9 Pinky | The Loss of Her Son and Creating a Legacy

Send us Fan MailToday I speak with Pinky who lost her son due to inflammation that affected his heart when he was just a few months old. The birth and the loss of Leonardo both happened during the Covid pandemic and both Pinky and her husband understandably felt extremely isolated in their grief. Pinky dealt with her grief by joining a grief support group and seeing a therapist. Someone she had met through a group on Facebook gave her the book Surviving My First Year of Child Loss as a support resource.Here is what Pinky shares about how reading the book affected her:I felt like I was not alone in this journey. My feelings and my behaviours…, sometimes I thought I was crazy, but after reading the book I understood that it was pretty common, I was not crazy. I learned some very helpful coping mechanisms from parents in the book. I couldn't find any similar resources in my native language Vietnamese.PinkyAbout this week’s guest Huong Lan 'Pinky' Vu is a communications professional who has lived and worked in Vietnam, Singapore, and the US. After the passing of her first son, Leonardo Vu Massa, in October 2020, she and her husband founded the Leonardo's Smile Fund to support orphans in the SOS Children’s Villages Vietnam. She and her sister also translated the book Surviving My First Year of Child Loss: Personal Stories From Grieving Parents into Vietnamese with the hope to help bereaved parents in Vietnam have access to this helpful resource.Topics discussed in this episodeThe sudden loss of her son Leonardo during the PandemicGuilt and doubt, self-blameThe power of peer supportReading Nathalie’s book Surviving My First Year of Child Loss: Personal Stories From Grieving Parents helped Pinky understand her grieving experienceThe project of translating the book into VietnameseThe difference in grieving between men and womenResources mentioned in this episodeOrder the Vietnamese bookChild Bereavement Support (Singapore) and the Facebook PageLeonardo's Smile blogLinks--> For more information, please visit Nathalie’s website.--> Subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on future episodes here.--> Join the podcast’s Instagram page.Thanks for listening to HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA. If you’d like to be updated on future episodes, please subscribe to my newsletter on Nathalie Himmelrich.comIf you need grief support, please contact me for a FREE 30 min discovery session.HOW TO DEAL WITH GRIEF AND TRAUMA is produced and edited by me, Nathalie Himmelrich.Support this PodcastTo support this podcast, please rate, review, subscribe to, or follow the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.Remember to keep breathing, I promise, it will get easier.Support the show💡 If today’s episode touched you, please share it with someone who might need it. 🤝 Become a supporter of the show! Starting at $3/month & leave a review.Stay Connected🌐 Visit nathaliehimmelrich.com💌 Subscribe to the newsletter for resources and updates🎧 Never miss an episode—follow the podcast!💛 Socials   Instagram   FacebookFind Support Resources 💜 For Grievers – Resourceshttps://nathaliehimmelrich.com/grief-trauma-support/💜 For Supporters – Supporting someone https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/supporters-resources/💜 Books – Explore books on grief and healing https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/books/💜 Support – Offers - free and paid https://nathaliehimmelrich.com/free-resources-hub/