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This is a topic I don’t hear talked about much, but it affects so many of us.  Who would have ever thought we would be faced with the decision of donating our child’s organs? There are so many mixed emotions about this, whether you did, or whether you didn’t.

The world of organ donation is a family within a family. We are all family in the world of being a parent bereaved of our child (a pareavor), but if you donated any of your child’s organs, you are in that smaller family within the bigger family.

I have two guests joining me today, because our daughter was on the other end as someone who needed a heart transplant but didn’t make it to be able to get one. She had so much medication in her for so long that nothing was usable, so I don’t have experience with going through that process.

This episode is not to heap guilt on anyone who said no, when asked about donating your child’s organs. You made the right decision for you at that time. We can all look back and wish we had made some different decisions surrounding our child’s death, and we can all look back and be glad about some of the decisions we made.

This episode is to give a voice to and hear from those parents whose child was an organ donor.  I was asked when I first started this podcast to do an episode on the topic of organ donation, so here it is.

Melanie Delorme was a content English teacher, wife, mother, sister, and friend. Then, without warning, she gained the title of bereaved parent when her eight-year-old son, Garrett, was accidentally killed in a hunting accident in 2008. Her road to healing brought her to write her first book, After The Flowers Die: A Handbook of Heartache, Hope and Healing After Losing a Child. Melanie is involved with her local chapter of The Compassionate Friends and is passionate about offering hope to other bereaved parents. She is currently living on a ranch in Saskatchewan, Canada with her husband, Gerry, and their two children, Morgan and Justin.

Rita Jackson’s life as she knew it was forever changed on April 25, 2013 when her daughter Jasmine passed away. It was only due to her daughter’s compassionate decision to register to be a donor that she has survived the depths of despair and began to build a life for herself. With the donation of bone and connective tissue, veins, skin and heart valves, her daughter has touched the lives of more than 30 people and their families.

A year after her loss, she became an Ambassador for OneLegacy where she has had many opportunities to speak on the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation and the need for more people to register.

(Note: The views and opinions of our guests outside of this podcast may not be in agreement with GPS Hope.)

To connect with Melanie Delorme: Website –  melaniedelorme.com

To connect with Rita Jackson: Website – Donatelifecalifornia.org/jasmine

Email – [email protected]

To place your order or find out more about Pearls of Hope click here.

To find more resources and support, go the GPS Hope website: gpshope.org

Don’t forget to give this podcast a rating and review to help other grieving parents find us!

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(GPS Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit and runs on the financial support of those who believe in passing along the hope they have received to others.)

Brenton Smith was born on February 10 and is forever 24.

Jeffrey Allision was born on February 14 and is forever 30.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

In our Western Culture, we usually choose names for our newborn babies because we like the sound of it, or we name them after a famous person, or even after an object or a place because we want to give our child a unique name.

No matter how we came up with our child’s name, names have meaning, and our name can affect who we become as a person, and how we live our life. This isn’t just something from “Bible times” but for all time.

Join Laura Diehl as she talks about this unusual topic, in connecting our child’s name with how their life was lived. She will also take it further by talking about the meaning of our own name, and how it can encourage us as a bereaved parent, that we still have purpose and destiny in our lives.

To find out more about Pearls of Hope click here.

To find more resources and support, go the GPS Hope website: gpshope.org

Don’t forget to give this podcast a rating and review to help other grieving parents find us!

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(GPS Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit and runs on the financial support of those who believe in passing along the hope they have received to others.)

There are no birthdays to announce this week.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

This is the third and last episode in our series for the newly bereaved.

Today we will be hearing from Pam Vredevelt, who has faced both a pregnancy loss, and the death of her 16-year-old son. Not only can Pam share from the personal experience of child loss, she can add the depth of being a licensed professional counselor for over 25 years.

As a bereaved parent, we hear a lot about giving ourselves grace. Pam shares why that is important because of how it affects our brains and bodies in the healing process.

She also shares how the brain will try to reestablish control and does so by blaming ourselves, which causes a defense system to rise up within us, causing the attacked to also be the attacker, blocking our ability to go through the needed healing process.

There are a lot of good things in here that are very helpful to all of us on this unwanted journey, especially for those who are in those early months and years.

