Fargo Family Loses Son, Now Helping Others Get Through Loss of Child

Kaylee and Josh Jaeger's son Lawrence Alexander passed away on Christmas Eve

FARGO, N.D. — A Fargo couple was expecting to welcome a healthy baby boy into the world on Christmas Eve, but he was instead taken from them too soon.

KVRR’s Danielle Church tells us how the Jaeger family is now making it their mission to help other families deal with the sudden loss of a child.

Kaylee and Josh Jaeger were preparing to be parents for the first time but on the day their son was born, they didn’t hear “congratulations” from their doctor.

They instead were told there was no heartbeat.

“We were left with lots of questions and it was the hardest thing we’ve had to go through,” Kaylee said.

But they didn’t have to get through that pain by themselves, thanks to Hopeful Heart and Harlynn’s Heart.
Both organizations help families heal after experiencing a miscarriage or the loss of a newborn.

“What they do is they bring you gifts just to comfort you, to keep you busy, to kind of keep your mind off the situation a little bit,”

“They also provide a community to be a part of. It’s not a community we want to be a part of but they really let us know that we’re not alone and they reached out to give us that opportunity to connect and share stories about our children.”

It was the light the Jaeger’s needed to realize it was time to start helping other families grapple with a loss like their own.

“We just knew that if this can happen to us, it can happen to someone else. So how can we make sure that they don’t feel alone and they get the same love and support that we got?”

After creating several milestones at CrossFit 701 together including meeting for the first time and becoming co-owners and even announcing their pregnancy there, the couple decided to turn to the rest of their CrossFit family for help.

“This is already more than anything we could have imagined. The amount of support from our friends and family, just unbelievable to not just support us and our son Little Lou but these two organizations and what they stand for in our community.”

Raising money for a cause takes some work though, which is why you could find all those supporters rowing, jumping and lifting their way through a workout in honor of the Jaeger’s son, Lawrence Alexander.

“The workout is completely after his birthday and his weight and how long he was,” Kaylee said.

A set of reps and weights is even managing to provide a little reminder for the family who is still trying to heal.

“People continue to remind us that we’ve got a kid too, that we’re parents. I think through the holidays it will remind us, it’ll be tough but this workout is kind of a brand, something we can wear on our sleeve, that we have something to remember him by,” Josh said.

The Jaeger’s say they hope their story can inspire other families struggling with a loss by reminding them that there are people out there to lean on.