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Losing a Child: Always Andy's Mom

As a pediatrician, married mom of three biological children and one foster son, my life was busy, rushing off to my office four days a week, seeing patients for three and working as a medical director of a local physician organization for one. I balanced this with rushing off to shuttle my kids to after sports and other after school activities. All of this changed one day in August of 2018 when my 14 year old son, Andy, was killed in a car accident. I felt like my life was over, and in some ways it was over, and a new life was forced to begin in its place. 

Grief is seldom discussed openly in our culture, and the death of a child makes people feel even more uncomfortable. On this blog and podcast, ‘Losing a Child: Always Andy’s Mom’, the topic is approached openly and honestly, speaking to people who have lost loved ones and experts who help care for them. Whether you are a parent experiencing loss or someone who wants to support another going through this tragedy, this blog and podcast strives to offer hope and help.

Dec 29, 2022

It has been less than 5 months since Brittany’s sweet 12-year-old daughter, Madyson, died unexpectedly from myocarditis, but Brittany has already become an inspiration to other bereaved moms. In the days and weeks after Madyson’s death, Brittany felt devastated and alone. She stayed in bed all day. She struggled...


Dec 22, 2022

When Gwen and I were deciding what to name this week’s episode, Gwen’s title was ’Taking a Pause Before the Claus comes to Town: Last minute tips to survive the holiday.’ I chuckled at the title’s length and changed it to ’Last Minute Christmas Tips.’ It turned out, however, Gwen was right, maybe not about...


Dec 15, 2022

Today’s guest, Arava, reminded me of something that I think all of us know instinctually. Each person’s life is really made up of a collection of stories. When we think about any person whom we know and love and want to describe that person to someone else, we start telling stories about them. We don’t just say,...


Dec 8, 2022

Faith and grief are often hard for many people to feel at the same time, especially when people are from a Christian background. Christians grow up learning that God has a plan for the world and that God’s Plan is inherently good. We are taught that challenges are placed into our lives in order to help our faith and...


Dec 1, 2022

Meeting today’s guest, Lisa, for the first time on Zoom felt like meeting an old friend. When I was thinking about what to write for this episode, the word that first came into my mind was ‘community.’ That’s what Lisa creates - she creates connections between people and a sense of community. Now, that certainly...