A Camino Pilgrimage for Bree
Donation protected
My beautiful daughter Brianna, or Bree as we all called her, passed away 20 years ago on March 17, 1999 aged just 3 years old.
Many people would think that 20 years is long enough to be "over it" by now.
The reality is that there will never be a moment where I don't desperately wish I could see her sweet face or know what she would look like as a young woman.
In 20 years, I have grieved walking her to the gate for her first day of school and proudly seeing how "grown up" she is as she finishes high school, before being terrified and excited about starting high school.
I have grieved dealing with a teenage daughter, teaching her to drive and watching her walk on stage to celebrate the end of Year 12. I have especially grieved the birthdays where she should have turned 18, 21 and every other birthday she has missed out on and the birthdays yet to come.
I have grieved the bright future she should be starting out on as she finishes Uni, the long chats as she tells me about a guy she likes and the fights over stealing my make-up.
I am yet to truly grieve the knowledge that I will never see my daughter walk down the aisle and simply be the most gorgeous bride ever, just as I am yet to grieve never holding her children, but I know this will come.
To honour my gorgeous girl, I will be walking 800km across Spain on the Camino Trail, sharing Bree's story to help people understand and better support grieving families and to raise money for The Compassionate Friends (TCF).
TCF quite simply saved my life. The support and understanding I received from people who understood the pain of losing a child made me feel normal for the first time in the three years since Bree had passed away. They gave me hope and taught me that building a life without my daughter in it didn't mean moving on and forgetting her.
I want to raise money to say thank you to all the wonderful people at TCF who helped me learn how to continue a bond with my daughter and to ensure it continues to exist for other families needing this special care and understanding.
You can follow my journey on the Camino at Bag of Hearts.
I would be very grateful for you to share the link to this CrowdRaiser page with your friends and family. The more people to help me realise my goal the better, but it also means more people to meet Bree.
Much love
Karen
Many people would think that 20 years is long enough to be "over it" by now.
The reality is that there will never be a moment where I don't desperately wish I could see her sweet face or know what she would look like as a young woman.
In 20 years, I have grieved walking her to the gate for her first day of school and proudly seeing how "grown up" she is as she finishes high school, before being terrified and excited about starting high school.
I have grieved dealing with a teenage daughter, teaching her to drive and watching her walk on stage to celebrate the end of Year 12. I have especially grieved the birthdays where she should have turned 18, 21 and every other birthday she has missed out on and the birthdays yet to come.
I have grieved the bright future she should be starting out on as she finishes Uni, the long chats as she tells me about a guy she likes and the fights over stealing my make-up.
I am yet to truly grieve the knowledge that I will never see my daughter walk down the aisle and simply be the most gorgeous bride ever, just as I am yet to grieve never holding her children, but I know this will come.
To honour my gorgeous girl, I will be walking 800km across Spain on the Camino Trail, sharing Bree's story to help people understand and better support grieving families and to raise money for The Compassionate Friends (TCF).
TCF quite simply saved my life. The support and understanding I received from people who understood the pain of losing a child made me feel normal for the first time in the three years since Bree had passed away. They gave me hope and taught me that building a life without my daughter in it didn't mean moving on and forgetting her.
I want to raise money to say thank you to all the wonderful people at TCF who helped me learn how to continue a bond with my daughter and to ensure it continues to exist for other families needing this special care and understanding.
You can follow my journey on the Camino at Bag of Hearts.
I would be very grateful for you to share the link to this CrowdRaiser page with your friends and family. The more people to help me realise my goal the better, but it also means more people to meet Bree.
Much love
Karen
Organizer
Karen Philippzig
Organizer
Park Orchards VIC
