Note: This story discusses infant loss.
Patty Hons said: ‘I shared with me that a mother said she wouldn’t be with her young daughter to choose a wedding dress, but she could choose this angel dress for her daughter. . “So touching.”
Hons, pictured below right, sews and donates “angel dresses” to babies who die before, during, or shortly after birth. Recently, she started donating angel dresses to IU Health Arnett Hospital – a moment of fulfillment for her. About ten years ago, she lost a niece, and a year later, a grandson, in Arnett.
“It didn’t seem like there was anything out there, so we wrapped our niece in a pink blanket to bury her,” Hons said.
One day, she watched a TV interview with the founder of the company Stitch Hearts in West Chester, Ohio. She turns to her husband and shares that she has found her purpose – the rest, as it is said, is in the past.
Hons, who has donated angel dresses to hospitals around Cincinnati and Indianapolis, said: “Making angel dresses helps me honor and remember my grandchildren.
Hons started sewing when she was in fourth grade to earn her Girl Scout badge. A neighbor taught her how to sew. For her next birthday, she received a sewing machine. She was a Home Economics teacher for several years before becoming a guidance counselor. Sewing has always been a part of her life.
Hons makes angel dresses from donated wedding dresses (see examples below). These angel dresses are made in three sizes. What makes them a bit more unique than other funeral clothes is that they are tied at the back like a hospital gown, making it easier to dress the child. There are swaddles for the smallest babies under a pound. A matching heart from the same dress is a keepsake for the family.
Hons said: “The news of me making angel dresses went viral. “I’ve never had to ask for a wedding dress donation.”
Hons and her husband moved to Indianapolis in 2017 to be closer to their children and four grandchildren. When Hons receives a wedding dress, she marks who donated and when. She shares pictures of the angel dresses upon request.
“When we went through the loss, there was no support,” Hons said. “When I reached out to Arnett and met Olivia and learned of all the things she does to support children and mothers, my heart sang.”
Olivia Rauschenbach, MS, CCLS, CIMI, CPST, pictured above with Hons, is a certified child life specialist at Arnett Hospital. One of her many roles is supporting grieving families.
“When I shared the angel dress donation with the group, they were just as grateful as I am,” says Rauschenbach.
