HELENA — Even in a season filled with emotion, families coping with loss can find moments of hope. Whether through new traditions or quiet reflection, they’re carrying their loved ones with them into the holidays.
“Well, the holidays are different for everyone, just like grief is different for everyone,” Grant Fairbrother, the volunteer and bereavement coordinator for St. Peter’s Health Hospice, said.
For Dr. Ezekiel Sharples, in palliative care, he starts the journey of grief with friends and family far before the end, sometimes beginning with a diagnosis of serious illness.
Sharples said, “There is a lot of grief that happens far before someone has died, both in the patient and also in their loved ones.”
For Fairbrother, he is there at the end and for over a year after helping families navigate the grieving process.
“When we think about how a friend of mine is grieving, my grandpa is grieving, somebody I love is grieving someone they loved who died, what we can do is just listen,” Fairbrother said.
St. Peter’s Health has tips for families to help them adapt to the holiday season, making new traditions, leaving an open seat at the table for your loved one, finding joy in helping others, and reducing stress.
Fairbrother said, “It is a time to really, you know, support ourselves to be kind and gracious to ourselves.”
Another way people are working through their loss is with the 32nd year of St. Peter’s Light a Life, remembering those the community has lost this year and supporting Helena Area Hospice patients.
Sharples said, “There will be certain days and certain things that happen that scatter you across the waves again, and that’s okay.”
You can visit this link to support the local Hospice, all while honoring the life of a loved one.
