New Infant Loss Support Group

Recently, the women who runs Compassionate Friends in our city has started an infant loss support group. It is a group that lasts 6 weeks and is to help parents grieve the loss of their infant. The group started last week.

For me it is a time to spend thinking about Emily and being able to share with other parents who have also lost a baby. It is a time to be able to connect and grieve together, and know that we are not alone in our journey.

At the beginning of the meeting each parent gets the chance to light a candle in honor of the child or children that we have lost. Before attending Compassionate Friends I had never lit a candle for Emily. I now think it is very symbolic gesture and really like to light a candle for her.

Now that I have experienced a loss, one of my desires is to be able to be there for other families who have experienced a loss. While I understand that every one's actual experience is different, everyone grieves and I think also needs someone to reach out to them. I want to be able to hold the hand of a mom who has recently lost her child, to cry with her, or even laugh with her if that is what she needs.

I want to come along side these families and offer support or anything else they need. I had several women who came along side me and offered comfort right after Emily died and it meant so much to me. I was able to hear from them that what I was feeling was normal and that how I was dealing with my grief was perfectly fine.

So my hope, even after this infant loss support group is over, is to be able to find a way to offer support to families within my community. I also want to be a support in the online community, but I think that there is something so powerful and helpful about being able to talk with someone face to face.

Compassionate Friends

Tonight I attended a support group called Compassionate Friends. It is a national organization that just happens to have a charter here in our town. Compassionate Friends supports families through the loss of a child. Any family member, parents, grandparents, and siblings are welcome to attend these once a month meetings. It is a special time of sharing about the dead child and a safe place to share your feelings.

I was so touch tonight by what was shared. It helped me to realize that first I am not alone in my grief and that the feelings that I have are completely normal, but also that even years from now I am still going to miss Emily. That will never go away and it is okay to continue to miss her.

I was just in awe of these women, the pain some of  them have been through, and they have survived. If they can survive the kind of pain they have endured. I am sure that I can survive my pain. I am not down playing my grief or my pain, but some of these women have endured so much, it was a blessing to me tonight to see them still making it through each day.


On a completely different topic, today I read about a family that is going through a very difficult time. Their 5 year old daughter Lucy has a brain tumor. She was diagnosed less than a month ago. Her mom Kate has a blog that she is now using to keep everyone updated on the progress and treatment of Lucy. This family has an incredible faith that is sustaining them, but they also need a lot of prayer. I feel so burdened to pray for them. Will you please join me in praying for Lucy and her family. You can read about Lucy here.