Monday 2 December marks the start of Grief Awareness Week. Tom’s Trust itself was born out of the death of a child, beautiful Tom. Tom was eight when he was diagnosed with a huge Medulloblastoma brain tumour, he died eight months after his initial symptoms.
Debs & Tom
Debs Mitchell, Tom’s mum and Co-Founder of Tom’s Trust says: “After Tom died, I saw a really simple diagram that helped me to understand that my grief will stay the same size, that I wouldn’t ‘get over’ it, that it would remain the same. That felt like a huge relief to me – it didn’t take away the pain, but it took away the pressure to ‘get better’.
“As a parent, I felt it was my responsibility to ensure that other families who walk our path don’t do it unsupported and alone like we did. It is not okay to allow this to happen. That is why I am completely passionate about providing psychological support for families like ours.”
About Tom’s Trust
Tom’s Trust is the UK’s only charity dedicated to providing mental health support to children and young people, with brain and other central nervous system tumours, and their families. We believe that every child with a brain tumour should have access to the mental health support that they need, as well as their loved ones.
Our clinical psychologists support hundreds of children and young people, and thousands of families, within hospitals in the East, North-East, North-West, and Thames Valley; helping them from diagnosis, through brutal treatment and as they return to life at home. We also provide compassionate support to families facing the heart-breaking reality of their child dying from this devastating disease.
Supporting you this Grief Awareness Week
This week we will share articles on grief, looking at how to support families going through this reality, navigating the death of a child, and supporting children through bereavement. We have also launched our ‘Resource hub‘ where you can access more support and advice, withing that we signpost other organisations who may be able to help.