COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — During Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, a Commerce Township woman is sharing her journey of hope after experiencing the heartbreak of a stillbirth.
Watch Jolie Sherman's video report:
On Monday, Joanna Hertz and her husband, Kevin Torongo, reunited with the nurses and doctors at DMC Huron Valley Sinai Hospital who helped bring their daughter, Lainey June Torongo, into the world back in July.
"She's truly the biggest blessing," Hertz said.
For the Commerce Township couple, the journey to parenthood has been marked by both tragedy and triumph. Before Lainey's birth, Hertz experienced a devastating loss.
"I think stillbirths, specifically, no one really knows what the word means. They haven't heard about it. It needs to be spread and people need to know about it," Hertz said.
On November 8, 2021, Hertz had a stillbirth at 36 weeks and 6 days with her son, Landon, whose pictures and footprints now hang on the walls of their home.
"It was devastating. I mean, at first, I think I was just really in shock about what happened," Hertz said.
She recalls having a routine check where everything seemed fine, but days later she started to feel less movement and was instructed to return to the hospital.
"The nurse, who was trying to find his heartbeat. I remember thinking maybe she's just new and not trained, and can't find it. And I just kept asking them: Are you sure? Are you sure? Can you do another ultrasound? Yeah, it was just really hard," Hertz said.
Through her grief, Joanna found support through therapy, support groups, and other mothers who had similar experiences.
When she decided to try for another baby, she connected with Dr. Bernard Gonik, a maternal-fetal medicine physician at DMC Huron Valley Sinai Hospital, who was involved in Hertz's prenatal care and decision-making up until delivery.
"When you have that sort of tragic event occur in your lifetime, everything else is tainted, everything else is changed. So, even simple decisions we might think are simple decisions get very complicated," Dr. Gonik said.
According to Dr. Gonik, there's a higher chance of complications after a stillbirth. Together, they created a comprehensive birth plan that included extra monitoring and a two-week hospital stay to ensure a safe delivery.
On July 1, 2025, their daughter, Lainey, was born healthy and safe.
In their daughter's nursery, the Hertz family keeps the "L" in Lainey's name blue to honor and remember their son, as it once spelled out "Landon" in his nursery — a meaningful way to keep his memory alive as they raise their baby girl.
"We are just so grateful that she is here today, she was delivered safely, and we're just so grateful for her," Hertz said.
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