with Trisomy 13, a chromosomal disorder that can cause severe neurological and heart defects.
Kmiec said his daughter spent most of her brief life in the hospital’s neonatal intensive-care unit, but she did have a week at home with her family.
“We are so thankful for the time we got to have with her to love her, and (that) our three older children got to know their baby sister,” Kmiec said on Facebook.
The Conservative MP, first elected in 2015, said the experience has been “soul-crushing ” for his family, but he thanked their church and friends for an outpouring of support following Lucy-Rose’s birth.
“Her short life was energetic and eventful. It has made me realize that life is much more than prizes, certificates and public recognition,” he said.
Kmiec also thanked staff at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and the South Health Campus.
He’ll take a leave of absence from his duties as an MP and will skip the Conservative party’s convention in Halifax next week.