Samara

The day our son was born, was the same day we announced his death.

In what was a beautiful labouring birth, his heart stopped moments before his first breath.  Everything in the room moved in slow motion as they tried to revive him.  I held my breath and then couldn’t catch it and then it all came rushing in as they placed his body on mine…skin to skin.  I remember begging him to come back, to breathe.  Sobbing and begging for him to be alive – at first loudly, over and over and then just whispering it as the hour in recovery flew by.  He was gone before he was ever here.

I don’t have a lifetime of memories with my son, I have his movements inside me, the pictures of his still body and his scent that visits me from time to time.  But to be given a death certificate for someone who never received a birth certificate, is entirely wild to me, since he was here physically – I felt him grow inside me for 9 months, we held him.  We named him Wylder, Wylder Moss Ferguson, which couldn’t have been more perfect, since we’ve spent the year and a half following his death, trying to find the wild in ourselves.

When grief hits, it’s like a lightening bolt strikes you and shocks the ground around you and strips you to your core.  Like that shell of all of your life experiences, that you built up around you all those years, just got hit by a wrecking ball and you are back to the very birth of your being.  To me, that’s what losing Wylder felt like.  Since then, I’ve been on a journey of feeling every emotion in its purest form – as if for the first time – and not always with a cool head.  But that rawness, the heartache, the sorrow, the tears, the longing in my heart – that is my son.  He is also the purest love and laughter in my daughters, the profound connection I have with my husband and the wild in my heart.   I can’t physically carry him in my arms, so I carry him with this newly formed spiritual body.  Though I can’t mother him on this earth, I mother him in mothering myself, in healing through this journey.

When I’m crying, he emanates from me, when I’m laughing and joyful, he emanates from me.  When I’m working through it all, he is with me, reminding me that all this hard work is worth it.  That although his heart didn’t beat on, mine does and in honour of him every day.

One of my favourite quotes is this – “you don’t think you’ll live past it and you don’t really…the person you were is gone, but the half of you that’s still alive, wakes up one day and takes over” – Barbara Kingsolver.  This speaks volumes to my heart, but more so to my physical being, that slowly you come back, layer by layer.  You don’t just come back 6 months to 1 year later, you come back slowly throughout the years, over large spans of time and through deep work.  With huge pitfalls and wild upswings.  You come back in greater strength and an entirely different view on the world.

Grief work takes time, it’s just that – work.  We can hate our jobs or love our work, we can get swept under or climb upwards.  That even when it gets tough and the “boss” is coming down hard, we can learn valuable lessons.  I like to think that what feels like a huge step back is actually 10 steps forward – and sometimes I have to go through this stage several times until I really truly get it.

So my grief is actually what I call being “Wyld” and I will continue to grieve if grieving is what shows the world that life and death walk hand in hand.  That life doesn’t begin and end with “life”.  That life is wild and death is wild and being fully present to this is what truly connects us to this world.

 

Samara Ferguson

Instagram

Leave a Comment:

20 comments
Phyllis Beardsley says March 9, 2016

Thank you for these beautiful words that express what has been in my heart too. I too, will honour Wylder’s memory alongside the memory of my dear son. Your words are a gift, especially to grieving parents.

Reply
Tamara says March 9, 2016

Samara I cannot fathom what happened to you and your family . You are a strong woman , sister, mother and friend . Please know myself and my families thoughts were with you on the day of your sweet sons passing and are each and everyday since. We were in the hospital the same day when our Wyatt was born and my heart ached for you it absolutely broke knowing what you just went thru and what would follow after

Reply
Pat Pletzer says March 10, 2016

Very touching Samara and thought provoking. You are a very strong person.

Reply
Taraz says March 10, 2016

This was so beautifully said. Thank you for sharing such a deep and personal experience. God bless you on this journey.

Reply
Luana Harrison says March 11, 2016

These are beautiful & touching words. Thank you Samara for this glimpse into your grieving process.

I love these words:

When I’m crying, he emanates from me, when I’m laughing and joyful, he emanates from me.  When I’m working through it all, he is with me, reminding me that all this hard work is worth it.  That although his heart didn’t beat on, mine does and in honour of him every day.

Sending you lots of love and big hugs ♡

Reply
Debra Reagan says March 15, 2016

Thank you for sharing this touching story of your grief journey.

Reply
Elyse says January 29, 2022

Everything is very open with a really clear clarification of the challenges.
It was definitely informative. Your website is useful. Many thanks for sharing!

Reply
Mark Topia says January 30, 2022

Whats up very cool site!! Man .. Excellent ..Amazing .. I will bookmark your website and take the feeds also?I’m glad to search out so many helpful information here within the put up, we’d like develop extra strategieson this regard, thanks for sharing. . . .. .

Reply
Willis says January 30, 2022

I don’t even know how I finished up here, however I thought this post used to be good.
I don’t understand who you’re however certainly you’re going to a well-known blogger should you are not already.
Cheers!

Reply
Giselle Schromen says January 30, 2022

Wonderful article! We will be linking to this particularly great article on our website.Keep up the great writing.

Reply
Kristina says January 31, 2022

If some one wants expert view about running a blog after that i suggest him/her to visit this blog, Keep up the pleasant job.

Reply
Damion Salay says January 31, 2022

Howdy! Someone in my Myspace group shared this website with us soI came to check it out. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers!Great blog and great design.

Reply
Janessa says February 1, 2022

I think that everything posted made a great deal of sense.

However, think about this, what if you typed a catchier title?
I mean, I don’t want to tell you how to run your website, but what if you added a post title that makes people desire more?
I mean Samara | Grief Story Project is kinda vanilla. You ought to look
at Yahoo’s front page and see how they create post titles to grab people to
click. You might add a video or a related pic or two to get people excited about everything’ve got to say.
In my opinion, it could bring your blog a little bit more interesting.

Reply
Kieran says February 1, 2022

Hey there I am so excited I found your blog page, I really found you by mistake, while
I was browsing on Google for something else, Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say many thanks for a tremendous post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to browse it all at the moment but I have book-marked it and also added your RSS feeds,
so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up the
great work.

Reply
Sheryll Biery says February 1, 2022

Hello to all, how is the whole thing, I think every one is getting more fromthis website, and your views are good in favor of new people.

Reply
Milton says February 2, 2022

Paragraph writing is also a fun, if you be familiar with then you
can write otherwise it is complicated to write.

Reply
Maribel says February 2, 2022

If some one needs to be updated with newest technologies after that he must be visit this web site and be up
to date every day.

Reply
Cletus Estell says February 2, 2022

What’s up friends, good piece of writing and nice urging commented here,I am in fact enjoying by these.

Reply
cialis prescription online says February 4, 2022

Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I seriously enjoyed reading it, you’re a great author.I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and
will often come back in the foreseeable future. I want to encourage that you continue
your great posts, have a nice afternoon!

Reply
ซุปเปอร์สล็อต says March 9, 2022

Thank you for your blog.Much thanks again. Cool.

Reply
Add Your Reply
Receive Monthly Letters From The Curator
x