A Mourning Mom

Bereavement Training

Today I, along with several other parents, spoke to a group of nurses as part of their bereavement training.  This is the second parent panel I have been a part of in the last few months and I have participated in several others over the years.  At times, I find talking about Jake and Sawyer cathartic.  I am always hopeful that sharing our story can somehow help others.  After each of these panels I have come away with lists of suggestions for nurses and tips for NICU parents.

There is a common theme in all the stories.  All bereaved parents want their child/children to be remembered.  There will not be the lifetime of memories that hopefully other children will have.  The stay in the hospital and every aspect of it is very often all the parents have.  The doctors and nurses are big parts of these memories.  The kindness and compassion of the medical professionals is so important.  I am thankful that bereavement training exists.

No matter how small the baby is or how long the baby lived, parents want their baby treated like every other baby.  They want to be treated like every other parent.  One mom said she just felt like she was in the middle of a really bad Lifetime movie.  We are all hoping that we can change the channel or wake up from the nightmare of outliving our child/children.  Unfortunately, this is our reality.  Thank you to all those who help us along our way.