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by Geoff Brabec   Nothing can prepare you for losing a child, I know that I was not ready. When thinking back to almost 7 years ago when we had to say goodbye to our first born Olivia Hope, I can remember it being a very numbing experience. We only had 5 hours to spend with her after she was born and then she was gone. In some ways, I only truly felt like I was a Father during those 5 hours that her mother and I had to spend with her in NICU. We sat with her, holding her,...

This post is part of our “Meet our Volunteers” series where we introduce you to a Sharing Parents volunteer, his or her story and baby(ies), and what they appreciate about volunteering. Name: Nicola Baby’s Loss Date: October 7, 2014 Volunteer Role: Outreach Coordinator 5 years ago I gave birth to our second child, Ezekiel. We found out very early in my pregnancy that he had a lethal form of dwarfism that was “not compatible with life.” This is a random genetic mutation that happens at conception. We chose to carry him to term and on October 7, 2014 he was…

by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Center for Loss & Life Transition www.centerforloss.com   “Hope is the pillar that holds up the world.” — Pliny the Elder The caller to the Center for Loss asked a question that is on the hearts of many right now: “Are we going to get through this?” It became obvious as the conversation continued that she was experiencing feelings of grief and in search of borrowing some much-needed hope. As I hung up the phone after 20 minutes, I found myself yearning to write about hope, because, especially during difficult times like these, it is indeed...

by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Center for Loss & Life Transition www.centerforloss.com   The coronavirus is not only causing a viral pandemic—it is giving rise to a pandemic of grief. As I write this, in mid-March, we as a global community are suffering so many losses that I hardly know where to begin. Death and grief go hand-in-hand, of course. Thousands of people have already died of COVID-19 worldwide. Many more are dying right now. These are terrible losses for the loved ones of these precious individuals, and they will need our support and empathy in the months to come....

This post is part of our “Meet our Volunteers” series where we introduce you to a Sharing Parents volunteer, his or her story and baby(ies), and what they appreciate about volunteering. Name: Megan Babies’ Loss Dates: May 1, 2018, October 11, 2017, and October 5, 2018 Volunteer Role: Megan supports Sharing Parents in various capacities and dedicates her strengths where needed. I am on a journey. Although it’s uniquely personal, I know it’s been shared by many women. It’s a journey that no one signs up for and when it happens, we feel unprepared. Yet, some-how we make it through… My…

On Saturday, April 27 a Sharing Parents team of parents marched in the 2019 March of Dimes “March for Babies.” Thank you to everyone who joined us both in presence and in spirit, and a special thank you to our event coordinators, Sara and Toni, for all your work in coordinating shirt orders, event details, etc. The size of our team seems to grow each year. This year we had 32 baby names on the backs of our shirts and over 80 parents, friends, and family marching with Team Sharing Parents! It’s always a special opportunity to come out and…

This post is part of our “Meet our Volunteers” series where we introduce you to a Sharing Parents volunteer, his or her story and baby(ies), and what they appreciate about volunteering. Name: Sara Baby’s Name: Max Seberger Date of Birth: June 16, 2014 Volunteer Role: Navigating Grief Co-Coordinator; Subsequent Pregnancy Coordinator; March of Dimes Co-Coordinator; October Memorial Coordinator We were standing in our master bathroom when saw the second line appear on the pregnancy test and we were overjoyed! After 8 months of trying, I was pregnant! Minutes later, I told my husband that we needed to give the baby…

If you’re a Facebook user, I’m sure you’ve seen friends raising money for their favorite cause on their birthday or in memory of someone they love. We’ve even had a few parents do this for Sharing Parents. Fundraisers like these give friends and family an opportunity to recognize your baby’s life, acknowledge your loss, and show their support in a way that benefits others. I did one of these fundraisers for my daughter’s fifth birthday and I was overwhelemed by the support I received from sometimes the most unexpected people, all in honor of my daughter’s life and the impact she’s…

Thank you to all our parents who came out to help us make bereavement boxes that will benefit families at Sutter Roseville. Many of us have received our own memory boxes and we know how much these mean to the families. Our wonderful volunteer, Sharon, organized the event for us and had a huge array of decorations, papers, ribbons, flowers, etc. to choose from. For the design-challenged, papers were already color-coordinated and just required a little glue to get going.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

This post is part of a new “Meet our Volunteers” series where we introduce you to a Sharing Parents volunteer, his or her story and baby(ies), and what they appreciate about volunteering. Name: Amy Baby’s Name: Katherine Lynn, aka “Katie-bug” Date of Birth: March 22, 2013 Volunteer Role: President My daughter, Katherine Lynn, died at almost 24 weeks on March 22, 2013. She was our second daughter and we’d hoped she would complete our little family. We found out at our 20 week ultrasound that something wasn’t right and were asked to return two weeks later for another ultrasound. We…