We were recently introduced to Kerry Gordon and Kristie Shaw of Precious Wings and the significant support they give to families.
Precious Wings is a Brisbane based organisation run on an entirely voluntary basis and was started by Kerry and Kirstie, in memory of their two beautiful boys Toby and Lachlan. Kerry and Kristie are passionate about helping other families who are faced with the devastating loss of their child and our services help to provide understanding, a feeling of not being alone and something beautiful to hold onto when leaving hospital with empty arms.
What does Precious Wings Mean to Families?
Precious Wings love receiving feedback from families who have received their services and hearing how much comfort their miscarriage bag or memory box gave them at the time and continues to do now. Watch this moving video to see the story of two mothers who received Precious Wings memory boxes. You may need a tissue! Thank you Kirsty and Carolyn for sharing your stories and your precious children Baby George and Hannah.
Kerry and Kristie are truly in touch with what matters and what makes a difference to families every day. Please take the time to read Christmas and Grief and to share with your family and friends, you never know who’s life you will make a difference to in a time of need.
Christmas and Grief
Christmas is meant to be ‘the most wonderful time of the year.’ When you have lost a child or anyone you love, it can be a hard time; the lights, decorations and Christmas cheer a reminder that someone is missing. The pressure of this time of year can also be difficult. Pressure to see family and friends, put on a smile and festive cheer and celebrate. Do what you are comfortable doing, nothing more, nothing less. We have listed a few things that may help to make your day a little better.
- Set aside some time each day for just you.
- Share memories including thoughts, quotes that move you and photographs
- Light a special candle, make that part of your Christmas tradition (we light ours on Christmas Eve and then again on Christmas Day)
- Buy or make a special decoration for your tree in memory of your loved one
- Reduce your stress by planning ahead, have an escape plan if an event becomes too much for you
- Don’t be afraid to ask friends and family for help, everyone’s grief is different, you are where you are in your journey.
Remember that you don’t have to ask someone experiencing grief if you can help, you can just help – invite them out for coffee, cook them a meal, sit and listen to their feelings, speak the name of their loved one. Include their child on your Christmas cards. Acknowledgment is so important and hearing their child’s name spoken openly will be the sweetest sound.
“When you have a child, your instinct is to protect them; when you lose a child, your instinct is to protect their memory.”
This link to a YouTube video explains what empathy, not sympathy really means to someone grieving the loss of a loved one or just having a tough time.
How You Can Help?
All of the services provided by Precious Wings are free of charge and currently rely entirely on community support, corporate donations and our own fundraising activities to maintain the service to hospitals and families. Also, many of our donations come from families who have received one of our memory boxes or from their own family or friends who have seen the comfort they provide. If you would like to support us there are a variety of ways you can do so. We would like to thank you so much for your support. No donation is too small and without your generosity we would not be able to support our families.
You can donate by clicking here. Remember to select Precious Wings from the Campaign dropdown menu once on the RBWHF Donation page. If you wish, you are then able to enter the name/s of the baby or child in whose memory you would like your memory box/es to be created.
Thank you to all of our supporters!
email: info@preciouswings.org
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