Women outfit infants at end of life
Joseph Robert Meisinger came into this world on Jan. 9, 2006.
His parents knew something was wrong.
Joey, as they called their 7pound son, struggled to breathe regularly. He had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. Doctors determined he had been born missing most of his brain stem, the result of a genetic abnormality. Joey was one of only 34 known cases in the world.
His mother, Dawn Meisinger, dressed him in a Chicago Bears onesie she had bought for him to wear home. Instead, he was baptized in it.
He died Jan. 17, 2006 — eight days after his birth.
“There was no closure,” his mother said.
Then, in 2014, a close family friend mentioned a project in Texas that transforms wedding gowns into outfits for infants who are at the end of life. She should start a similar program in Wisconsin, the friend said.
Meisinger didn’t know how she could pull it off. She did not sew and was anxious about starting something she could not complete. But a few weeks later, she logged into Facebook and searched for a local “buy, sell, trade” page. She typed a short post about herself and her proposed project.
Within an hour, she had been offered 62 wedding dresses.
Her volunteer organization, Sweet Send Aways, was born.
Susan Capozzi of Burlington was the first to answer Meisinger’s online call for a volunteer seamstress. The mom of six, who works as a dental hygienist and tutor, knew how to sew from years of quilting.
She also could relate to Meisinger, having lost a child late in pregnancy years earlier.
“It was very sudden and very painful,” Capozzi said. “You’re pregnant and then your dreams are shattered.”
Creating the infant-sized gowns and tiny stuffed animals became part of her own healing process.
Terri Nowicki of Twin Lakes and her aunt, Marge Allender, whose family once owned a local fabric store, soon joined the effort.
The volunteers have created more than 946 garments. The donated wedding gowns, now numbering 300 and kept in a storage facility, come from across the country and Canada, varying in styles and materials.
On a clear, sunny day this March, Meisinger and her volunteers gathered around a kitchen table and chatted about inventory, new designs and their children. Capozzi looked across the table and caught Meisinger’s eye.
“I think Joey’s proud of you for what you’re doing,” she said.