Offer comfort to a grieving child

"Every child needs something to hold when someone in their lives faces end of life."

  -Susan Bumgarner, Child and Teen Bereavement Counselor

Help a child who is grieving the loss of a loved one by donating a new teddy bear to the Heart Songs Program for Children.

Donations will be accepted at the following Buncombe county locations throughout the month of June:

Four Seasons-Checkpoint, 373 Biltmore Avenue; Appalachian Vintner; Diamond Brand; Mast General Store; Fresh Market; Audubon Apartments; OP Taylor, Biltmore Park; Ingles, Skyland and Fairview; Fire House Subs, Long Shoals Road; and Weirbridge Village Apartments.

Read more on the program here.

Coping With Grief On Mother's Day

Not everyone will be able to celebrate this coming Mother's Day. For those who have lost a mother, it can be a painful day of mourning, especially if this is the first Mother's Day without Mom or if young children are grieving, too. This may also be a hard day for women who have experienced infertility, pregnancy loss or the loss of a child.

Recognizing this, the Good Grief Center for Bereavement Support, a nonprofit which provides free services to individuals and families, offers these suggestions for coping.


Tips for Adults who are Grieving Their Mothers

1. Grief is work, requiring time and energy. Write Mom a letter. Say what you would tell her if she was still physically here.

2. Men, women, adults, children, and adolescents all grieve in different ways. Share and respect your differences. Neither way is right or wrong, each gender and age group can learn from the other.

3. Ask a trusted friend or coworker what helped them when their mother died.

4. Do something positive in memory of your mother. Choose an activity that will connect you to her. Repeat this activity as often and as long as you feel the need.

5. Seek out others who are helpful and supportive. Do not feel that you need to do this alone. Someone who has been through grief can often empathize with you. This may be a friend, family member, counselor or bereavement support group.

6. Take care of yourself. Give yourself time and space to begin healing. Get enough rest. Eat nourishing food. Give yourself a break.

Tips to Help Children who are Grieving Their Mothers

1. If the children are young, spend quality time by reading them stories that Mom used to read. Encourage and help them make a Mother's Day card.

2. Remind them it's okay to miss their mom and cry if they need to. Engage them in creative games. Children process grief and other emotions through play.

3. Explain that this is a good day for good memories of Mom. Break out the photo album and reminisce with them. Laugh with them. Let them know it's okay to feel good, too, when thinking about her.

4. Encourage them to honor their mother by spending the day with family. Suggest activities that Mom used to enjoy, or ones that will evoke warm memories.

5. Take them to one of Mom's favorite places as a means of enabling them to feel close to her. Have them take flowers or special mementos to leave at the site.

Tips for Mothers who are Grieving Their Children

1. Be gentle with yourself. This could be the most dreaded day of the year for you. You may feel anger, sadness, guilt or a range of other emotions because your child died before you. These emotions are very common with grief-don't try to suppress them.

2. Seek out emotional support; it is a sign of courage, not weakness. It is unrealistic to believe that you will process your grief quickly. Everyone grieves in their own time and their own way.

3. Be patient with yourself. Talk openly with trusted family and friends about your child and encourage them to talk openly with you too-hearing your child's name mentioned can be helpful.

4. Create your own memorial. Whether it involves planting, writing, building or painting, be creative and put your energy into doing something in memory of your child.

5. If you're a woman who never held your baby due to a pregnancy loss, celebrate your baby by lighting a candle or planting a flower that blooms every year. If your friend experienced a pregnancy loss, offer a hug and let her know you are thinking of her on Mother's Day.

6. If you have not been able to conceive, follow the suggestions above that are right for you. Give yourself permission to grieve and to talk with trusted others about how you have changed as a person.

7. Talk about your feelings with your spouse and encourage him or her to express to you how they are feeling.

Source:
Good Grief Center for Bereavement Support


The Remembering Our Mothers support group will be held tomorrow, May 9th from 2-3:30 pm at our Four Seasons Checkpoint Office: 373 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801.

Please Call 828-692-6178 for more information or to register.

Thank you,
The Four Seasons Team

If you have any questions or need to talk to someone, please call our
Bereavement Department at 828-692-6178

Four Seasons to Partner with Macon Co. Hospice House Foundation

The Hospice House Foundation of WNC, Inc. Macon County is proud to announce their partnership with Four Seasons, a non-profit end-of-life care agency serving Buncombe, Henderson and Transylvania counties.

The mission of the Hospice House Foundation of WNC, Inc. is to provide an inpatient facility for hospice patients for end of life care, and to support our hospice patients and families in our community. The non-profit, private foundation was formed by a group of local hospice volunteers, doctors and community members who saw the need as a result of their various experiences with loved ones and patients.

Seeing this great need for a facility, the Hospice House Foundation of WNC, Inc., petitioned the state of North Carolina in writing, and appeared personally before the State Medical Facilities Planning Commission on three different occasions in 2009 requesting six beds for Macon County. Hospice beds must be granted by the State of North Carolina, just like hospital beds, MRI Units, etc. The Foundation’s Petition for six beds was granted in September of 2009.

The Foundation chose Four Seasons as their partner to operate the facility because they are not only one of the top hospice agencies in North Carolina, but are one of the premier hospice and palliative care agencies in the country. Four Seasons specializes in end-of-life care, and has been serving their area since 1981, and are now passionately and compassionately, serving over 600 patients daily in their homes, and in their inpatient facility, Elizabeth House, located on their campus in Flat Rock, NC. In 2009, Four Seasons was one of only three organizations in the United States that specialize in end-of-life care, to receive the prestigious Circle of Life Award.

By choosing Four Seasons as its partner, the Hospice House Foundation of WNC, Inc., will be closer to making a hospice inpatient facility become a reality for hospice families in Macon County.


For more information contact:

Michele Alderson, President
Hospice House Foundation of WNC, Inc.
PO Box 815
Franklin, NC 28744
http://www.hospicehousefoundationwnc.com/
828-524-6375

For more information about Four Seasons and our services please visit our website at: fourseasonscfl.org