Rev. Run opens up about his tragic loss
Former Run-DMC rapper, Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons and his wife Justine open up to People about the devastating loss of their baby girl and how their faith helped get them through it.
The couple, who are already parents to 5 children, found out mid-way through Justine’s pregnancy that their daughter had omphaolcele, a birth defect in which the organs grow on the outside of her body. Weighing 4 lb. 5 oz. at birth, Victoria Anne only lived two short hours. The tragedy was captured during the filming of the couple’s MTV reality show Run’s House.
Here are the highlights of the interview:
Rev. Run: We found out that there could be a problem mid-pregnancy. The doctors told us that the baby’s organs were growing outside of the body. I’m a preacher; I’m not going to get an abortion. Our strength came from, ‘God can create miracles. This baby can be fine.’ We stopped looking at the sonogram and walked in faith. God, in my mind, gave us something to go through in front of America, so we documented it on-camera – not so much to show you sadness, but to show you how we, as ministers, would handle this tragedy.
Justine: [After Victoria Anne's death] my bishop recommended that I have a minute with the baby in the hospital. I looked at her and saw how pretty and peaceful she was. It didn’t feel like a goodbye to me. [Today] I can talk about it, but if I stop to literally revisit, I start crying so fast because I can go right there. Women need to know you only need to mourn quickly. Don’t try to think of [the baby's] eyes. It doesn’t sound nice, but it will help them in the long run. I wouldn’t have been able to help my kids get to school in the morning if my husband didn’t say, ‘We have to keep moving.’ I did a lot of journaling – writing to God telling him to give me strength.
To read the rest of this article, click here.
I think it is great the couple is sharing this painful experience with others. I am sure so many people are going through similar circumstances and it is comforting to know how others were able to get through it.
Evorgleb said,
April 3, 2007 @ 9:59 am
One of our guys ot Highbrid Nation did a nice post on Run and his apearance on Oprah. I give him and his family a lot of credit for dealing with thier loss in the public eye.