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Compassionate Friends group shows life goes on
By Dana Rogers
Contributor
Published November 1, 2009
When I lost my son 4½ years ago in a drowning accident, my world caved in on my family and me. I was crippled with grief and saw no hope.
How could I go on living with this pain and without my son? Who would understand the depth of our loss and the extent of our pain? “Family” took on a different meaning.
Ours had a void that never would be filled. The fabric of our lives took on another thread — a black one. It would be woven into the rest of our lives.
The Compassionate Friends reached out to me soon after the accident. I ignored their cards, newsletters and literature. I told myself that I was not one of them. They were sad people who all had one thing in common. They had lost a child.
I felt that acknowledging them would mean that I accepted my son’s death. I couldn’t. It wasn’t real. It was a nightmare that would surely end. The Compassionate Friends continued to reach out to me.
After several months, I saw a need to help raise funds for the Children’s Memorial Garden. This was going to be a huge endeavor that required the work of many to see this dream become a reality. I poured myself into this project. I could do this for my son. His life meant something and so did his death.
No one wants to be a part of this all-inclusive group. But where else do we belong? Because of our common thread, we do understand, we are compassionate and very supportive.
When the seasoned members reach out to the newly bereaved, the desperation is evident in that they are lost, alone and afraid. “We Need Not Walk Alone” is more than our motto. It is also our mission. We reach out to those who need us and help the ones who have found us.
I find myself very involved with this group now as I realize what it means to the newly bereaved to see that life does go on. They are all looking for hope and small pockets of peace. This is what they find when they reach out to The Compassionate Friends.
The Compassionate Friends is a national, nonprofit organization but is not widely known because no one wants to think that they will ever need our support.
When a family is faced with the unthinkable, family members are too wounded to seek us out. However, The Galveston County Chapter of The Compassionate Friends has been silently helping families deal with their grief since 2000 when it began with only a few members and has now grown to several hundred.
One of our goals is to help families find a way to go on without their children and another, just as important, is to “Remember Our Children.”
Dana Rogers of Texas City is treasurer of The Compassionate Friends.
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The Compassionate Friends
P.O. Box 568
Texas City, Tx 77592
www.tcfgalvestoncounty.org
409-996-9440
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