NEW YORK (AP) – Nancy Glynn could not afford a funeral for her newborn son who died after a premature birth.
She was already taking time off from her job as a waitress in Manchester, New Hampshire, to recover from a C-section. Adding to her difficulties, her husband had an unplanned surgery just two days after the baby died.
Sawyer was cremated, his remains put into an urn the funeral home provided for free. The couple, who also had a 3-year-old son, struggled to pay the bills and their gas was cut off. A cousin set up a Go Fund Me campaign to help them pay the rent.
Glynn was back at work after just a few weeks, smiling for customers. She sometimes hid in the restaurant office to cry.
“Just seeing a family come in was triggering. Seeing a kid come in,” said Glynn, who now works for several non-profits, including MomsRising, a group that advocates for paid parental leave and other policies. “But we had to make the money back.”