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Loss & Grief Support 1
January 15, 2008 |
In 2006 Helene Lagudi lost her only son, Frankie. “He was a character. He was the
life of the party. He was very caring; he did so much for everybody.” The 23-year-old
was killed in a motorcycle accident. His death was the first traffic fatality of
that year. But Helene says, “He did live a full life. He touched a lot of hearts.”
About six weeks after Frankie’s death, the grieving mother began to search for sources
of comfort and support. “In the beginning you’re numb and when the reality comes
in that’s when the
friends and family go away. I was just searching for help and
couldn’t find help.” But with advice from a friend Helene soon found the help she
was searching for in a support group. Mark Geisler is a social worker and patient advocate at Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center. He supervises a support group
for parents who have lost adult children. “The depth of loss, the unfairness of
it is just so profound for people that have lost children. We find that helping each other has been particularly helpful. We get together and we talk.” Helene says,
“This is almost like a kept secret. It shouldn’t be because it’s so needed.” Lee
Memorial Health System offers various support groups for everything from surviving
cancer to overeating. Membership to any group is free. To find out more about the
programs log onto www.leememorial.org. In our next story Helene explains why the
support group is now an important part of her life. |
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