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Self-preservation. Boundaries. Circles. Comfort zones. These are practices I’ve learned during grief therapy. I’ve been implementing these coping tools since my oldest daughter, Cammy, passed away from complications of Rett syndrome last December. She was 14. After Cammy died, many friends and family encouraged self-preservation. They…

Not having to make every decision around accessibility and special needs is definitely taking time to get used to. It has been six months since my oldest daughter, Cammy, passed away due to complications of Rett syndrome, and my mind still goes directly to figuring out how to…

I’ve been in grief therapy ever since my oldest daughter, Cammy, passed away last December due to complications of Rett syndrome. When I filled out the intake forms, a question really struck me: It asked if my loved one died unexpectedly. I sat there staring at it…

I’ve had several titles in my life: sister, daughter, mother, wife, teacher, and coach, to name a few. But the latest one isn’t something I think I’ll ever get used to: bereaved parent. I learned that there is a Bereaved Mother’s Day every year on the first Sunday in…

I’ve always been a shutterbug, someone who loves to capture moments with a camera. When I had my firstborn, Cammy, and bought my first smartphone in the spring of 2009, documenting her was only natural. I began taking weekly and monthly photos of her to track her growth. When…

Shortly after our daughter Cammy passed away on Dec. 13 due to complications of Rett syndrome, we were approached by Joe Kish, the assistant principal at Franklin Middle School, our youngest daughter Ryan’s school in Wheaton, Illinois. He asked about designating Cammy Can, the organization we created to…

Since my daughter Cammy passed away in December due to complications of Rett syndrome, I’ve been experiencing a lot of firsts without her. The holidays hit hard. We had to navigate our first Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, my husband Billy’s birthday, and our younger daughter Ryan’s…

Our local hospital, Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois, offers patients and caregivers the opportunity to nominate a nurse for a Daisy Award. It’s a way to recognize the tremendous and extraordinary care a nurse has provided. I wish I knew the statistics about the number…

March 10, 2023, was the last time we would ever celebrate our late daughter Cammy‘s birthday with her. In my heart, I knew it would be, as complications of Rett syndrome were impacting her more and more. Cammy needed to be on supplementary oxygen at night, her profound…

Last fall, I purchased four tickets to see the hit musical “Hamilton” in Chicago in last December. My husband, Bill, and our youngest daughter, Ryan, had already seen the show in New York, but were happy to see it again with our oldest daughter, Cammy, and me. We…