G.R. White Trust grant supports
grieving children of seriously ill adults
O
l i v i a, Nol a, A l e x a n de r a n d Rowa n
Carroll loved spending special time each week
with their “Mimi.” The children knew Mimi was sick
and in the hospital; however, they did not know how
serious her illness was. Their parents, fighting to manage their own
grief, were unable to find the right words to share the honest and
difficult reality that Mimi was losing her battle with ovarian cancer.
They called on the compassionate
expertise of Emily Mulkey, a child
life specialist at Baylor Health Care
System, to help them break the
news.
“I know you guys know that
Mimi is sick, and she’s been trying
really hard to get better because she
loves spending time with you,”
Emily told the children. “But
Mimi’s body is tired. The medicine
isn’t making her better and the doctors can’t make her better and it’s really sad, but she is going to die
from her cancer.”
As expected, the children were devastated by the news; however,
they spent the next three hours with Emily, crying, laughing and
sharing their favorite memories of Mimi.
“Emily was the best thing to come