A wife who loses a husband is called a widow. A husband who loses a wife is called a widower. A child who loses his parents is called an orphan. But...there is no word for a parent who loses a child; that’s how awful the loss is. It would be much easier to deal with losing an arm, easier to lose both of your legs, even easier to live without your sight. Anything would be easier than living without your very own flesh and blood and the heart-beating life that you brought into this world. The immense pain of burying the child you labored and birthed is unimaginable. You gave birth to life as a promise to the future. This is the child you fed within your body and loved with your soul. This is the child who loved you with her whole heart and whom you loved with all of yours.

Read More