I personally know Selena so this story really touched me. I thought you may like to know about this resource as well.
So began a remarkable voicemail message received in the Rice
Grief Center on Sunday,April 15, 2012, at 12:19 pm – the day after a grief support camp for young children had taken place.
The caller, Karen, from New Hartford, Connecticut, had just found a green balloon under a 40-foot tree in her yard. She had worried all winter long that the tree might die due to the especially bad
winter weather. The balloon that Karen found after church that Sunday had been launched by Jacob, a nine-year-old boy, at Camp G.K. Bear inWillmar, some 1,500 miles away from New Hartford. A tag on the balloon said: “Hi, I just attended a
special camp for grieving kids. This balloon is in remembrance of my brother, Henry, and my Grandpa Mason. If you find this balloon, please return this slip or call the Rice Grief Center (contact details). Sincerely, Jacob.”
Karen had been going through a very difficult grief journey of her own,with many overwhelming changes, but when she read Jacob’s note she wondered if it might be a message that everything was going to work out. Her father, Jacob, had planted the tree when he was a young boy. His father,Mason had given him the tree to plant. Mason’s father was named Henry. Karen looked up at the tree and noticed that the leaves had begun to bud out. Karen contacted the Grief Center and they in turn called Jacob’s mother, Selena, to share Karen’s story. To honor the memory of her son,Henry, Selena shared
their family’s story.
Jacob and his two sisters, Laila, aged 7, and Emily (Henry’s twin), aged 5, had attended Camp G.K. Bear on April 15 for the second time. They had experienced many changes and losses during the past months including Henry’s death and their grandfather’s death, as well as the addition of twin siblings, born the night
of Henry’s funeral. Henry and his twin sister, Emily,were born on December 25, 2006. Henry was born with heart and bladder anomalies, and spent many weeks in the hospital. Some anomalies were able to be repaired before he was able to go home in February 2007.
Selena tried to keep her children’s home life as normal as possible. She described Henry as a normal little boy with lots of mischief. Throughout his life he experienced multiple surgeries, but as a family they were able to enjoy a normal life with four active young children. Sadly, in August 2011,Henry developed extreme pain in his “tummy” and was whisked back to the hospital one last time. He wasn’t able to say good-bye to his siblings like he did on every previous trip to the hospital. Henry died on August 12, 2011, from a ruptured intestine and bowel.
Selena described his funeral as very personal and special. Jingle Bells had been Henry’s personal lullaby and this special music was featured in the funeral. His family filled his casket with toys and personal belongings. Emily made sure that pictures of Henry and family were included. A balloon launch followed and one year later Henry’s family had another balloon launch in his memory. Selena said young Emily finds comfomt in knowing her twin brother “sits on a cloud.” She wasn’t disappointed that Jacob’s balloon was found and not hers. She believes that Henry caught her balloon. Maybe it was “a God thing.”
Camp G.K. Bear is a one-day camp designed to offer support and education to children in grades K-6 who are grieving the death of a significant person in their lives.
Rice Hospice and Rice Grief Center coordinate the camp and provide staffing and volunteers to make camp available at no charge to participants. The camp offers a fun approach to a very difficult topic and focuses on discussing life and death, feelings, change, and a special emphasis on memories.
See the whole brochure here:
www.ricehospice.com/documents/SAM_2012_final.pdf