Infant Loss Support Program to Begin Feb. 16
Hospice of Randolph County & Naylen’s Hope to Host
Asheboro, NC - Families grieving the loss of an infant or preborn baby will soon have a resource and a safe place to share their loss and find comfort and support with others who are struggling to walk through this devastating experience. Beginning Thursday, February 16 at 6:30 PM, a support group will be launched to address the experiences of miscarriage, stillbirth, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and premature and full-term infant losses. The group will meet at Hospice of Randolph County, located at 416 Vision Drive in Asheboro and will continue to meet on the third Thursday each month.
Initially the group will be co-facilitated by Jennell Cardin and Tim Pheagin. Cardin is the founder of Naylen’s Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization that offers support to families devastated by SIDS losses, while also educating the public about the risk factors related to SIDS and advocating for families coping with this and other perinatal losses. Naylen’s Hope was named for Cardin’s two-month-old daughter Naylen, who was a victim of SIDS in 2006. Pheagin is a pastoral care provider who has been with Hospice of Randolph County for nearly fifteen years.
The formation of this support group comes as a response to a number of requests from parents, grandparents and referring healthcare providers who see the need, but have had no local resource for group support.
“We want to offer a comfortable, safe place where surviving parents and family members can listen to others who share their own experiences and challenges, and – when they are ready to do so – share their own,” said Pheagin. “We want people to feel that their pain is being heard, in a non-judgmental environment where no one tries to change the subject, no one tries to tell them to “move on,” but where the language of pain and devastation are spoke and understood fluently.”
Pheagin goes on to say that the aim is to help individuals articulate what they are feeling, and to talk about issues that accompany the loss of a baby. The loss of a child, at any age, is a deeply painful, complex and traumatic experience. Survivors are left with an endless array of brutally intense emotions and unanswered questions. Fathers and mothers often struggle with different things, and sometimes their communication becomes strained, leaving them feeling unsupported by each other.
Trying to make sense of the loss is always a part of the struggle. Well-meaning friends can muddy the waters with misguided attempts to be helpful. Or they may simply stay away because they “don’t know what to say.” To that concern, Pheagin simply urges people to “understand, first of all, that it’s not about you or your comfort level. You don’t have to know what to say. No one this side of heaven has a satisfying answer to this tragedy. Your willingness to be there, to listen, to allow the grieving parents to feel what they’re feeling, and not change the subject is so important. They won’t remember what you said, but the will remember that you were there. Or that you were not.”
There is no charge for participation. For more information contact either Hospice of Randolph County at 336-672-9300 (tim.pheagin@hospiceofrandolph.org), or Jennell Cardin at 336-940-7104 (JCardin@naylenshope.com).
