‘For all babies who have left us too soon.’ Parents dedicate sculpture at Lexington hospital.

If life had gone as expected, Katie and Bryan Black would have been hosting their little girl’s second birthday party on Saturday.

Instead, the Blacks were helping unveil a sculpture in her memory.

The sculpture in the courtyard at the Women’s Hospital at St. Joseph East was provided through the Avery Elizabeth Foundation, which the Blacks set up after baby Avery was stillborn on July 27, 2017.

A plaque at the hospital says the sculpture memorializes Avery and “all babies who have left us too soon.” The Blacks and hospital staff hope it will be a comforting place for families who have experienced stillbirth, infant loss and miscarriage.

“It’s very bittersweet,” said Katie Black. “I can’t think of any better way to celebrate her.”

The sculpture, designed by Lexington sculptor Kiptoo Tarus, is of a mother and baby elephant and symbolizes “the bond between mother and baby that is everlasting,” said Leslie Smart, president of the hospital foundation.

Bryan Black said Avery’s nursery had been decorated in an elephant theme.

“We were excited, full of hope,” he said Saturday. “We thought we knew what we were supposed to do, but God had a different plan for us.”

“I actually had a perfect pregnancy,” Katie Black said in an interview.

In July 2017, when she was 40 weeks and three days pregnant, the couple arrived at the Women’s Hospital at St. Joseph East for Katie to be induced.

“We thought we were going to come home with a baby the next day,” she said.

When the fetal monitor was turned on, there was no heartbeat.

Although she had experienced no symptoms, Katie had developed severe preeclampsia that took her baby’s life.

Now, the Blacks want to reach out to other families experiencing similar situations.

“It’s difficult for men,” said Bryan Black. “I felt like I had to be the strong one... I found out it was okay to go get help.”

Debbie Gibbons, the Women’s Hospital’s bereavement coordinator, said the hospital cares for 30 to 40 families each year who have suffered such losses.

Aside from the sculpture, she said the Blacks’ gift through the Avery Elizabeth Foundation will help provide camera equipment to take photos for those families.

“We treasure those pictures so much,” Katie Black said.

And the Blacks have made themselves available to help by talking to other grieving parents if needed.

“I am sad that we ever had to meet, but I am so happy that you carried on Avery’s memory,” Gibbons told the couple Saturday. “Thank you for letting Avery spur you on to help others.”

The couple said that the care they received from the hospital staff after their loss made a big difference in their lives.

“This is the type of thing that could have ruined our marriage,” Katie said Saturday.

Instead, they have become parents again. Baby Marshall is almost 11 months old and looks a lot like his older sister Avery.

Sometimes he laughs in his sleep.

“We think that that’s Avery visiting him in his dreams,” Katie Black said.

This story was originally published July 27, 2019 at 3:01 PM.