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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.

May 26, 2022

“I’m sorry, Katie, but I can’t find a heartbeat.” These are the words that changed Katie’s life forever. After an easy pregnancy, today’s guest went into labor on her due date, never expecting that anything could be wrong. She and her husband had just heard baby Poppy’s strong heartbeat a few days...


May 19, 2022

Empowered. 

When I was about halfway through today’s interview with Braeden’s Mom, Tiffany, the word that came to my mind was ‘empowered.’ I remember thinking to myself, this is an unusual word to describe a bereaved mom, but in Tiffany’s case, that word just fits perfectly. Her life certainly felt broken...


May 12, 2022

Sometimes, it feels like the world is really big and at other times, it feels really small. When I first spoke with today’s guest, Jen, the world actually felt quite tiny. She is from my home state of Iowa and lives in the town where I went to college, beautiful Decorah, Iowa. She graduated a year ahead of me and we...


May 5, 2022

From early in Betty and Kyle's relationship, they had a basic plan for their life together. For years, that plan worked without a hitch. They got married, finished their education, and then started their wonderful little family.

When their first child, baby Ella, was born, life continued to feel perfect. They documented...