Welcome to our South Carolina Chapter page
Our south Carolina chapter leader is Ricki Escalante Here is a little information about her and her son Chito Escalante JR. or as his family calls him C.J.
To contact Ricki please email her @ babieswithwingssc@gmail.com
I have a 7 year old son from a previous marriage, so I was a "seasoned" mother so to speak. After marrying the love of my life, we instantly knew we wanted a baby together, but after surviving Cervical & Ovarian Cancer (twice) at an early age, we knew it would be a struggle from the beginning. Our first 2 pregnancies were lost to miscarriage, but the 3rd pregnancy was a stickler! They began to give me progesterone injections around my 2nd month to maintain the pregnancy & sure enough, I carried the little baby for 37 weeks. Born on February 27th, 2008 was Chito Escalante Jr. or as we called him, CJ. He was bright & beautiful, so full of life and love. He made our already perfect world complete. 10 weeks later our beautiful and perfect world turned upside down on May 9th, 2008 when we awoke to find our precious baby boy lifeless. He was already gone and nothing could be done to save him.
We found out CJ died as a result of swelling of his lungs (Pneumonitis) but it's still listed as SIDS by Pneumonitis.
I remember being forced out of the house when EMS arrived to try to save my baby, laying on the ground outside, BEGGING God to give him life. I would DO ANYTHING if he'd just grant me this one wish... but God did not intend to let me keep CJ here. Neighbors later told me their stories of how all of them heard my wretched screams that morning, how they were all standing outside watching me, as I screamed at the top of my lungs, "GOD PLEASE! GOD PLEASE!" But at that moment, no one was around... I didn't see any of them. At that moment, there was only me & God, and I felt like God wasn't listening to me.
I questioned for months how "God" could do this to me, but after weeks depressed in my bed, barely able to get up... I finally trusted God one more time. I got out of my bed, laid in my bedroom floor and cried out to him, "God, I am NOT this strong, please take this pain away from me! I can't handle this any more! I'm not strong enough!" and as I lay there, I literally felt his arms, they reached around me, they picked me back on my feet and from that day forward I have been a happier person with more strength inside of me than I even thought was possible.
For months I wandered hopelessly searching for help to get through this horrible tragedy. I looked at other people as they laughed & smiled and all I could think was, "how can they be SO happy while I am so miserable?" Through the help of family & friends, one friend who is near and dear to my heart, I was able to come out of my depression and turn my pain into something to help others.
I met a woman named Donna in the checkout line at Wal-Mart. Complimented on how beautiful her little baby girl was. She replied with a light thank you and told me her name was "Hope" and that it was her 1st birthday! After checking out, this stranger with the cute baby told me she saw me in a wheel chair at the hospital ER 10 days prior saying I couldn't breathe, and upon asking the nurse if something was going around, she was told I had just lost my baby.
She told me she wanted to get out of her hospital bed that morning to come tell me she knew how I felt and just give me a big hug. But she couldn't, she was a patient herself that morning... she also knew that at that particular moment, I wasn't ready to hear of her loss. She explained about her daughter, Julie, who had passed from SIDS in 2006 and the more we talked, the closer we become, almost instantaneously. We discovered that our precious babies were buried in the same cemetery, only a few hundred meters apart. Donna & I have been best friends, almost sisters, ever since that day. She was my source for support & healing for the most part, and I'll always love her for that.
Since then, we organized the CJ & Julie Strides for Babies event which raised money for SIDS Awareness & Research.
On December 12, 2008, my husband, Chito Sr. and I found out we were pregnant again! Just like with CJ we did progesterone injections to maintain the pregnancy and at 38 weeks, Ariana Grace was born into this world. She is now a happy toddler. Our family also has been blessed with another beautiful and healthy baby girl Named Faith (A blessing from CJ). I am a Nationally Certified Pharmacy Technician, a Phlebotomist & an a Professional Photographer. But I have a deep passion for being the "Donna" for other people.
To contact Ricki please email her @ babieswithwingssc@gmail.com
I have a 7 year old son from a previous marriage, so I was a "seasoned" mother so to speak. After marrying the love of my life, we instantly knew we wanted a baby together, but after surviving Cervical & Ovarian Cancer (twice) at an early age, we knew it would be a struggle from the beginning. Our first 2 pregnancies were lost to miscarriage, but the 3rd pregnancy was a stickler! They began to give me progesterone injections around my 2nd month to maintain the pregnancy & sure enough, I carried the little baby for 37 weeks. Born on February 27th, 2008 was Chito Escalante Jr. or as we called him, CJ. He was bright & beautiful, so full of life and love. He made our already perfect world complete. 10 weeks later our beautiful and perfect world turned upside down on May 9th, 2008 when we awoke to find our precious baby boy lifeless. He was already gone and nothing could be done to save him.
