How do you cope with losing a child ?

I know, that’s a big question, and I cannot imagine how anyone could.

I recently bumped into an old friend who I was at college with but had lost touch and hadn’t seen for about 20 years,

We got chatting and I found out she had married a lovely guy called mike and they had had 3 children, 2 sons and one daughter called Ella.  Then she told me her very sad news, they had lost their daughter Ella two years ago when she was only nine.

She had had Rett syndrome and was severely disabled but, as her mother said, also very beautiful.

I couldn’t imagine how you cope with something like that. She then went onto tell me that losing Ella had left a very great hole in their lives as so much of their time was taken up with looking after her.

Then in a very positive and enthusiastic way she told me how she had set up a Charity called Rosie’s Rainbow fund, providing music therapy for special needs children and adults sick in hospital. They also organise other special needs activities and bereavement support for those who have lost children and others also, and she said, “So it’s all go !”

There are some very fine human beings who live among us and the best we can do is to learn from their examples. 

This is, unfortunately, the best and only advice I could ever hope to offer in answer to my question.

For more about their charity please visit Rosies Rainbow Fund

And to donate in memory of Ella please visit  Rosies Rainbow for Ella