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 Hello and welcome back to the Critical Junctures Podcast. Wanted to give you an update on what's been going on with the podcast, the last few weeks. We've taken a break with it just for some unexpected life events. Some of you may be aware, my youngest brother passed away and. That's just taken a lot of time that we've spent with family and helping with the arrangements as they were made and just projects that unexpectedly needed to be finalized.

Then my wife and I also have a long vacation that we've planned for a couple years. That takes us to a number of countries in Europe. So we decided to just take a break with the podcast and start back roughly toward the end of September. We'll be back on track to hopefully be every week. But just a couple of things we've really learned through this podcast is.

Just the depth of grief and hurt that you find with so many people, and some of 'em you look at and you wouldn't know how this grief has affected them, but every one of us that's lost a child is fully aware of that pain that you feel inside. And I've had a number of conversations with. Friends, acquaintances that we've discussed this podcast and how we could help others that are going through it.

And one big discovery was there are people that have been 10, 20, some of them even 30 plus years that have lost a child. And the grief is still incredibly challenging for them to even talk about it. And. So I really feel there's a an incredible need to continue these communications and interviews.

And we have a number of people lined up that will share their stories. And I think it's really important when you go through these, every single person. Has a significant amount of grief they carry in these and just in life in general. It has a lot of ups and there's a lot of great things to life and so many exciting things, and that's typically what people talk about.

You see the Instagram and Facebook posts of all the really great things that go on, and there are a lot of great things that go on in life. But what is much more challenging to not only talk about and express, but even to listen to, is all the challenges that come with just the uncertainty of life.

In a moment's notice life can be gone. I had a coworker that not too long ago went into the hospital. He was mid fifties and. It never came out and left a family and it was a medical condition that, again, no one's guaranteed of life. And so we're gonna really, again, continue to dive into these interviews with people and let them share their experience.

I really appreciated the people that have shared. Their depth of how they've opened up and been very transparent has, from comments that I've received back, have just been incredibly helpful that the stories they share, because some of 'em on the outside, you'd look at their families and you go.

They're just, that's what I'd like my family to be. And in many cases, yes, that is true. They are phenomenal people, but the depth of hurt, of the loss of a child is, it's staggering. And appreciate the continued support with this. And like I said, toward the end of September, we will get back on a schedule that's a weekly release.

And look forward to you guys joining us on this journey. Thank you.

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Chris Burton talks about the loss of his son Zach. Zach grew up playing sports and was an outstanding football player. He was loved by everyone and was a special young man. In college he and a friend tried oxycodone and became addicted. Some people have genes in their body that just trying a drug like oxycodone and it creates instant addiction.

Chris and his wife Jennifer along with their family started a foundation to help others that are going through addictions. Zach43foundation.com helps other people who have found themselves addicted to an opioid and they are raising awareness to overcome the stigma of an addition.

Zach was lost to an accidental overdose from a pill that had been laced with fentanyl.

Chris talks about the ways they remember Zach and all the special times they had together. Their family’s faith in God gives them an assurance that they will be together with Zach again. They experience God winks that let them know Zach is close.

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April Babcock lost her son Austen to illicit fentanyl. Illicit fentanyl is a deadly drug that most people taking it think they are taking something else. April share’s her story of being in such pain after the loss of her son that she did not want life to go on. After 18 months of intense grief and going to God for help she has taken her pain and made it into a purpose. She founded a group called Lost Voices of Fentanyl https://lvof.org .

She has made her life a mission to stop the supply of Fentanyl coming into the US from China and Mexico. Her Facebook group has over 36,000 member and they hold a rally in Washington, DC every year to push lawmakers into acting to stem the flow of fentanyl into the US. She has made it clear that she is fighting against fentanyl to save our children so that no other family has to suffer a loss like hers.

The grief, pain and loneliness of losing a child never goes away but turning that pain in to purpose young people’s lives are being saved. If you are interested in supporting Lost Voices of Fentanyl you can contact April at lvof.org.

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Tony & Kelly Trent discuss their journey of grief after the loss of their son Tyler to a rare bone cancer. Tyler’s story is unique in that his story went national. Tyler’s story has been told on TV, videos, articles and a book. He is still an inspiration to millions and his name and likeness continues to raise millions of dollars for pediatric cancer research through the Tyler Trent Foundation.

The Trent’s have been so thankful for all the care and love shown to their family. At the same time, they are grieving parents. Like all of us who have lost a child there is a grieving process that can take you to dark places in life. Tony and Kelly talk about the impacts the grief took on their personal lives and their family. Their willingness to candidly share their personal story of grief aligns with what so many of us have experienced. As Kelly say’s “grief is brutal”.

