Hope After Child Loss/The Empty Chair Endeavor

• A Mom’s Grief Journey with Heather West, Adalyn and Maelyn’s Mom

  When her eight month old daughter Adalyn died of two congenital medical conditions in May 2017, Heather’s heart was shattered and her life upended with grief. Three short years later, the unimaginable happened when her daughter Maelyn was stillborn in July 2020. How does a parent even begin to comprehend and process such unspeakable trauma? How can a mom navigate such grief and loss while trying to take care of another living child? Heather and I explore these and other questions as we talk about her journey over the past eight years from brokenness to rediscovering meaning, purpose, and hope through her relationship with GOD. Heather’s transparency and honesty offer us glimpses into a grieving mom’s heart reminding our listeners that grief doesn’t have to define our identity, but rather is an expression of the deep love parents have for their children.Click here to share your thoughts about this episode If you find this conversation meaningful or helpful, we invite you to follow us on your favorite podcast platform so that each new episode will be sent to you automatically. Please rate/review us on Apple Podcasts if you appreciate our podcast. Your feedback matters because it can help us continually improve as well as help others decide if our episodes might be beneficial to them.You can contact us by email at: [email protected] through our parent organization website: https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/Our Facebook link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavorIf you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it.Thank you for listening!

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• Emerging Through the Crushing Pain of Grief with Kim Peacock, Nicole's Mom

  "When Nicole went to Heaven, darkness invaded our world, and we wondered if our family would survive the crushing pain of grief."  Kim Peacock When Kim's daughter Nicole died in a tragic off-roading accident three days after Christmas in 1998, it left her shattered, and her whole world seemed to stop. No parent is ever prepared for such trauma and pain, much less equipped to deal with it. Kim and I talk about what that season was like, the struggles that descended, and how, by GOD's grace, she began to experience healing, and emerging through the darkness of grief as she started rediscovering  hope and purpose in the aftermath.I believe Kim's transparency and open heartedness will inspire hope and encouragement for your own journey. To discover more about Kim’s journey and how she’s now helping other bereaved parents, please visit her website below and check out her newly published book, “Victorious Heart: Finding Hope and Healing After a Devastating Loss”.https://www.wildvictoriousheart.com/aboutClick here to share your thoughts about this episode If you find this conversation meaningful or helpful, we invite you to follow us on your favorite podcast platform so that each new episode will be sent to you automatically. Please rate/review us on Apple Podcasts if you appreciate our podcast. Your feedback matters because it can help us continually improve as well as help others decide if our episodes might be beneficial to them.You can contact us by email at: [email protected] through our parent organization website: https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/Our Facebook link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavorIf you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it.Thank you for listening!

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• Navigating the Grief of Stillbirth with Leslie Burman, Willow's Mom

  After waiting the long arrival of their precious daughter Willow, June 8, 2017 was supposed to be a day of joyful celebration for Leslie and Andrew Burman. When their sweet baby was born still that day, their hopes were crushed and their hearts shattered. It wasn't supposed to be that way! How do young parents begin to process something so painful and traumatic? How do they go back to an empty home and try to figure out the way forward? "Through it all, though, I felt a sense of calmness and peace. It was out of my hands. There was a bigger plan for our sweet daughter, Willow ..." LeslieI hope you'll listen as Leslie and I talk about her journey, and shares how GOD  began mending all those broken pieces, giving her a passion to help others and create "Be Like the Willow, a non-profit organization striving to provide comfort through acts of kindness, resources to aid grief and support like-minded charitable organizations."https://www.belikethewillow.com/Click here to share your thoughts about this episode If you find this conversation meaningful or helpful, we invite you to follow us on your favorite podcast platform so that each new episode will be sent to you automatically. Please rate/review us on Apple Podcasts if you appreciate our podcast. Your feedback matters because it can help us continually improve as well as help others decide if our episodes might be beneficial to them.You can contact us by email at: [email protected] through our parent organization website: https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/Our Facebook link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavorIf you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it.Thank you for listening!

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• A Grieving Dad’s Journey with Dr. Allan MacDonald, Josh’s Dad

  On this episode, my friend, Dr. Allan MacDonald and I talk about his journey with grief that began on December 31, 2018 when his 26 year old son Josh died after a valiantly fought, odds-defying battle with a congenital medical condition. Allan shares how Josh not only survived the initial heartbreaking medical prognosis, but went on to embrace life with a contagious zeal for living and doing all the things that weren’t supposed to be possible. We discuss the impact that deep trauma left Allan to process and try to navigate after losing not only Josh, but his marriage just a few months later. Even today, Allan sometimes has to contend with grief triggers as he rounds on patients in the same hospital, the same floor, and same room where Josh died in his arms that day in December. Allan’s is also a story of how, in his brokenness, GOD began taking all those shattered pieces and restoring beauty out of the ashes. This is a story of hope!Click here to share your thoughts about this episode If you find this conversation meaningful or helpful, we invite you to follow us on your favorite podcast platform so that each new episode will be sent to you automatically. Please rate/review us on Apple Podcasts if you appreciate our podcast. Your feedback matters because it can help us continually improve as well as help others decide if our episodes might be beneficial to them.You can contact us by email at: [email protected] through our parent organization website: https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/Our Facebook link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavorIf you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it.Thank you for listening!

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• Surviving the Unthinkable Loss of a Baby … Twice, with Kendall and Andy Reid, Ruby and Jack’s Parents

  For most people, the thought of losing their child is almost more than their hearts can bear, seemingly unsurvivable. Unfortunately for Kendall and Andy Reid, this became a reality in 2017 when their precious 2 day old daughter, Ruby died suddenly in the hospital. Still grieving such a tremendous loss, their lives were once again shattered by the death of their second child, Jack, as a result of stillbirth in 2019. How does a young couple even begin trying to accept and process something so unimaginably painful? How does one maintain their sanity, return to work, and carry on with the routines of daily life? Is it possible for even a good marriage to survive? In my conversation with Kendall and Andy, we explore these questions and other challenges, as well as how their faith and relationships with JESUS sustained them, held them together, and began a journey of healing that eventually led them to get involved with Ashlie’s Embrace, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing CuddleCots (TM) to U.S. hospitals and medical centers.https://www.ashliesembrace.org/Click here to share your thoughts about this episode If you find this conversation meaningful or helpful, we invite you to follow us on your favorite podcast platform so that each new episode will be sent to you automatically. Please rate/review us on Apple Podcasts if you appreciate our podcast. Your feedback matters because it can help us continually improve as well as help others decide if our episodes might be beneficial to them.You can contact us by email at: [email protected] through our parent organization website: https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/Our Facebook link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavorIf you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it.Thank you for listening!

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