Pam is a Licensed Professional Counselor, popular conference speaker, and best-selling author. She is married to her best friend, John, and they have four children. Two reside in the United States, two are in heaven. Her grace-filled wisdom, refreshing hope, and practical counsel have guided thousands towards recovery after a deep loss.

(Note: The views and opinions of our guests outside of this podcast may not be in agreement with GPS Hope.)

Pam Vredevelt’s website: pamvredevelt.com

Find out more about My Grief Journey Coloring Book and Journal for Bereaved Parents

Find out more about My Grief Journey Coloring Book and Journal for Kids

Don’t forget to give this podcast a rating and review to help other grieving parents find us!

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(GPS Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit and runs on the financial support of those who believe in passing along the hope they have received to others.)

Richie Rudkin was born on January 27 and is forever 27.

Celeste France was born on January 29 and is forever 17.

Robert Lelle was born on January 28 and is forever 26.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

When my daughter, Becca, died, I thought I was getting early Alzheimer’s because of how forgetful I was, how scrambled my mind felt, and how quickly important information could leave my brain. I had no idea for the first couple of years that it was “normal” for a parent after the death of their child, and it was a relief to find that out.

What else is “normal” for a newly bereaved parent?

First, it is important to know that I consider “newly” bereaved, as anything from the very first day to the first two or three years. It’s also important to know that most experts will say that for a parent who has lost a child, anything under five years is considered fresh grief. Losing a child is also considered traumatic grief – it is a trauma, and PTSD can come with it, depending on the circumstances of their death.

Along with some of my own experiences, I have asked some of my friends who have been on this journey for a while to share a word with those of you who are new on this unwanted path. Last week we heard from four of them. This week we will hear from five more. They are:

As you listen, you will find out that pretty much whatever it is you are experiencing is normal after the death of your child, and it’s such a relief to hear it from others who have been right where you are.

(Note: The views and opinions of our guests outside of this podcast may not be in agreement with GPS Hope.)

Get a printable PDF copy of “My New Normal” from the GPS Hope free library along with many other free downloads. (If you have not accessed the library before, you will need to create an account by simply give yourself a name and a password.)

See information to join us for the weekend retreat in Texas.

See information to join us on The Grief Cruise.

Don’t forget to let me know what to do for the 100th podcast. Email me at [email protected]

Don’t forget to give this podcast a rating and review to help other grieving parents find us!

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(GPS Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit and runs on the financial support of those who believe in passing along the hope they have received to others.)

Jeanette Marie was born on January 19 and is forever 36.

Hugh Brown was born on January 19 and is forever 18.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

There is no training for being a bereaved parent. It is a very dark place, and we can feel utterly alone, as if no one understands. But those of us who have lost a child do understand, and we want to walk with you, especially through the darkest part of your grief.

In this episode there will be things shared that are important for you to know. Not in the way of a “to do” list, but more of a “give yourself grace” list.

I asked some of my friends who have been on this journey for a while to share a word with those of you who are new on this unwanted path. This week we will hear from:

I know at the beginning, it doesn’t seem like it at all, but…

It is possible to have hope in the midst of your intense pain.

It is possible to have light break through the darkness.

It is possible to laugh and have joy in your life in a new way.

It is possible to live a life of meaning and purpose again.

Not only is it possible, but it is probable, if you stay connected with bereaved parents who are living in that place, including those who are here at Grieving Parents Sharing Hope.

I pray that after listening to these discussions about being a newly bereaved parent, you can have a glimmer of hope that it is possible to not stay stuck in the event of your child’s death, but to find a way to live again that honors his or her life.

(Note: The views and opinions of our guests outside of this podcast may not be in agreement with GPS Hope.)

Find out more about The Grief Cruise: http://gpshope.org/go/cruise

Listen to Laura’s songs she is the process of rerecording for a CD: Together Forever   and  I Remember Well

Don’t forget to give this podcast a rating and review to help other grieving parents find us!

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(GPS Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit and runs on the financial support of those who believe in passing along the hope they have received to others.)

Jake Kalicki was born on January 12 and is forever 17.

Matthew Cole was stillborn on January 15.

Joshua Caldwell was born on January 16 and is forever 28.

Tate Kwiatkowski was born on January 16 and is forever 69 days.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.