NICU Love & Loss Episode 6: The Beginning of Grief

Lana discusses the early birth of her daughter, Allie Reese, and finding out she had restrictive dermopathy. She talks about the three weeks she had with her daughter in the NICU and how difficult it was to lose her. She talks about how the grief affected her marriage, eventually leading she and her husband to divorce. She discusses the grief of the separation and how she was eventually able to process her grief and find Hand to Hold.

Emilee and Ben Blackburn discuss going into early labor with their daughter, Tatum. They discuss losing their daughter from her early birth and the grief that followed. Emilee and Ben talked about how they grieved differently and how they came through their grief to create Tatum's Love Foundation and Tee It Up for Tatum.

Jennifer discusses her pregnancy and early labor with her son, Winston. She talks about Winston's NICU stay and the experience of losing him. She speaks about the year of grief since Winston's death and how she feels it's changed her. She decided to start a non-profit in memory of her son, Winston's Warriors.

Anissa speaks about her pregnancy with Elisabeth and finding out she had Trisomy 18. She discusses the year of Elisabeth's life, how they celebrated her milestones, and the difficult experience of her death. She talks about the grief that followed and how that experience was a singular one. She discusses grieving a child's death when you have other children at home and how she and her family eventually came through their grief.

Kelli speaks to Dr. Terri Major-Kincade about palliative care and the language surrounding it. Dr. Terri speaks about the communication used by medical professionals when delivering difficult diagnoses. She also talks about what questions families should ask their care team when their children receive fatal diagnoses

Claire and Charles George talk about their son, Thomas, who was born with a congenital heart disease and died at three-years-old. The Georges speak about the experience of losing their son and the grief that followed. They discuss how they dealt with the grief together and channeled their grief into helping other people.

Keira talks about her pregnancy with triplets and the loss of her daughter, Zoe at 14 months old. She speaks about the grief she felt after the loss, how it affected her marriage, and how she eventually started the Zoe Rose Memorial Foundation and the Preemie Parent Alliance.

Kelli talks to grief counselor, Becca Van Tassel, about her decision to become a grief counselor. They go on to speak about the stages of grief, as well as Worden's model of grief. Becca talks about why processing grief is so painful and what families can do to approach it.