Our History
Our Foundress worked passionately for decades in a secular setting as a nurse in the field of cardiovascular disease management and was very content with her life. However, in 1992 she began to sense an inner calling to open a home for infants who were at risk of abuse or death. She thought this “calling” was her own, born of her desire for children. However, on December 12, 1994, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn, her calling was tested and clarified, with the birth of baby Alexandra into her life. Little Alex, her niece, lived 45 days, dying at the family home from a rare and fatal genetic syndrome. Over and above the agonizing pain of Alexandra’s death, they felt completely isolated during those desolate days, as Alex came home with minimal support. The days, and especially nights, caring for Alexandra were long and often frightening.
This experience brought to the surface a hidden problem. Medicine, with its immense technical advancements, can diagnose fatal fetal defects early in pregnancy. Often parents of gravely ill, unborn babies are alone in their grief, in their search for information, and their need for support. While hospice services exist for adults, it is limited for babies, especially those still in the womb. Grieving families should not have to do this alone.
Thus on April 28, 1997, Alexandra’s House was legally founded as a Missouri not-for-profit corporation with its purpose being expressed as a baby hospice, for the term “perinatal hospice” had not yet been defined. Initially the mission was operated from our Foundress’ two-bedroom townhouse until mid-2002, when it moved into a much larger home, and she supported it with her personal income until 2003. Its first baby was referred in 1999 and now Alexandra’s House operates around the clock to serve families and their dying babies.
Many have been called since those early days to help advance and sustain this work and for each one we are so deeply grateful.
