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Following Sister’s Murder, Questions Abound

Posted on July 5, 2010 - by Shirley Wiles-Dickinson

How many of us have watched the news, listened to the terrible details of a homicide and thought to ourselves “that poor family”? I would venture to say most of us have had that thought. I did. I would hear news like that think to myself or say to my husband, “that poor family,” and my life continued on. On September 18, 2009, I unfortunately became one of those poor families. My sister was found dead in her home. Her death was ruled a homicide later the same day. It is so difficult to explain the feelings, the emotions, the […]

Woman Sets Out to Complete Loved One’s Bucket List

Posted on July 4, 2010 - by Kim Go

My beloved partner Brian was a very young man when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Doctors gave him an estimate of 6 – 12 months to live. As timing would have it, the movie “Bucket List” had come out a year before. This caused much discussion among visiting friends that Brian should make a bucket list. Brian seemed disinterested. He made two concrete, but modest requests – the procurement of a beautiful bathrobe and the commitment to keep up on his grooming. Brian was a fastidious man, and I made his requests happen. His friends talked of helping Brian […]

Cancer Catches Up With Military Hero

Posted on July 3, 2010 - by Dr. Jane R. Westerfield

As told by Anthony J. Amoroso: Heroes aren’t supposed to be ordinary. Yet that’s what my brother was: an ordinary guy living his life the best he knew. If he was just an ordinary guy, what was it that made him a hero? He was my big brother. We were a large Italian family in Boston: Angelo and I had five sisters. It was rare and wonderful when we finally got our turn in the one bathroom in our house! The day he left for the Army, I watched as my brother walked away. I had no idea if I’d […]

Graduation Historic Day for Parentless Children Raised by Grandparents

Posted on July 1, 2010 - by Harriet Hodgson

June was graduation month for most American high schools. Our twin grandchildren graduated then, and my husband and I attended the ceremony. It was an emotional experience because we are GRGs, grandparents raising grandchildren. We assumed these roles after our grandchildren’s parents — our daughter and son-in-law — were killed in separate car crashes. Graduation was an historic day for our grandchildren and for us. Sitting on bleachers makes us uncomfortable, so we arrived early to get one of the few chairs that had been set out. A multi-generational Somali family sat behind us, and I could sense their excitement. […]

10-Minute Exercise Helps in Grieving Process

Posted on June 30, 2010 - by Harriet Hodgson

More than three years have passed since four family members died. The shock of multiple losses — my elder daughter, father-in-law, brother, and former son-in-law — brought me to my knees. The deaths occurred successively, within a nine-month period, and I was in continuous shock. My emotions were raw. Today, I realize the pain of grief made me more aware of people’s feelings and more observant of nature. Could I tap this pain and use it positively? Since I had faith in myself, I let my mind return regularly to 2007, the year of death, and the feelings I felt […]

Dying Woman Experiences Heaven Before Death

Posted on June 29, 2010 - by Dr. Jane R. Westerfield

After my father, Bishop Frank L. Robertson (Brother Frank), retired from the Episcopacy of the United Methodist Church, he was asked to be the founding pastor of a new church on St. Simons Island, Georgia. He eagerly accepted the challenge, inviting many families to join the new congregation. As would be expected, these charter members of the new church worked very closely with my father and were devoted to the church and to him as their pastor. One family — Karen, Tom and their children — were enthusiastic workers in the new church until Karen was diagnosed with cancer. She […]

Five Years After Child-Loss: Evolution of Grief

Posted on June 28, 2010 - by David Roberts

I am presenting a workshop at The Compassionate Friends national conference next month entilted: “The Bereaved Parent- Five Years Later.” Linda Findlay of Mourning Discoveries and I originally developed the idea for this workshop to discuss the needs of the later grief experiences of bereaved parents. We chose five years, because for many of us, it takes that long to adjust to a world without the physical presence of our children. Linda and I first presented this workshop at the Bereaved Parents of the USA national conference in New York in 2009, and it appeared to be very well received. […]

Dawn to Dusk: One Father’s Marathon Love

Posted on June 27, 2010 - by Nicole Alston

One can never be sure what to expect of Marathon Sunday’s weather in New York City. Reflecting back on that Sunday, November 5, 2006, for spectators, the temperature was seasonably brisk. But for runners, like my husband Paul and his running mates, the weather was perfect. Although this would be a second marathon for Paul, this event marked the first organized fundraiser for the Skye Foundation, and a first marathon for TEAM SKY. The team was comprised of a special group of fathers recruited by what I would describe as Divine serendipity, as their lives had been either touched or […]

Teens Often Best at Consoling Each Other

Posted on June 26, 2010 - by Kay Clowney

I’ve gotten accustomed in my 60s to having that phone call that a friend has become very ill or died. It’s not that I’m callused but I’m knocking on the door of the Golden Years. But it’s always a shock to the system — physically, emotionally, and spiritually — when a young person dies suddenly. On spring break recently, four seniors at North Little Rock High School died in a one-car accident while traveling to Florida on spring break. None of the “if onlys” applied. If only they had been wearing seat belts. (They were.) If only they hadn’t been […]

Despite Loss of Son, It Remains ‘A Wonderful World’

Posted on June 24, 2010 - by Laura Klouzek

I love the song “Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. I used to have it as a ringtone on my cell phone. I took it off my phone in 2008 when my son, Lucas, passed away. I heard it every time someone called during those two weeks to check on Lucas’s progress, or to see how we were faring as we were living in the waiting rooms at the hospital. Lucas didn’t get to come home with us when we left there. He had already left to be with his Father in Heaven. After that day, I had to take that […]