Pamela Addison on Losing her Young Husband to COVID-19

I had such a great discussion with Pamela Addison for this episode. Pamela is a widowed mom of two young children whose healthcare-worker husband lost his life to COVID-19 in the early weeks of the pandemic. She has since started an active Facebook group for other younger women and men who have lost their spouses to COVID-19.

Some topics Pamela and I discuss include:

• Her husband’s experience contracting COVID-19 in the early weeks of the pandemic, and the 26 days he spent in the hospital;

• How one of the hardest parts of losing a loved one to Covid is not being able to be with them in the hospital, and how helpless this made her feel;

• Her plans to celebrate her husband’s life sometime in the future, after she can include the many people whose lives he touched;

• How getting a card in the mail from another young Covid widow led to her eventually starting a Facebook group for younger Covid widows;

• Common challenges and concerns of young Covid-widowed people; and

• New York Life’s Brave of Heart Fund for spouses and children of health care workers who lose their lives due to the pandemic.

I hope you enjoy my discussion with Pamela Addison.

Links & resources for this episode

• Facebook group: Young Widows and Widowers of Covid-19

• Pamela’s Blog: Live Laugh Love & Heartache

• COVID-19 Made Me A Young Widow––Here’s My Story

• New York Life Foundation Brave of Heart Fund

• Episode 72 - Heather Nesle & Maria Collins of New York Life Foundation discuss Brave of Heart Fund and book The Golden Sweater

More links for listeners

• Download: Kids & Grief: What You Need to Know

• Article: I’m a Widowed Mom: Here Are My 3 Tips for COVID-19 Widows

• Book: Widowed Parents Unite: 52 Tips to Get Through the First Year, from One Widowed Parent to Another

Thank you sponsors & partners:

Help Texts - Grief support text messaging service. Tips and support delivered all year long, personalized based on your loss. Listeners get $10 off: https://helptexts.com/jennylisk

BetterHelp - Talk with a licensed, professional therapist online. Get 10% off your first month: betterhelp.com/widowedparent

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