Tragedy for Reverend Run and wife

Update: The family released the following statement: "On September 26, 2006, Victoria Anne Simmons for some unknown reason chose to come early and unfortunately did not survive. We must accept whatever is there and once you accept unconditionally, then everything is beautiful. Every pain has a purifying effect."

We regret to report that Reverend Run of Run-DMC and his wife Justine have lost their new baby.  Justine gave birth to the baby girl on Thursday via c-section but the child was born with her organs outside of her body.  The baby died shortly afterwards.

CBB Reader Asheley posted that the condition is called omphalocele.  It’s a congenital malformation in which the intestine, liver, and spleen can protrude into the umbilical cord and out of the body within a translucent sac.  It occurs in approximately 1 out of 5-10,000 births.  For more information, visit Mothers of Omphaloceles and the University of Virginia Health Systems page.

CBB reader Michelle emails, "There are some people questioning [in the comments] whether or not Reverend Run and his wife had an ultrasound. I don’t know if they did or not, [Ed Note: they did on the show] but my oldest daughter was also born with an omphalocele. We had an ultrasound done at 19 weeks, but for some reason the technician did not catch it. We did not know when she was born that she was going to have any birth defects.  So it is possible for them to have had an ultrasound and still not known about it ahead of time."

The pregnancy played an integral storyline in the last season of their show Run’s House. Run has three children from his first marriage (Vanessa, Angela and Joseph) and he and Justine have two boys together, Daniel and Russell. According to TMZ, MTV camera crews were at the hospital to film the birth for Run’s House, leading us to believe that the couple may not have known what lie ahead. Our condolences to the family at this time.

Source: TMZ.com

Comments

Oh no My prayers go out to them and their family.

- Shelly on September 26th, 2006

Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear this. Just a tragic loss. My Prayers and thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.

- Doreen on September 26th, 2006

God. That’s just horrible. I feel for the entire family, especially Jus and Rev Run. It was so clear how much it seemed like both wanted a little girl this time, especially Jus.

My prayers will be with them.

- FC on September 26th, 2006

That is terrible news. My heart goes out to the entire family.

- Jessica on September 26th, 2006

Oh No! My heart hurts for them. They really did want a little girl.
Justine is such a sweetheart. I hope that she’s able to cope (as well as one can) following such a tragedy.

- Becky's Daughter on September 26th, 2006

The loss of any child, boy or girl, is tragic.

- Principesa on September 26th, 2006

I feel so bad for them! I am about to cry! I really love them as a family from what I saw on tv! They seem to be wonderful human beings, ny heart really goes out to them!

- Lauren on September 26th, 2006

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I FEEL HORRIBLE FOR THEM. Their family will be in my prayers. I know Justine wanted another baby so badly.

- Elizabeth on September 26th, 2006

omg, how horrible!!!

- kali on September 26th, 2006

I am so sorry for their loss.

Is there a medical term for when this happens?

- J on September 26th, 2006

This is a really sad story. What a terrible loss. I’m pregnant now, I couldn’t imagine their pain.

- Dorrie on September 26th, 2006

OMG…i am so sorry my heart goes out to them… THE TERM IS KNOWN AS omphalocele….MY CONDOLENCES, AND THEY ARE IN MY PRAYERS!

- asheley on September 26th, 2006

My Condolences!!I’m sitting here in tears. I can’t believe this. I was recently thinking & anticipating the news of the delivery b/c I knew she was due in early October. Their a strong, tight-knit family, their faith will see them through this.

- Melissa on September 27th, 2006

oh nooo! how shocking and tragic. sometimes it seems that the rich and famous are untouchable… but… once in a while, something devastating happens, and i wish so badly that i could personally call this mother/family up, and privately offer condolences… *tears*
(side thought) i would doubt that they did not know of the condition, however (UNLESS they had opted for no ultrasounds, as some women do)– my very best friend’s daughter had gastroschisis (intestines outside abdomen) and she knew this from very early on, and the baby was delivered by c-section, a month early, and went home several months later… perhaps they expected her to pull through?
hope it doesn’t seem inappropriate for me to speculate, there.
goodness, how terribly, terribly sorry I am, from the bottom of my (breaking) heart, for their horrific loss. i sure hope the media will leave them to grieve in peace.

- jaQinthebox on September 27th, 2006

wow how very sad. I’m so incredibly sorry for their loss.

- ericka on September 27th, 2006

Losing a child myself I know how devasting it is, when I read this my heart dropped and I felt the pain all over again! The family is in my prayers at this tragic time, I think about and miss my baby everyday, I wish I could just give justine and HUGE hug! May god bless them!

- Missing my Angel on September 27th, 2006

I feel so sorry for them. It must be hard to get through this misery. A friend of mine just had a miscarriage last month. It was the 7th month already. She was wondering why the baby didn’t make any movement. When she and her husband went to a doctor, the doctor said that the baby was already gone a week before . They were shocked. I was, too!

Now that I read this news about a newborn pronounced dead a short time after being born… and with the organs outside the body?? I wonder whether they had ultrasound throughout the pregnancy or not..

Joseph and Justine… you have my prays… Hope everything will get better soon…

- WonderingWhetherTheyHaveAnUltrasound on September 27th, 2006

My deepeset sympathies go out to them. What a horrible loss : (

- Stacy B on September 27th, 2006

how awful!!! my heart goes out to them. Hoping they can find peace somehow.

- tink1217 on September 27th, 2006

That is awfull. How sad for that whole family.

- Alicia on September 27th, 2006

That is so sad. My friend’s baby had an omphalocele, but they knew about it in advance and were able to medically prepare. Even then, the baby was in the hospital for the first 6 months of her life.

My heart goes out to this family.

- Joyandryan on September 27th, 2006

How incredibly horrible My thoughts are with the family.

