ANNIE DALBY

No matter what loss you’re grieving, we don’t want you to be alone. Ever. But the truth is that many people are alone with their grief. There are myriad reasons for this reality, and one of the most painful is because a loss isn’t seen by many, or if it is, it’s far too devastating for most people to acknowledge.

If you walk through the offices of Cornerstone of Hope, you will undoubtedly see our marketing materials. These address many different kinds of loss, but all share the common message which is our motto and passion: Never Grieve Alone. No matter what loss you’re grieving, we don’t want you to be alone. Ever. But the truth is that many people are alone with their grief. There are myriad reasons for this reality, and one of the most painful is because a loss isn’t seen by many, or if it is, it’s far too devastating for most people to acknowledge. This leads to a kind of silent suffering that can suck the life from a soul like undertow at the ocean’s shore.

I have learned that this is often the case with pregnancy and infant loss. Brave and wounded women and their partners have sat in my office or spoken up from the crowd at a workshop and given voice to the isolation they feel. With pregnancy loss, at times a woman loses a child before her body even announces to the world that she is carrying new life inside her. Infant death is oftentimes too scary and profoundly painful for people to acknowledge.

And so, women bear their terrible grief alone and unseen, disenfranchised from the sensitivity and understanding that might normally be granted to those that are grieving losses. It is tragic in many ways, because along with the death of a baby comes the loss of hopes, dreams, and a bright and imagined future for a beloved child.

If you are this woman or her partner, the clinicians and staff at Cornerstone of Hope want you to know we see you.

We see you.

We see you.

We want to be with you as you bring your hidden pain out into the light where it belongs, where it can be bathed by acceptance and understanding and healing and validation. We want to look at your ultrasound scan with you or hold your infant’s picture; hear the names you had picked out or watch the video of your baby’s first steps.

We will stay present to you as you tell us your story. Together, we can give it the grace and honor it deserves. We will listen.

You don’t have to grieve alone.

Annie is a Bereavement Clinician at Cornerstone of Hope Columbus.