Child loss changes everything, and Chad and Ronnie Fellers describe that shift with painful clarity after the death of their son, Paxton. Their story begins long before grief, with adoption, learning disabilities, and the day to day work of parenting a child from a hard place. They talk honestly about the “both and” reality many families live: a bright, hilarious kid who can also be exhausting, stubborn, and intense. That honesty matters for bereaved parents and for anyone who supports them, because it rejects polished narratives and names the truth that love and hardship can sit in the same room. We also get practical about support for bereaved parents: why presence matters more than polished words, why quick Bible verses can miss the moment, and what actually helps in the early weeks. They explain “future grief” and the waves of triggers that arrive at birthdays, holidays, and everyday milestones like driving and graduation. If you’re walking through grief, supporting someone who is, or searching for a faith that can hold both sorrow and hope, this conversation offers honesty you can lean on.

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A four-year-old who loves songs, big laughs, and making faces on stage should be worrying about preschool, not chemotherapy. Our guest, Kimberly Crumby, tells the story of her daughter Hannah Grace, whose childhood leukemia diagnosis in 2009 turned into a medical roller coaster of strokes, infections, ventilators, and heartbreaking decisions that no parent is ever prepared to face.

We go beyond the headline loss and talk about what bereaved parents actually carry after the death of a child: trauma that lives in the body, sleepless nights that replay hospital scenes, the slow pull of “high-functioning” depression, and the strain grief can put on a marriage when two people hurt in different ways. Kimberly shares why counseling and talking with your physician can matter, how medication can help you get a foothold without numbing your love, and why survival sometimes looks like getting through one ordinary day at a time.

We also name the kind of grief many outsiders miss: future grief. Birthdays, kindergarten, high school graduation, and all the imagined milestones can hit like fresh waves years later, especially when social media keeps the comparisons in your face. Kimberly and I talk about what helps from friends and church community too, including practical support, showing up without trying to fix anything, and saying your child’s name because forgetting is the fear.

If you’re navigating child loss, or supporting a grieving parent, we hope this conversation gives you language, tools, and real hope rooted in faith, including Kimberly’s anchor passage from Lamentations 3. Share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more hurting families can find this support.

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*** If you find this podcast helpful and encouraging, please leave us a review by clicking one the links below:

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You can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.com
If you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it.
Thank you for listening!

What happens to a parent’s faith after losing a child? Sandy Cooper shares her deeply personal journey after the sudden death of her nine-month-old son, Noah. We talk honestly about child-loss grief, the shock and confusion that follow, anger and questions about God, and learning to live when life is forever changed.

Sandy also shares what helped her survive those first days and months, what grieving parents need from family and friends, how child loss affects marriage, and how Christian faith can survive even when God seems silent.

If you are grieving the death of a child—or walking alongside someone who is—this conversation offers honest companionship, understanding, and hope.

Send us Fan Mail

*** If you find this podcast helpful and encouraging, please leave us a review by clicking one the links below:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/

https://www.podchaser.com/HopeAfterChildSiblingLossTheEmptyChairEndeavor

You can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.com
If you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it.
Thank you for listening!