Melody O.

After my daughter, Dakota Marie Bauer, passed away at 16 months; I paid for and spent months creating a memorial site for her on memory-of.com (the forever site). I used many personal photos, poems from friends and family, and several graphics to design a place where friends, family, and strangers could come and share memories of, leave loving thoughts for, or get to know Dakota.

This period of my life was flooded with the worst pain, suffering, and sorrow that a person could imagine. I would sit a the computer with silent tears rolling down my face most of the time. Occasionally I would wail, unable to recognize the sounds that ripped through my body, and at times a faint smile would cross my face as I watched a video of my beautiful, giggling, baby girl. www.memory-of.com/dakota-marie-bauer would ensure my fear of my child being forgotten would never come true.

Though Dakota's journey was cut short on September 15,2005, she had a long list of triumphs. She arrived at 27 weeks gestation, weighing just 1lb 8oz. She fit in the palm of a hand. Surviving birth was just the beginning for Dakota Marie Bauer.

Once the site was live it received traffic and many, many people left comments and messages. Suddenly in my loneliness and sorrow, I felt a bit of comfort as I was no longer suffering alone. I found a community of parents who experienced the same heart-wrenching sorrow I had and we were united in our grief and support of each other. Close friendships were built through the grief.

Then...Poof.

Memory-of.com was gone. I lost site fees, labor hours, irreplaceable mementos, photos, poems, personal connections, support system, community, friendships, and the reassurance that my daughter's memory would live on forever.

Grief upon grief.

Heap on the grief.