We found out CJ died as a result of swelling of his lungs (Pneumonitis) but it's still listed as SIDS by Pneumonitis.
I remember being forced out of the house when EMS arrived to try to save my baby, laying on the ground outside, BEGGING God to give him life. I would DO ANYTHING if he'd just grant me this one wish... but God did not intend to let me keep CJ here. Neighbors later told me their stories of how all of them heard my wretched screams that morning, how they were all standing outside watching me, as I screamed at the top of my lungs, "GOD PLEASE! GOD PLEASE!" But at that moment, no one was around... I didn't see any of them. At that moment, there was only me & God, and I felt like God wasn't listening to me.
I questioned for months how "God" could do this to me, but after weeks depressed in my bed, barely able to get up... I finally trusted God one more time. I got out of my bed, laid in my bedroom floor and cried out to him, "God, I am NOT this strong, please take this pain away from me! I can't handle this any more! I'm not strong enough!" and as I lay there, I literally felt his arms, they reached around me, they picked me back on my feet and from that day forward I have been a happier person with more strength inside of me than I even thought was possible.
For months I wandered hopelessly searching for help to get through this horrible tragedy. I looked at other people as they laughed & smiled and all I could think was, "how can they be SO happy while I am so miserable?" Through the help of family & friends, one friend who is near and dear to my heart, I was able to come out of my depression and turn my pain into something to help others.
I met a woman named Donna in the checkout line at Wal-Mart. Complimented on how beautiful her little baby girl was. She replied with a light thank you and told me her name was "Hope" and that it was her 1st birthday! After checking out, this stranger with the cute baby told me she saw me in a wheel chair at the hospital ER 10 days prior saying I couldn't breathe, and upon asking the nurse if something was going around, she was told I had just lost my baby.
She told me she wanted to get out of her hospital bed that morning to come tell me she knew how I felt and just give me a big hug. But she couldn't, she was a patient herself that morning... she also knew that at that particular moment, I wasn't ready to hear of her loss. She explained about her daughter, Julie, who had passed from SIDS in 2006 and the more we talked, the closer we become, almost instantaneously. We discovered that our precious babies were buried in the same cemetery, only a few hundred meters apart. Donna & I have been best friends, almost sisters, ever since that day. She was my source for support & healing for the most part, and I'll always love her for that.
Since then, we organized the CJ & Julie Strides for Babies event which raised money for SIDS Awareness & Research.
On December 12, 2008, my husband, Chito Sr. and I found out we were pregnant again! Just like with CJ we did progesterone injections to maintain the pregnancy and at 38 weeks, Ariana Grace was born into this world. She is now a happy toddler. Our family also has been blessed with another beautiful and healthy baby girl Named Faith (A blessing from CJ). I am a Nationally Certified Pharmacy Technician, a Phlebotomist & an a Professional Photographer. But I have a deep passion for being the "Donna" for other people.
To help parents in South Carolina please make a donation to BWW. All funds will go back to help parents in South Carolina.
Butterfly of Hope
Look who came to visit, this time with a message. This little yellow butterfly's right wing was torn, yet he flew about like he wasn't hurt at all...
It's hard to believe a little yellow butterfly has inspired me so much. I see beauty in this world... beauty that most take for granted, and I feel blessed that I see the world that way. THANK YOU little yellow butterfly, seeing you today put a smile on my face and some encouragement in my heart.
It's hard to believe a little yellow butterfly has inspired me so much. I see beauty in this world... beauty that most take for granted, and I feel blessed that I see the world that way. THANK YOU little yellow butterfly, seeing you today put a smile on my face and some encouragement in my heart.
Maybe
A poem writen By:Ricki Escalante for her son C.J.
From time to time I still awake in the middle of the night
Out of dreaming, looking over to see you alright.
But I look to an empty space.
I look to an empty place.
Then it hits me in the face.
I need a moment of God's Grace.
It takes a really strong woman to say "Goodbye" to her baby
but I wonder sometimes, "Am I that strong?"
Maybe...
It's been almost a month and it's still so hard to see
me waking up every day and you're not here with me.
I try to deal with missing you,
I try to deal with wanting you,
But it's just not that easy to let go of you
Knowing not when I'll get that chance to see you.
It takes a really strong woman to say "Goodbye" to her baby
but I wonder sometimes, "Am I that strong?"
Maybe...
You came into this world and left way too soon
and now I look up to the sky and gaze at the moon.
It seems you aren't so far away,
only right beyond those clouds you lay,
But I hold onto those happy smiles you gave,
and keep the memories in my heart we made.
It takes a really strong woman to say "Goodbye" to her baby
and yes, I do wonder sometimes, "Am I that strong?"
I'm not so sure but... Maybe...
