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Larry ~ Male Only Chat
- I lost my wife in March 2005, 3 months short of our
40th anniversary. It was devastating for me. My life as
I knew it was torn apart. I felt lost and alone. I am
so grateful that I found HALO, the wonderful people here
understood my feeling and held my hand as I traveled this
road.
We have 3 boys and 3 girls, all grown and they been a
real blessing to me. They along with the understanding
and caring people here at HALO have helped me come along
way down this path. Many times during this journey I have
felt overwhelmed and lost but in chatting with the people
I have received the encouragement and strength to continue
on.
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Joe ~ Male Only Chat
- On May 11, 2006, my father-in-law called me home from
work so he could tell my daughter’s and me that their
mom and grandma (my wife and mother-in-law) had been killed
in an auto accident just down the road from our houses
that afternoon. My daughters were 13 and 15 at the time
leaving me to raise them without the two “ROCKS” of their
lives. This was three days before Mother’s Day, exactly
one week before my wife’s birthday. We had been together
over 18 years and would have been married 17 years in
August 2006.
Prior to that, my Dad died in March 1998, my wife’s uncle
in May 1998, my wife’s grandmother in June 2000, and my
mom in September 2002. All of my Aunts and uncles on both
my Mom and Dad’s sides of my family are deceased. As I
am the youngest cousin on both sides of the family, many
of my cousins are deceased as well. In the 8 months prior
to the accident, five friends of ours from church died
as well.
Of all of these deaths, my wife’s and her mom’s hit me
the hardest. Within a month of the accident I started
counseling with a Hospice Sudden Death Grief Counselor.
Although she was a lot of help, what we both realized
was what I needed most was some sort of support group
for younger Widow(er)s with children. Although she called
all through a four county area, the Hospice Counselor
admitted there was not any appropriate program for younger
widow(er)s with children. One program that did exist an
hour away was more about money than helping.
Fortunately, through my attempts to find sources of information
on Grief on the Internet, I found HALO. At the roughest
experience ever in my life, I found others who understood
the pain I have experienced through my recent loss. They
all held my hand and supported me through various rough
points. Thanks to them, I know that there is a light at
the end of this darkness I have entered. They are here
for me when and where ever I need help.
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Autumn ~ Teen Chat
- The first loss I had that made quite an impact on me
was my Grandpa Bill. He was my Dad's dad and I was his
right hand girl. I was 5 years old at the time. From that
time on, when ever my Mom needed to go to a funeral, I
would ask her to take me too because I wanted to let the
kids know that I understood how they felt. Growing up
I lost all my great grandparents, most of my Mom's aunts
and uncles. When I was in High School, I lost 2 close
friends. One lost control of her car due to black ice
and the other friend, was riding in the back seat of her
brother's car when a lady ran a stop sign. Seat belt laws
were not enforced then, and she was thrown out of the
car, which rolled over her. I remember trying to stay
strong for my other friends while working thru my own
grief too. A few years passed and then it seemed like
the bottom of my world dropped out. My step-Dad passed
unexpectedly 10-31-99. I hated seeing the pain my Mom
was going thru but I too was hurting so we hung onto each
other tightly. It was almost Christmas time in 2000 when
my Mom calls to tell me that we are about to loose someone
very close to us both. My Grandma Mona was loosing her
8 yr battle with cancer. By this time, I had moved from
MI to OR so I had to make a difficult decision. Did I
want to see my Grandma now or wait until she had passed?
It wasn't an easy decision to make, but I went to have
one last Christmas with her. I'll never regret the decision
I made. We had some quality time together and there is
nothing that can replace that time for me. Grandma passed
1-11-01 and though I wasn't there for her funeral, my
Mom read a piece for me. Another year passes and Mom calls
again for me to get on the next flight to MI. My Grandpa
had been diagnosed with 2 types of cancer and was being
brought home with hospice. As difficult as this trip was,
I was glad to get the chance to say aloha to my first
date, my friend, my Grandpa. He passed 7-14-02. For those
of you that don't know, Char, who is staff of HALO and
a host, is my Mom. When she first came online for her
grief, I remember thinking how my Mom had lost her mind.
Didn't she know that the Web was full of evil people?
After a spell, I decided that perhaps I should check this
all out. I was really concerned about my Mom's welfare.
BOY, was I wrong. I found some great, caring and understanding
people and my fears for my Mom went away. I was thankful
to have my new friends here at HALO. In May 04, I miscarried
my first baby and the wonderful caring people here were
waiting to walk this new path of grief with me. When I
was asked to become a host, I was honored. Now, just like
when I was a small child, I am here to walk beside you
and give you hope for a new tomorrow. I do understand
your pain.
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Janette ~ Sibling Chat
- Hi my name is Janette aka Goob. I have lost many family
members through the years. These losses have had a big
impact on my life, but the one that took my whole being
was my husband Chris. Chris passed on July 5th, 1999 of
a massive heart attack at the age of 35, in his sleep.
He was my life, my world. We had been married for 15 years
when he passed.
With the love, care and support of all my online friends,
I have come to realize, life can be good again. I would
like to thank everyone for being there for me, and give
back the love and support that was given to me.
(((((((( Friends ))))))))
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