Many in the Chicago restaurant community are in shock after industry veteran Joslyn Reed died after suffering complications from childbirth.
This comes just weeks after she married her long-term partner, Ian Reed, who also works in the restaurant industry. They had their first child, Zoey, two years ago.
The fundraiser was created by a close family friend, Lejla Zeyadich, who met Ian and Joslyn while opening Duck Duck Goat in 2016.
“We are raising money to help alleviate the pressure from the medical bills, which we know will be astronomical,” Zeyadich said. “We also want to have enough money for Ian to be able to grieve properly, because he doesn’t have any bereavement time.”
At the time of her death, Joslyn worked as a server at Girl & The Goat. Ian is a server at Duck Duck Goat.
Joslyn Reed had been diagnosed with placenta previa, which can cause bleeding during the pregnancy. But after experiencing more bleeding than usual, Reed decided to go to the hospital. Though it was more than a month to her due date, doctors decided to immediately perform a cesarean section. During the procedure, Reed suffered an amniotic fluid embolism, a rare life-threatening condition. She died three days later, on Aug. 5. She was 38.
The baby, Coen, is still in the newborn intensive care unit, though he is in stable condition.
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While she was aware of the complications from the placenta previa, Zeyadich said she was completely surprised by what happened. “We talked every single day,” Zeyadich said. “She FaceTimed me at 7 a.m. from the hospital wearing one of those gowns and said that she was going to deliver the baby that day. That was the last time I spoke with her.”
Zeyadich said she has been beyond impressed by the support from Chicago’s hospitality industry. “When Joslyn was taken off life support, Stephanie Izard closed two of her restaurants so her staff could grieve,” Zeyadich said of Girl & The Goat and Duck Duck Goat. “That was a Friday night, which was not a cheap thing to do.”
She said the Boka Restaurant Group, which runs Duck Duck Goat, has been running an appetizer special, with money from each order going to the fund.
A number of other restaurants and businesses also have been raising money. “Big Kids in Logan Square is doing a fundraiser, CH Distillery created a cocktail for Joslyn with all the proceeds going to the fund, chef Joe Flamm reached out to help and Foxtrot is helping with donations,” Zeyadich said.
At the time of publication, over $107,000 had been raised on the GoFundMe page to help the Reed family.
nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com
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