I chose L99 because there is no known story since s/he died at birth. When I was very young, I gave birth to a baby girl who died within one hour of being born. It took me many years to figure out how to grieve her. One of the saddest things was how the world never really knew she existed.

Like everyone who heard or saw the story of Tahlequah  (J35) and her stillborn calf, I was deeply moved by how, as a mother, she did two remarkable things: she grieved her baby and she ensured the wider world would know her story.

 

I embroidered L99 with pearls to make the beautiful bubbles that’s/he would blow if s/he had lived. And I give L99 the name of my own dead baby

Cassandra

Mary Anne Pare