Grief is personal for each of us. The support people in life that show up in unexpected ways can help impact the recovery. Tony and Kelly, like most of us that have lost a child, are a work in progress on the recovery journey. Their story reflects the dichotomy of conflicting views that can both be true at the same time. An outside look at their life may view all the positives that have come as a result of Tyler’s journey, which is true. The other side that is also true, is the personal grief and pain that loss of Tyler has impacted on their family and personal life. That journey of grief has altered their lives forever.

Their story is inspiring that over time the strongest fundamental core values in life can guide you on the road to recovery. For the Trent’s; faith in God, marriage, their family and a mission to eradicate the cancer that took Tyler life have helped keep their focus on the most important things in life. The road to recovery is long and challenging with daily obstacles and grief that can smack you at any moment.

To learn more about the Tyler Trent Foundation go to https://tylertrentfoundation.com

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A father reflects on his son, who lived doing everything in life the right way. It was a reflection of a family that lived by faith, mission, purpose, hard work and love. A role model young man from a role model family and tragedy strikes through a medical condition.

Wale brings a unique perspective as a father and trained medical professional. Wale is a psychiatrist and his wife Ann is a pediatrician. Wale describes his son passing while on the phone with them in the middle of the night over 700 miles away. It was later discovered that Kayode passed from an undiagnosable deep vein thrombosis (DVT) that caused death, through a pulmonary embolism (PE).

Kayode was several months from finishing his master degree. He was a disciplined young man in mind, body and soul. He was working toward goals in life that encompassed a sense of purpose and impact larger than himself.

Wale discusses how their family bonds have helped them support each other as they work through the grief of losing Kayode. Family, friends, co-workers and a faith in Christ have helped in the recovery process. Navigating their grief is a work in progress for Wale and the entire family.

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Welcome to the Critical Junctures Podcast. This podcast is for parents who have lost a child and are navigating the loss of that child. Today is our first official release of the podcast and website. This is the five-year anniversary. Of my son's passing. A few days before my son's passing, he looked at me and asked the question, Dad, did my life really matter?

And as a father, you look and go, you can't imagine how much your life mattered to the people that you touched. It reminds me of a message we heard at church from a guest speaker who came and talked about the brevity of life, the brevity of life, the brevity of life. They told a story about visiting a grave site of his ancestors who laid a foundation for his grandparents and his parents and his children and his future grandchildren.

Every person in life has an impact on someone else. Sometimes those lives are cut short, and their impact is for a lesser amount of time, but no less impact.

I am doing this initial podcast from the grave sites of both my father and my son. My father's passing was very difficult for me. He had been involved in every aspect of my life. Every major event that I had, he was there for it. But that's the natural progression, children bury parents. It shouldn't be the parents bury children, but the reality of life is that does happen, and it happens more often than we'd like to believe. There's a number of stories that we're going to be sharing on the podcast of parents who have lost children.

They've lost them through accidents. They've lost them through drug overdoses. They've lost them through medical conditions, through cancer, similar to, to Richy's. They've lost them to suicide. They've lost them in war, lost them to criminal acts where they were murdered. All of those losses are incredibly traumatic, but the grief is a similar grief shared by all parents who have lost a child. Losing a child does not make a difference if you're wealthy, poor, middle class, if you have the greatest job in the world, or if you don't have a job, it doesn't matter. Economic status, it doesn't matter. All of the fortunate things or unfortunate things that have happened in a life, when that death comes to a child, it's a grief that's enduring that every parent goes through.

My hope in this podcast is that we can share. Through the stories and shared experiences of others who have gone through it, ways that help you understand that you're not alone in it. A lot of times, death of a child is very isolating. When the child's lost, there's a lot of people there that are supporting you. They're there for comfort. They're there to celebrate the life with you and share in your emotion and, support. But the loss of a child goes on, and a year from now, five years from now, can be very isolating and lonely. There are parents that are 20 years removed from the loss of a child, still struggle to talk about it. Don't want anyone to ask. It's not about not remembering their child, but that pain is still so powerful in their life that it can be overwhelming. Theirs’s other parents you'll see that have taken that grief and turned it into missions. Missions to eradicate pediatric cancer, missions to eliminate fentanyl coming into the country, missions to stop violence before it can happen. Ones that can stop drugs from being shared in our communities that take lives. So, all of these stories are each person's unique journey and each parent's unique journey. But the common thread for all of us is that grief never goes away.

This week in our neighborhood, I saw celebrations of both high school and college graduations. There have been babies born, weddings happen, anniversary celebrations, even events that you remember for a long time with great, just positive memories. Indiana University getting to play my beloved Notre Dame

Loss of a child creates enduring grief in 93% of parents. We have lost a child and this is our story of love, loss and navigating the grief. We created Critical Junctures - Navigating the loss of Child Podcast to help other parents navigate the loss through our shared experiences. The podcast will focus on interviews of parents who have had to deal with similar experiences. Lessons they have learned through the lens of time can provide help with navigating this deep hurt and impactful loss. Our prayer is that you will find comfort, a sense of peace, and hope through the shared experiences of other parents.