Daniel's Drive

Daniel’s Drive: A Drive Down the Range and a Drive for Change

11/12/2025

In 2023 Ashley and Brandon Waters, the founders of Daniel’s Drive, were joyfully preparing for the delivery of their son, making their family of three, a family of four. As their due date approached the Waters were doing everything an expectant family is supposed to do. Preparing the nursery, packing the hospital bag, nesting and getting big sister Cameryn ready for duty. However, they could never have been prepared for what happened during one of their final doctor's appointments when they were given the heartbreaking news that their son’s heart had stopped beating.

On April 14, 2023, Daniel Fletcher Waters, was born into Heaven at 12:02 PM, Weighting 7 lbs 3.7 oz and 19 ¾ inches long. He had his sister’s cute nose, his daddy’s dimpled chin, 10 little fingers and 10 toes – everything about him was absolute perfection – but he never took a breath on this side of heaven.

Ashley’s Testimony

Ashley was kind enough to share in detail what happened in those moments when her world completely stopped. Please note that the following information might be hard to read, but her testimony has power.

“Daniel is our 2nd child and my experience with him was a completely healthy uncomplicated pregnancy. Everything was on track to be a normal delivery of our baby boy...until we received the devastating news that he no longer had a heartbeat at our routine doctor's appointment. I was 38 and a half weeks pregnant at the time. We had packed our car with his car seat and overnight bag with hopeful expectation that all the movement we'd felt that week was my body getting ready for delivery. As I sat down in the car to head to the appointment, I realized my belly was eerily still. Considering how active he usually was, it immediately made me feel strange. However, knowing he was fine every appointment and had been moving like crazy earlier that week, I didn't think much of it. I said to my husband "I need to say this out loud because it's probably nothing, but I don't feel him moving like he usually does." We drove through Chick Fil A and got an ice dream.

I'd always heard the advice - eat something cold and sugary if you want them to get the baby moving. There was nothing- silence is all I felt instead. I remember thinking worst case scenario we might be sent in for an emergency C section for whatever had him not moving as much that day. Unaware that our son was no longer alive, I walked into the doctor's office and waited for a while to be seen. Usually, a wait didn't matter but that wait felt exceptionally long that day and when the doctor arrived to check my progress I immediately said, “I want to hear his heartbeat - he's really still in there today and that wasn't like him.’ The look on her face using the doppler and trying to distract me from the fear of what might be happening by saying maybe he moved let's take a better look with an ultrasound is something I'll never forget- the ambiance changed in that moment. When I texted my husband they were sending me to an ultrasound he replied" I know they came and got me" which if you watch movies you know it's never good when the partner is brought in but I still remained calm that whatever it was they could fix it because he was healthy. We were just talking about how he'd be here any day, so it couldn't be something too bad. That's when our world flipped. The blankness on the screen, no flickering, no beating, just stillness. The breaking of her voice when she said, "I'm sorry there's no heartbeat" The screams from my husband as he pleaded for our boy to come back. I laid in complete shock and repeated "God will not give me more than I can handle" as the doctor went to get another doctor for a 2nd opinion. That doctor saw the same thing- no cardiac movement and confirmed our son had died. From there we went to the hospital as we had anticipated earlier that day but with a totally different outcome to expect. I still, after hearing them say "no heartbeat", thought there was something someone could do. Someone was going to see something different or be able to help once he was born. But I was wrong. He was born peacefully into Heaven the following day and our lives have been transformed every day since then with grief, grace and gratitude”

The Organization's Roots
What started as a golf tournament as our way of giving back to the organization that provided The Waters family therapy and community during our first year of loss became a purpose to create change in their community. While planning for that first tournament, the Northside Hospital in Atlanta, GA, introduced Ashley and Brandon to the Caring Cradle®.

From that discovery, Daniel’s Drive not only donated to the organization that helped them cope and heal, but they also began donating Caring Cradles. Daniel’s Drive grew into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to bridge the gap in bereavement care.

When Daniel was born, there was no cooling unit available, so their time with him was heartbreakingly short. Ashley shared during a Cradle dedication:

“Looking back, I am grateful for the nine hours we got to spend with our boy’s body here on earth, but I often wrestled with the thought of wishing I’d had more time. More time to have family come meet him and more time to make memories that would have to carry me through the rest of my life. Nine hours were better than nothing, but what if it could have been extended?”

Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Slide title

Write your caption here

Button
Slide title

Write your caption here

Button

Fundraisers
The Annual Golf Tournament is the main fundraiser for this organization. They also do a few pop-up fundraisers throughout the year, such as, a double your dollars campaign for Bereaved Parents Day, and Daniel's big sister hosts a lemonade stand right before his birthday. They are excited to add a few more fundraisers & events in 2026 that can help bring more awareness into the community around infant loss and the resources needed for families to heal with hope.

Our Partnership
Approaching Daniel’s birthday, Ashley was given the opportunity to be able to provide the gift of time to families who will experience the same pain that she and her family walked with. Northside’s quarterly newsletter came out sharing about recent Caring Cradle donations and noted that they were still looking for one at their Gwinnett campus. She immediately felt a tug on her heart to respond, and everything fell seamlessly in place from there.

Through their fundraising efforts, Ashley and her team have placed eight Caring Cradles in the Atlanta Area.

“Yet, 51 hospitals in Georgia are still without one. While some use other units, healthcare workers at our partner's hospitals consistently share that Caring Cradles are the best option for both families and staff. Until every hospital can provide the time we so deeply wished for, we will continue this mission in Daniel’s name.”

Since becoming a nonprofit, Daniel’s Drive has launched The Legacy Cradle Project, which helps other families find hope and healing by donating a cradle in their child’s memory, walking alongside them in their fundraising journey.

Ashley remarks that “Losing a child steals so much from you. Your future dreams and happiness get destroyed in the blink of an eye... This has given a newfound purpose through providing resources to families who will experience the same devastating loss has helped our hearts start to heal.”

The Legacy Cradle Project

The Caring Cradle team has truly been grateful to work alongside Ashley, Brandon and big sister Cameryn on their mission at Daniel’s Drive. Daniel’s legacy has changed the trajectory of bereavement care in the Atlanta area. We are excited to support them as they launch the next chapter in their mission to ensure that no family endures the loss of a baby without time, support, and hope.

We truly believe that Daniel’s Drive brings comfort, awareness, and lasting change, one cradle and one family at a time.