Sheryl has three boys, one of whom, she says, ‘is in my heart.’ She describes the diagnosis of her six-week-old son Thomas with a malignant tumour and learning that he would die within weeks. She discusses the decision to keep Thomas at home rather than pursue treatment in hospital, and the efforts she and her husband made to create family memories in the time available. Sheryl talks about the support she received from an online community of bereaved families, but also the difficulty of connecting through grief because it is so personal.
Sheryl talks about her son’s death in the context of the Filipino Catholic tradition. She describes bringing Thomas home before the funeral for a viewing and gathering the family to celebrate his ascension to heaven forty days later. Sheryl concludes by talking about her fulfilling work as an ICU paediatric nurse, a career change she made after many years in IT to honour Thomas.