Everyday Heroes: Sarah Lampley

Sarah, 35, and her husband Lewis, 36, have three sons and always hoped to have more children. After years of infertility, she became pregnant with their fourth child.

"We jokingly said in our family: 'If we had a fourth boy, that would just be pretty legendary,‘” Sarah said.

So, naturally, when they found out it was a boy, Legend became his name.

Sarah had a healthy pregnancy, but two days before her scheduled inducement in September 2021, she was rushed to the emergency room with a placental abruption. Legend was delivered stillborn, and doctors had to fight to save Sarah’s life.

After time spent in the hospital, the grieving parents went home and told their older sons that Legend wasn’t with them.

"It was really heartbreaking as a family, especially since we made it to the end, and it had already been such a tough time even to get this beautiful blessing, Legend, whom we dreamed of for so long," said Sarah.

"Through our grief, we held on to our faith. That’s really important to us," she added.

Sarah began sharing her story on social media and received such love and support from her online community. It helped her family pull through and become stronger and more resilient.

In deep grief and still in pain, Sarah decided to donate her breast milk. For six months, she pumped and donated breast milk for premature babies in the hospital and for mothers who needed additional milk for their infants.

Knowing she was helping other moms was "incredible to experience and very healing," Sarah said.

The Lampley’s also turned their grief into a cause to bring hope to others.

They started the Legendary Impact Foundation, a nonprofit tasked to help build a resilient community. The organization is named after their son Legend and focuses on spreading love and positivity.

“We want to hold the hands and hearts of the grieving,” Sarah said.

The nonprofit sponsors an annual fundraiser, Legend’s Ball – always held in late September to celebrate Legend’s birth. Donations assist other organizations, such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Strong4Life, which helps families raise healthy, safe, resilient kids.

The foundation also supports smaller organizations throughout the year so these nonprofits can impact their communities.

“This has been so healing for us and really brought our family together in a special way,” Sarah said. “It’s fun to be on that other side of grief and spread the joy to others.”