Explaining our pain to others.

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Tanya Lord February 9, 2013 - 6:24pm

Tools for finding hope along the journey: Explaining our pain to others.

My mother died very unexpectedly a little over 4 years ago. Growing up, whether it was a scraped knee or teenage angst, she would always tell me “This too shall pass” and she was usually right. However, when my son, Noah, died 12 years ago she never said it; she understood that this pain was unlike anything else and that it was not going to pass. My oldest sister was born still and this was where her understanding came from. It has been more difficult to explain my pain to others. Lord Tennyson’s words paint a picture of the depths of these feelings. Our hearts will find joy again but it will always be a bit cloudy


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About the Author

Tanya Lord was a special education teacher when Noah died. After his death she read The Institute of Medicine’s report To Err Is Human and realized that the errors responsible for her son’s death were not unique. This created a desire and determination to better understand and work towards improving health care. Currently she has completed a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in clinical and population health research and is completing a post-doctoral fellowship. Lord shares her personal and professional experiences in presentations and workshops for medical staff and students focusing on the importance of effective communication with patients before and after an error. She also is a co-founder of The Grief Toolbox (www.thegrieftoolbox.com), which offers tools to help those along the grief journey. Lord may be contacted at [email protected]

I'm Grieving, Now What?

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