The Death of a Grandchild and What it Means to a Grandparent

For a grandparent, there is a unique kind of grief, associated with the death of a grandchild.  I have tried to come to terms with that fact, as I have experienced the death of a grandchild three times in my life as a grandparent.   My hope in writing this article is to help you, dear Grandparent, if you find yourself in this most horrifying of circumstances.

The last of our three babies who left before their lives had truly begun was in 2004.  Jace, our 6-month-old grandbaby, died in his sleep during the early hours of a cold February morning. The cause was SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).   On one day he was happy and healthy, just starting to turn over.   The next day he was gone.

I want you to know that I understand how you feel.  During my grief over the loss of Jace, my emotions rotated from anger to overwhelming sadness on any given day.  For a grandparent, the torture is doubled.  I watched my daughter, my child, as she grieved for the loss of her baby, and my heart broke.   I could not help with this one.  I could not make it better.   I could not stop her pain.  I also had my own grief to deal with while trying to help her through the nightmare from which she believed that she would never awake. Read More