In 2005, my father passed away after a 2 year fight with Kidney cancer. At the time of his passing, I was 18 years old, a freshman in college on summer break. 2-3 weeks following his death, I went back to University of Delaware to resume my studies. It was an extremely painful time in my life losing my best friend and having to figure out how to quickly grow up all while in relatively unfamiliar surroundings. I can remember countless times people asking me “Hey how are you doing?” and responding with “I’m doing good.” Everything was not great. My knee jerk reaction was to “suck it up” and “climb up the hill”, because I would “get over it” Years later, I am often left with limited memories of my dad and recognition that the so-called “hill” was a never ending mountain I would be climbing. To this day, If i recall a baseball game my dad and I went to in my memories, I can turn to the left and the seat is empty. What I have realized close to 20 years later is that I was going through intense trauma and grief. And more importantly, I didn’t know how to handle the grief. I have been on a journey ever since he passed to better understand not only his passing but my reaction to it

I volunteer at a non-profit called Our House that provides grief support to families that have lost a family member.  We do this through therapist moderated grief groups, camps for grieving kids and parents, and various events around the city.  We help hundreds of families and thousands of Angelenos process the loss of a loved one every year.  It’s really amazing important work and something I have a personal connection/passion for.

Please join me in raising funds to help people like me, who have suffered a big loss in life and looking for support.