TAMPA – AdventHealth Tampa will hold its annual memorial service in honor of National Pregnancy and Child Loss Remembrance Day.
The service will give the community an opportunity to remember their loved ones and connect with others who’ve experienced a similar loss.
“To be surrounded in a group of people that truly have walked the same walk, have walked through the same grief journey, it’s very, very impactful,” said Rebeccah Vires, women’s health director at AdventHealth Tampa. “It also allows them to know it’s OK to still grieve someone years later, decade later, lifetimes later. It’s perfectly acceptable to do that.”
The event is open to the public from 6 to 7:15 p.m. Oct. 15 at Taneja Chapel at AdventHealth Tampa, 3000 E. Fletcher Ave, Tampa. The hospital welcomes all who have experienced the loss of a child to come together to grieve and remember their loved one.
“Maybe they didn’t realize that they weren’t alone, that there are a number of people who are also grieving and maybe there are things they have done in their journey that can be helpful to you,” said Alex Angellakis, mission and ministry director at AdventHealth Tampa.
Family and friends can honor their baby by writing their name on a heart to place on the memory tree. Participants can choose to share their stories and receive support or remain quiet and reflect in their own space.
Siblings will also be provided with the opportunity to participate in doing crafts to honor their loved ones and talk with special counselors trained to work with children.
“What we do is create an environment where, if they have other siblings, those siblings get to interact and play with our child-life specialists, creating an opportunity for them to tell us if they want to engage others or not,” Angellakis said.
The event will conclude with a candle-lighting to pay tribute to all the lives lost.
“It does give the opportunity for dialogue and to encounter others who’ve encountered loss if they want to, but if they just want to come in that solace and have that moment of remembering at the candle-lighting time, they can do that, and they can leave,” Angellakis said.
