Fundraiser created to help Wichita couple afford gravestone after 7-month-old son lost

Jaice Seng, his fiancee and their 2-year-old son make daily trips to Resurrection Cemetery in west Wichita to spend time with their 7-month-old son.

Greyson’s grave has stuffed animals from “Bubble Guppies,” his favorite show, flowers, a couple of stone angels, laminated picture of him and a temporary headstone. Seng said they’ve sold various items, including toys Greyson never got to use, but still have not been able to purchase a permanent headstone.

Greyson died May 7, roughly one week after he rolled himself over and stopped breathing. It took 14 minutes and 41 seconds for paramedics to reach him, well past Sedgwick County EMS’ goal of reaching patients in under 9 minutes in Wichita.

Time matters in a cardiac event.

The chances of survival drop 7-10% each minute that passes without CPR or defibrillation, the American Heart Association reported.

Greyson’s story was mentioned in The Eagle’s investigation that revealed Sedgwick County EMS response times have gotten dangerously slow because of an exodus of employees who blame the department director for their departure.

“If they would have gotten there sooner, I really feel like I would still have my son,” Seng said. “He was fighting. He opened his eyes and looked at us (at the hospital). He was fighting hard. He wanted to be here, but his little brain had just suffered too much.”

A GoFundMe to help with burial-related costs has raised more than $2,440 of the $10,000 goal. A video on the fundraiser shows some of the smiles, and even a sneeze, that Greyson’s mother and father captured during his 7-months of life.

The couple set up a payment plan and still owe at least $2,000 for the burial, Seng said.

The young couple, who both work at a family-owned gas station, haven’t been able to put any funds toward a permanent headstone yet. Seng’s fiancee has already picked out a design of a headstone she wants, featuring angel wings wrapped around a baby.

“I love to spoil my kids and I feel like I can’t do that anymore (with Greyson) so I wanted to spoil him this one last time,” he said, “giving him the headstone and burial that he deserves.”

Seng and his fiancee have also put a down payment to eventually purchase the plots next to Greyson’s grave, so he won’t be buried next to strangers.

The GoFundMe can be found at bit.ly/3wICCdX.

This story was originally published July 11, 2021 at 7:03 PM.