“I only dressed him once” - Mom shares painful experience of losing a child
Listen to the sad story of a mom who lost her child at 39 weeks and is now using her painful experience to bring hope to other mothers who are mourning the loss of their children.
The pain of losing a child is never easy to deal with.
According to research, one in four known pregnancies end in miscarriage. Sadly, regardless of how common it is, dealing with a miscarriage is never easy.
Nanki Robbertse, a mother who lost her baby, Kaleb, at 39 weeks, says her pain was so severe that she had no reason to live anymore.
“On a specific very dark day, early in my grief journey, I remembered begging God for a reason to keep on living here on earth, to give me a purpose. I wanted to be with Kaleb and did not have the energy or the ability to fight anymore,” she says.
It was at this point that her initiative ‘The Hope Box’ was birthed.
“I was connected to an American-based Facebook group who support mothers who have suffered a loss. Part of what they offer is giving mothers hope boxes as a tangible gift to encourage and support and point them to Jesus. I sensed God telling me to start giving hope boxes to mothers who have lost here in South Africa,” she says.
“On that day when I said yes to God, my grief journey changed. It changed from focusing on myself trying to escape from the never-ending black hole to focusing on others who hurt too. To make other people’s journeys a bit lighter. And without me realizing it, reaching out to others, was my step out of the black hole."
Nanki’s vision is to help each grieving parent find resources and a community who understands and encourages them with hope. It is also her goal to be a voice for all parents who have had to endure a loss and to educate society on how to support these women.
Listen to Nanki share her story with Elana of how she has helped loads of women deal with the pain of mourning a child.
Image courtesy of iStock/ TolikoffPhotography