Country Star’s Daughter’s Death: Randy Rogers Opens Up About His Newborn Daughter’s Death

A country star’s daughter’s death has left one couple living a nightmare that no one should ever have to endure.

Randy Rogers, of the Randy Rogers Band, shared the tragic news that his newborn daughter, Rumer Rain, had died last month, just a week after she was born.

“Rumer passed away last night. She died after a week long battle with a very rare condition,” Randy said in a Facebook post at the time. “She died in our arms and in no pain. She was absolutely beautiful in every way. Her brain however was very sick. I’m sure you all have many questions and we have all the answers the doctors gave us. We can share the story with you. It’s quite an extraordinary one. A memorial will be planned soon. We love you.”

The country star’s daughter’s death was an unexpected and tragic event, and now, six weeks later, Randy is opening up about it.

When Rumer was first born, the parents rejoiced over their seemingly healthy baby, who had dark hair like her mother.

“My other two babies [daughters Isabel, 5, and River, 21 months] have my light hair,” Rogers told People Magazine. “Chelsea really wanted a baby with dark hair like her. The minute Rumer was born I was like, ‘Hell, yes!’ She had a full head of dark hair! The moment was just full of joy. We thought we had a healthy baby. We shared the news with friends and even posted a picture on social media.”

Their happiness soon faded as the couple realized that there was something seriously wrong with their new baby girl.

“She wouldn’t eat and she wouldn’t wake up,” Rogers said of his baby girl. “She was very lethargic, she never opened her eyes. We kept getting assurances from the doctors and nurses – a lot of babies think they’re still in mommy’s belly and they don’t want to wake up for a day or eat – but then Rumer went to the NICU about eight hours after her birth.”

“They started running test after test and nothing was wrong with her,” he continued. “It was a six-day process. It was heart-wrenching and grueling not knowing what was wrong. She was put on a feeding tube pretty early on because she couldn’t eat or swallow, then she decided to stop breathing and we had to put her on a vent.”

Rumer was eventually diagnosed with nonketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH). According to NKH International Family Network, NKH is a “rare genetic disorder that affects 1 child in every 60,000 born. Children with this condition have a problem breaking down the amino acid glycine. This is caused by a defect in the genetic code for the machinery that is responsible for the glycine breakdown (called glycine cleavage enzyme).”

“Typical symptoms include seizures, low tone, and severe problems with learning and development. This can profoundly affect a child’s ability to learn and to do normal things such as eating, sitting, and walking. The seizures can be so severe that they are hardly controlled despite the use of several medications for seizures. Not all children are equally affected.”

“Chelsea and I always thought that we were two peas in a pod,” said Rogers. “Turns out literally we are, genetically; we have the same exact recessed gene. The odds are astronomical.”

While it is hard to imagine the pain that Rogers and his wife are experiencing, he says he is trying to focus on the positives.

“I’m just so happy that there are men and women so smart and passionate to be able to identify these things,” he said. “Now because my daughter died and we now know we carry this gene, no one else in our family will have to have that happen to them and science is to thank for that.”

[Photo via Twitter / Randy Rogers Band]