Podcast 9, 21 November 2022
In this final interview episode for 2022, I speak to a dear friend Jerene, from the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Jerene’s motherhood journey started off intensely after her firstborn son, Cyle, was diagnosed with blood cancer - Acute Myeloid Leukemia - at the tender age of 15 months. Cyle passed the following year, just short of reaching his 2nd birthday.
The huge loss of a firstborn sent Jerene on a very difficult grief journey, which she admits, has never really ended.
Jerene spoke very openly of wanting to die after losing Cyle but also about realizing how much her son had to suffer, with no easy way out of his pain. Jerene fought back at the dark holes of emptiness and kept herself going by thinking of how she could continue to make her life work in order to honor her son.
Jerene became a mother to two girls later on, and they celebrate Cyle each year together. She says her grief is still hidden within, whilst she maintains her new role of motherhood for her girls to the best of her ability.
Her story is full of strength, sadness, and sympathy, not just for her children but for everyone, and her beautiful energy shines through!
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