Our Stories - Life is Precious

Healing years and decades after loss
Catherine West

Dec, 2021

In 1977, at age 24, Catherine West experienced the death of her five-month-old daughter. Her daughter was born with a heart defect.

Catherine shared that the loss itself was traumatic, and coupled with being young and not having experienced the death of anyone close to her before, it was difficult for her to understand why this could happen.

Eight years ago, Catherine experienced the loss of another child. Her adult son died of an accidental overdose at 33 years old. Years later, Catherine began seeing a therapist who referred her to Lory’s Place. Catherine shared the following about her journey:

“It’s hard for people to understand the importance of somewhere like Lory’s Place until they have lost someone close to them. All of us will lose someone we love at some point in our lives and Lory’s Place is there to help survivors work through their grief and foster emotional health not only for the participants, but their families and support networks as well. You feel so alone when you lose someone, you don’t feel like you are the same as other people.”