July 20, 2006 my son Jacob was left unattended in a daycare van for an unknown period of time in 104 degree heat. Jacob was discovered missing by his older brother Keyth who attended the same facility. When daycare workers discovered his lifeless body, with a core temperature of 109, his body was then moved to a nearby park to elude police of guilt.

At the age of 25 I found myself in the untenable position of being a single mother with two small boys, one of whom was now dead. There are no words in the English language to adequately describe the degree of devastation I experienced at the realization that: 1.) my son was lost forever: 2 ) I had no idea how to plan a funeral: 3.)I had no life insurance on my children: and 4.)no money for funeral expenses.

It was only because of the help of family, friends and local charities that I was able to give my son the funeral he deserved.

There is no peace when one loses a child, but due to the extraordinary sacrifice my mother made in assuming total responsibility for the planning and management of Jacob’s funeral, I was relieved of that burden and allowed a private space in time to grieve my son’s loss because of the small measure of peace it provided.