In brief moments, Lindsey Rogers-Seitz reveals her raw pain and the depth of her trauma, but the Ridgefield attorney and mother stoically pushes forward.
“I think sometimes the longing to see him and to have him and touch him again is so overwhelming that you don’t know what to do other than to talk to him,” Rogers-Seitz said. “Then you have to feel that and do what you need to do and then move on.”
Rogers-Seitz is living the unthinkable. In July, her 15-month-old son, Ben, died after being left in the back of a hot car. His father, Kyle, thought he had taken Ben to daycare, Rogers-Seitz said. When Kyle Seitz arrived to pick Ben up he came to the horrible realization that his son was still in the car.
“I remember he was saying no, like, this couldn’t happen. I think he thought he was going to wake up, right?” Rogers-Seitz said of the moments she first spent with her husband at the hospital. “I remember I couldn’t breathe, but somehow got through that moment. And then, I felt for him, and I realized what he’s going through is what I’m going through times a million.”
Just three weeks after Ben’s death, Rogers-Seitz, who is also the mother to 5- and- 8-year-old girls, is speaking out in the hopes that her tragedy can prevent others.
She started a blog called “The Gift of Ben” which pushes for awareness of the dangers of hot cars. And she emphasizes that there is a psychological component to the issue as well.
“And we realized, you know, we’re strong enough as a family that if we could give a voice to this to affect the public perception, and maybe political perception, and get some ideas out there, that if we’re strong enough to handle the negative part, then maybe it’s something that we can do for Ben.”
Watch Louisa’s full interview with Lindsey Rogers-Seitz:
