Undate on my National Guard neighbor's family

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Mother sells items for SIDS research

A St. Cloud woman who lost her daughter to SIDS has organized a two-day garage sale to raise money for the Minnesota Sudden Infant Death Center.

The garage sale is 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the St. Cloud armory. Items for sale include clothing, toys and furniture. More than 100 families donated items for the sale.

Tammy Stanoch gave birth to Grayce Marie Stanoch on May 12. Her husband, Gordon, was at her side during the birth. Two days later he was deployed to Fort Dix, N.J., and later to Iraq with the Minnesota National Guard's Bravo Company, 434th Main Support Battalion.

Grayce died July 10.

"It's very devastating," Tammy Stanoch's mother, Carol Bieniek, said.

The situation was more difficult for Stanoch because her husband was away, and she also was caring for the couple's other child, 3-year-old Derek, Bieniek said.

About 2,500 infants die from SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, every year in the United States, according to the American SIDS Institute.

SIDS is the sudden death of an infant younger than 1 that remains unexplained after a thorough investigation that would include an autopsy, an examination of the death scene and a review of the child's clinical history, according to the institute.

When Stanoch struggled with her daughter's death, she turned to the Minnesota SID Center in Minneapolis.

The center offers free counseling and support to families that lose children to SIDS.

Stanoch is pregnant again and is due to give birth to a daughter next month, Bieniek said.

She and her daughter still travel to the center every month for counseling.

"When Tammy lost Grayce, she went through such a hard time," Bieniek said.

"She wants to raise money for the foundation so they can get the help they need."

If you go ...

What: Garage sale to raise money for the Minnesota Sudden Infant Death Center.

When: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Where: St. Cloud armory on Veterans Drive.

Center Web site: www.childrenshc.org/sidcenter.