As a parent there is nothing on this earth worse than losing a child.
Please give love to any who have faced this nightmare.
Hold your children to you dearly.
This is a different type of encouragement.
This is not light material.
I do not write with advice or personal experience in this situation and will not be long winded.
I write to explain the situation as I can, the feelings about it, and the inspiration of the family that is going through it.
I speak about a friend and colleague that has recently had to bear the hellish occurrence of losing her child. I wanted to speak about this to challenge myself and all to be more present and intentional with our children. We truly never know what tomorrow will bring.
She is a wonderful person. A former athlete, an athletic trainer, a dutiful mother, a truly altruistic positive person. Her husband and her have battled a very challenging path in the past year with multiple extreme hardships. None harder than losing her 3 month old child on Jan 1st 2024 with an acute intestinal dysfunction that ultimately caused the child’s passing. She and her husband created a life. She carried this little one for 9 months. In three months of it being born she held her tiny daughter as she left this earth.
She bore this pain, sadness, and a depth of hurt I cannot fathom. When I saw her just weeks later she was able to look me in the eye with calmness and relay the specific details of this occurrence without breaking once. She spoke about her love of her daughter, love of her family, love of God and her demand to continue with her daughter's memory in her heart. She is back at work. She is not hiding, she is not jaded, she is not hateful, even as she has a right to be. She demands to face the world head on standing with her husband and her family by her side.
I was and am astounded to this day. The strength this woman displays in the face of unfair worldly trauma. She still thinks of others, speaks with happiness and love. She stated “ I am done staying in my house crying”.
I was humbled by her power, her resilience, by her honesty, and by her demand to stand back up again. I am inspired by her. I am inspired by her story and her fight.
History is not kind to parents or to children. This is not an isolated occurrence in the expanse of our human experiment. Our current medical advancement, our luxurious infrastructure, and our safety measures in this day in age allow us to forget how fragile and precious life is.
Please think on this situation today. My friend is so strong, but she is in constant pain. I break thinking about how nothing on this earth can console her and her husband.
I do not tell this story for guilt, for sympathy, this young lady wants none of this to occur. I tell this story to remind myself and any who listen, do not take your children for granted.
On the toughest days hold them to you. Tell them you love them. Be thankful for the gift of family. Make the best of the gifts we are given.
