SIDS Stamp effort

Posted by barb on Mar 16, 2004 in Random Thoughts |

I have a web page dedicated to my nephew who died of SIDS in 1996 when he was just 4 months and 21 days old. Because of this page, I have received several e-mails telling me about an effort to make a SIDS stamp, which would be similar to the breast cancer stamp. It would cost a few cents more than the regular first class stamp rate, and those extra cents would go directly to SIDS research.

They are asking that you do not send letters directly to the post office, because once an investigation into a stamp request is rejected, there is a one year period where the stamp will not be considered again. Instead, they would like to collect letters, and send them all together to show how much support there is for such a stamp. Check out the above link to see how to address a letter and where to send it.

Read on to see a draft of the letter I’ll be sending.


March 17, 2004

Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee
L’Enfant Plaza, Washington DC

Dear Committee Members:

I am writing regarding the consideration of a Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) stamp. Eight years ago, my brother and sister-in-law lost their son, Tyler, on May 29, 1996 to SIDS. He was four months and 21 days old.

Images from the week that followed Tyler’s death still haunt me. Images like his tiny body lying in a too-big casket. I still see his parents lovingly adjusting his clothes and tucking him in for the last time before closing the casket. He was my nephew for less than five months, but eight years later the memory of his death stings almost as much as the day it happened.

SIDS remains the number one killer of babies from the age of one month to one year, and yet research remains scant. The explanation given to most parents is merely that “it happens.” This is unacceptable. Parents and families who have lost their seemingly healthy babies deserve an answer to “why did this happen to my child?”

A SIDS stamp would not only raise money for SIDS research, but would also raise awareness of this insidious syndrome where the first symptom is death. Parents need to know what causes SIDS, and if there is any way to prevent more babies from dying.

Please consider the request to institute a SIDS stamp for much needed research. For my family. For me. For Tyler.

Sincerely

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