Shawnee mom to honor hundreds of ‘angel babies’ while running Garmin Kansas City half marathon

SHAWNEE, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County, including Independence. Share your story idea with Tod.

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Sawyer McClung had only graced the earth for 83 days when he died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, on Oct. 15, 2025.

More than a year later, his mother, Chaela Kizer, short for Michaela, has found a unique way to help other mothers navigate their own journey of grief.

Kizer, a NICU nurse at Saint Luke’s, will honor Sawyer, the youngest of Kizer's three children with her fiancé James, by running in the Garmin Kansas City Marathon on Saturday while wearing hundreds of bracelets, each bearing the name of a baby who died in infancy or by miscarriage.

Chris Morrison/KSHB 41

KSHB 41 News talked to Kizer on Thursday at the family's home in Shawnee on the anniversary of Sawyer’s death, and she reflected on the difficulties of the last year.

"Survival mode, figuring out how to parent my other two beautiful children here on earth, and still keep Sawyer's name and legacy alive as well," Kizer said.

She shared some videos of Sawyer, which she cherishes and watches often.

Chris Morrison/KSHB 41

"I have countless videos of him smiling and giggling," Kizer said. "I think that was just a little gift from God."

After Sawyer died, Kizer got a tattoo on her right forearm in his memory.

"I wanted to make sure that it was on the lower half of my arm, so when I put my hands in the incubator, a little part of him would be in there with them (the babies in the NICU)," Kizer said.

Chris Morrison/KSHB 41

Kizer signed up for the half marathon during Saturday's race after some prodding from her close friend, Orianna Bartoli.

"I was like, 'You're out of your mind, I'm not a runner. Let's go lift some weights,’” Kizer said. “She was like, 'No, Kayla, you're strong enough to do this. You've endured more this past year than any other woman that I know. So, if you can make it through this year without your son, you can make it through 13.1 miles.’”

Kizer has found strength and respite in running.

"I wasn't necessarily prepared when I started running that I thought I was going to really use that time to grieve specifically for him (Sawyer), but it was really powerful to be able to look up to the skies as I'm running and sometimes I'd be like, 'I need some help today. I need a little bit of juice in me. Can you, can you get me there?' I've always finished every run, and it's been an emotional journey, but I think it's also been really therapeutic,” Kizer said.

Kizer posted about her plan to run a half marathon in Sawyer’s honor on social media and invited other mothers who have lost children in infancy or through miscarriage to share their names.

"I expected maybe 5 to 10, local people,” she said. “I never expected the outpouring of names.”

The power of social media prompted a nearly overwhelming response.

“The thank yous have been so overwhelming from people who have said thank you for saying (my child’s name) and carrying my infant with you; that means the world to me,” Kizer said. “It's also been really amazing to see how people in my life have shown up this past week. My mom has been here making bracelets. Our daycare ladies have been here making bracelets. Our neighbors, family, friends — this has definitely been a labor of love.”

Chris Morrison/KSHB 41

As Kizer has made hundreds of bracelets in the last week, she quietly says the names to herself. She will wear all of the bracelets on a vest as she runs the 13.1-mile course.

"The only way to move forward is to move forward with them and not without them,” Kizer said of a child who has died. “This is, I think, a way that I'm able to move forward with him. That 13.1 miles will be hard and will be a little bit more difficult carrying all the weight, and a little bit of weight for those other grieving families, but the journey to get here for all of the grieving families was definitely harder.”

Kizer plans to mail the bracelets to each child's family after the race.

"I'm wearing so many wings,” she said. “I'm hopeful that they will carry me over that finish line instead of me carrying them," Kizer said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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