Bluegrass Grief Care Helps Survivors Heal
October 28, 2015, was the worst day of my life. That was the day that my 18-year-old son, Tom,
died by suicide after a long struggle with depression. The grief was crushing, and I was plunged
into a world that was totally different from my life up until then, with no clue of what to do next or
if there even was a life after Tom’s death.
Bluegrass Care Navigators (BCN) gave me a way forward. On a friend’s advice, I called BCN and asked about grief counseling. A counselor called me back immediately and set up an appointment that same week. My counselor listened to me with kindness and compassion. She gave me practical information about how to take care of myself during this horrible time. Most importantly,
she let me know I was not alone and reassured me that what I was feeling was normal and I wasn’t going crazy. I will be forever grateful for that.
BCN’s monthly child loss support group connected me with other parents who had also suffered this unimaginable loss. I started attending shortly after Tom died and attend it to this day. We support each other, share our experiences, laugh together and cry together. Grief isolates you, and many of the people closest to us are scared by it and back away. The child loss group is a safe
space where each of us knows that we are truly understood and where we can say what we feel without any fear of judgment. I am so grateful to BCN and the counselor who volunteers time each month to lead this group. Because of it, we are healing.
BCN helps us survivors heal in other ways. At the holidays, there are sessions on how to deal with this difficult time of year. We get together to make ornaments and pillows in honor of our lost loved ones. We send our other children to grief camps. That ongoing support is so important to those of us who are grieving and who often feel the world is moving on and forgetting the people
we have lost.
Eight years after my loss, I can say I am in a better place than I ever thought I would be. I’m taking joy in life and beginning to remember my son with joy, too. I know I have support from BCN when I need it.
Bluegrass Care Navigators remembers.
Learn more about the complementary services Bluegrass Grief Care offers on our website or call 855.492.0812.
