MMM aims to help families in need

After the loss of their son just a few years ago, a couple has made a large impact not just in this community, but in surrounding areas as well.

Nathan and Sarah Trahan started their non-profit Making Memories for Myles in January of 2023 and have helped families with similar experiences since.

“Myles is doing so much more now than we would have ever thought,” Sarah said.

At 22 weeks pregnant, Sarah’s water broke, and she was hospitalized at the Women’s Hospital of Texas for five and a half weeks.

Sarah said she felt those weeks were God’s way of allowing her to process everything.

Sarah delivered Myles on Aug. 6, 2022, at 27 weeks. Doctors predicted little Myles would pass within a few days, but he defied odds and lived for 32 days, passing on Sept. 7.

Sarah said the pair met many families that couldn’t be with their children as often as the couple could be due to financial burdens.

Nathan added that the community organized a benefit for them, which allowed the couple to be with Myles every day until his passing.

Sarah explained that she wanted to help those families while also keeping the memory of Myles alive, which is when Making Memories for Myles was created.

The Trahan’s hope that MMM represents more than just the loss of their son.

“I’d like it to be its own brand that helps support families,” Nathan said. “I kind of want it to stand on its own merit.”

The idea of a special room came into play when the Trahan's recalled Myles’ passing, describing a curtain that didn’t allow for much privacy.

“Even though your world is crumbling, life goes on,” Sarah said.

She added that they understood hospital staff needed to help other patients, but the couple wanted to create a “safe haven” for families.

Nathan thought to also extend the room to serve as a test run of sorts for families preparing to bring their babies home from the neonatal intensive care unit.

After just one bingo event, the Anahuac community raised enough funds to build the hospital room, which opened in April of this year.

“This room was made possible because of the community and support and love that they show us and continue to,” Sarah said.

The annual golf tournament fundraiser went from about 60 to 70 attendees in the first year to 120 attendees this year, and sponsors more than doubled.

“All the funding comes from a little bitty speck on the radar,” Nathan said. “You’ve got a little bitty town supporting a huge metropolitan area.”

During the most recent golf tournament, a group of Myles’ providers played, with one telling the couple about his first time having to use the room.

“He said ‘When you walk in it, you can feel the love. It’s not just a room,’” Sarah said.

In addition to the room, the Trahan's help families pay for funeral costs, hospital bills, regular monthly bills and anything in between.

They also began providing a Myles’ Blessing Box to families. The first contained teas, lotions, a Bible, cozy socks, a blanket and more.

Sarah noted that the blanket was a necessary addition, explaining that her aunt handmade her a blanket which went over Myles’ incubator.

“Walking out without my baby was hard enough, but I didn’t walk out empty handed,” Sarah said, teary-eyed.

Sarah added that the box also includes the Trahan's contact information, and she offers a listening ear or shoulder to lean on whenever a family needs.

Sarah said she has gone to sit with families while their babies were in surgeries or watched children so the parents have time to grieve a loss.

The Trahan's hope to eventually reach other communities with their fundraisers to grow the non-profit to better help families in need. One long-term goal is to purchase a home near the women’s hospital for families to use while their babies are in the NICU.

A shorter-term goal is to reach out to other hospitals to build additional safe haven rooms.

The next fundraiser will be a bingo night on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Whites Park.

To reach the Trahan's, email makingmemoriesformyles@gmail.com or call Sarah at 936-346-2051.