Fort Dodge Mother Promotes Iowa SIDS Walk This Weekend to Boost Awareness, Education and Research

4 years have passed, but the memories and grief of losing a child doesn’t end.

For Kenzie and Kody Pirie of Fort Dodge, losing a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome left them with questions that could not be answered:

“How do we not have answers?” she said. “I read the autopsy report and everything came back as unremarkable. In this day and age how can you tell me that a baby just dies for no reason?”

In the four years since the Pire’s have lost their daughter, Kenzie has become a board member for the Iowa SIDS Foundation and a peer contact.

On Saturday, she will join with other families who are left with a hole in their hearts to remember those who have been lost and raise money to fund research for answers, and to spread education and awareness during the Iowa SIDS Foundation Walk for the Future.

“This pays for the pamphlets, resources, bereavement groups,” she said. “There’s grandparent bereavement groups. There are books and other resources for siblings and the Iowa SIDS Foundation helps with all of that.” 

The walk begins this Saturday locally at Oleson Park with registration at 10:30 and the walk beginning at 11:30. There will also be a raffle, silent auction, kids activities and a memorial event to remember those lost and to bring people together.

“The best advice that I ever got was embrace people,” she said. “Embrace that help and embrace everyone around you. Even though there were times that I wanted to shut people out, that is what helped the most”.