Thursday, April 7, 2011

Coping with the loss of a child ...

     Whenever a child passes away, we think its an abnormal thing. No parent ever wants go through the pain and suffering when losing their child. Especially if the death occured at an early age. Some parents may feel anger and feel like its an unfair and cruel thing. Denial may also come with guilt, depending on how the child passed away, for example if the they died due to a genetic or biological cause the parent may feel like they "gave an illness to their child."
 Grieving a childs loss is different for men and women. Although the loss of a child must first be recognized by both parents in order for the grieving part to begin. The men are almost always expected to be the one to be leaned on. They are the ones who the wife can come to for support and strength, they are considered the "rock". On the otherhand, woman express their emotions out in the open. They ususally are less capable of being the ones who can be found by the husband for support or strength.

 

"Children are not supposed to die...Parents expect to see their children grow and mature. Ultimately, parents expect to die and leave their children behind...This is the natural course of life events, the life cycle continuing as it should. The loss of a child is the loss of innocence, the death of the most vulnerable and dependent. The death of a child signifies the loss of the future, of hopes and dreams, of new strength, and of perfection. " - Arnold and Gemma 1994, iv, 9, 39

A quote about losing a child

When a man loses his wife,
He is called a widower.
When a woman loses her husband,
She is called a widow.
When a child loses her parents,
She is an orphan.
But when a parent loses his child…
There is no name for this type of pain.
It is hard to live and has no name.

~Major Bloomberg

"The death of a child is the single most traumatic event in medicine. To lose a child is to lose a piece of yourself.”


~ Dr. Burton Grebin