And just FYI: there are two forms of this defect and the one more commonly heard about is gastroschisis. With gastroschisis, the organs are freely outside the body, and with omphalocele they are contained within a membrane inside the umbilical cord. The combined incidence of these anomalies is 1 in 2,000 births.

- Ali on September 27th, 2006

That is so horrible ..so tragic..they are in my prayers..Very sad news.

- Yonni on September 27th, 2006

That is just terrible. They will be in my thoughts and prayers. My heart is breaking for them.

- Melissa on September 27th, 2006

jaQinthebox… she did have ultrasounds on the show.

- Yonni on September 27th, 2006

I FEEL there pain as it is must have tore there heart out, i hope they can heal from this and go on to try again. the only good thing is they are a very close family and they have the support of family. oh man i just want to cry. I LOVE THAT FAMILY.

- DEBBE FROST on September 27th, 2006

That’s horrible. My thoughts are with them.

- Aleah on September 27th, 2006

I feel terribly for them! They are a very strong and positive family.

- landroverdisco on September 27th, 2006

I love Run’s House and really fell in love with the family–I am very sad to hear this–my heart goes out to the family

- Robin on September 27th, 2006

My condolences go out to the family. I actually love watching Run’s House on MTV and I’ve been a fan of RUN DMC since back in the day. That’s so sad, Justine was so excited about her pregnancy and hoped for a little girl. The show did feature Justine and Rev. Run having an ultra sound. My thoughts are with the family.

- Natalie S. on September 27th, 2006

The little girl’s name was Victoria Anne

- kim on September 27th, 2006

FYI – People has a small article and all it states is that baby was born prematurely and did not survive. Thought you might want to update

- Brandy on September 27th, 2006

My twins both had omphalocele. One made it, the other did not (died during the pregnancy). I am a member of Mothers of Omphaloceles, the organization listed, and if anyone has questions or has a baby that has just been diagnosed, please join!

Rachel

- Rach on September 27th, 2006

What a strange comment from the family

- corinne on September 27th, 2006

My thoughts and prayers are with them. That’s so sad – Justine seemed so excited about having the baby.

- Hillary on September 27th, 2006

anyone notice that their statement say “On September 26th, 2006″, which was yesterday, a Tuesday.
And the story says on THURSDAY she gave birth.

I want to think that there is a typo there.

My thoughts go out to this family in this time.
Sadly not all techs catch everything in ultrasounds all the time.
And it depends on how many they had.

They are a close knit family, they have each other to get through this terrible tragedy.

- shaine on September 27th, 2006

my old friend had a child that had this same disease. she was so small, and had held up the struggle of living for no more than 2 weeks. it is just terrible though. no child, nor parent should have to go through that.

- suzie on September 27th, 2006

it is very sad to loose a child and my heart goes out to them. i am wondering where u got the information about the birth defect becasue everywhere else i have been just says she was born premeturly? but no matter what happened it is still very sad!!

- momw/2kids on September 28th, 2006

My heart and prayers goes out to Rev. Run, Justine and their entire immediate family. I too, know what it is like to lose a child and I pray that she will have the strength to recover from such tragedy.
Peace and blesings to the family at this sad time.

- Rosaline on September 28th, 2006

Momw/2Kids – the link that says Source: before it is where we got the information. You’ll find it on every news post except for exclusives.

- Sarah CBB News Editor on September 28th, 2006

my family and i would like to offer our condolences to the simmons’family for the lost of their infant daughter, as long as you keep her in your hearts she will always be loved and never forgotten. we will continue to pray that as every day goes by you gain the strength to keep going forward and continue to be blessed.

- kelli on September 28th, 2006

My prayers goes out to Rev Run, Justine and family, I know how it feels to loose a baby, so I have empathy and sympathy, but only God can heal the emptiness. My thoughts and love are with you. God bless you all.

- Lois on September 28th, 2006

That is terrible news. My heart goes out to Reverend Run and Jusine and the whole family.

- Angela on September 28th, 2006

This is beyond sad, so very very devastating and it has nothing to do with their status but everything to do with their personal tragedy. I cried so hard for her the minute I heard it…and said a million prayers for my own unborn son.

- CharlotteJoy on September 28th, 2006

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- John Beck on October 2nd, 2006

Hi! I also gave birth to a baby girl on September 26, 2006! This is my first child. I saw the show yesterday about when you lost the baby. My daughter was 5 1/2 weeks early and was very ill too. She was in the hospital for a week, and made through it. I am so sorry about the lost. Just today I had wrote something about what had happened. I dont think its mean or offensive, but if it is sorry. Life is short, we all know. They say high school will fly by fast, but we never realize it until graduation. They say kids grow up fast, but you never know until you have one. I know this is true. My high school graduation is just around the corner, and I am going to graduate with an eight month old daughter. My daughter is the love of my life. People may look down on me for having a baby at my age, but at least I am going to graduate. I remember the day I went into labor with my daughter, the beginning of senior year. Senior year, what happened to freshmen, sophomore, and junior year? The time flew by so fast. I was watching a show one night, a famous couple, or something, I don’t know. They had a baby the same day I did. Theirs in the morning, mine at night. Both babies were girls, both were sick. They had five children, this was our first. Their baby passed away, ours survived. God was looking down on us. He knew they already had children and knew they could handle it and letting our daughter survive. He let us have our chance of being parents. Watching that show is what helped me realize to never take life for granted. That could have been my daughter that had passed away. I would be graduating without my daughter. I wouldn’t be able to prove to the world that people can graduate having a baby. It is possible! Thank God my daughter survived, and sympathy to the other family. God truly is amazing! Thanks!

To my daughter Solana Leylen, In loving memory Victoria Ann

- Sunshine on April 10th, 2007