As we spend today celebrating our mothers who are still living and remembering our mothers who have left us, there is another community of mothers I’d like to recognize. These are mothers living with a hole in their hearts because they’ve lost a child.
This past year I know of at least three mothers in my social media community who’ve lost children, all young adults. I can’t imagine the heartache of a mother on Mother’s Day thinking about the child she lost. She’s still a mother in spirit. She may have other children to care for and share the day, still tinged with sadness. Or she may not. A wife who loses her husband is called a widow. But there is no word to describe a mother who loses a child. She will always be a mother.
On May 13 on Facebook, Gretchen Holt Witt, Founder of Cookies for Kids Cancer, posted a beautiful tribute to her son Liam who would have turned 13. Liam died in 2011 from pediatric cancer. Gretchen founded her charity to help raise funds for pediatric cancer. Liam lives in the spirit of philanthropy for this mom. Here is the link: www.cookiesforkidscancer.org.
Illness is not the leading cause of death among young people. Fatalities from accidents are #1. Homicide is #2 with 86% of victims being male and 14% women. Suicide is now the third leading cause of death for ages 18-24. Every 78 seconds a teen attempts suicide and every 90 seconds they succeed. The other statistic on the climb among youth-related deaths is drug overdose. In 2014, more than 1,700 young adults died from prescription drug (mainly opioid) overdoses. Heroin use has more than doubled among young adults ages 18–25 in the past decade.
I bring these up because the word “epidemic” has now been assigned to suicide and drug overdose among youth. The question is “Why?” The answers include: depression, peer pressure, bullying, society’s ills, social media pranks and everything in between. The solution has not been resolved and needs to be addressed better. Here’s what we do know: Kids are losing hope and our society is losing kids.
But for today it’s about the mothers who never stop being mothers and who need a little more tender loving care. And it’s about mothers whose gift is their children and hugging them a little closer.
If you know someone who needs help, please share this:
- For substance abuse problems: 1-800-662-HELP.
- Suicide prevention: 1-800-273-8255 (TALK)
