Memorial Tree Dedication

  Robert, Alexis and I attended a memorial dedication today at Golisano Children's Hospital where Drew was cared for while he was sick. We have always been incredibly grateful for the staff and doctors that took care of Drew, but today really showed us that each child that dies in their care is remembered and touched their lives. It was a beautiful ceremony and was very well organized. There was a large tent set up in the parking lot outside the hospital and each family was given a beautiful medallion to commemorate the event.

The memorial is called The Memorial Tree in remembrance of all the children that died since the children's hospital opened in 2009. The tree has been bare until they added leaves with each child's first name and the year they died to it today.

The leaves are fastened to the tree and will be left there to remember them.

As you can see, there are a lot of leaves already on this tree.







When we first arrived to the site, we went first to find Drew's leaf on the tree. I circled the tree twice but couldn't spot his name on a leaf. It was a sunny day which made it difficult to look up and find the names as the sun light reflected off each metal leaf. I had a moment of sheer panic because I worried that they had forgotten his name. But as I made another turn around the tree, I found his name high at the top of the tree.

There is his leaf. It is high on the tree, on a branch stretching toward heaven.
There was a beautiful ceremony conducted by the chaplain at the hospital. She is a wonderful woman who came to visit us many times while Drew was in the hospital. She brought of sweet messages of hope and love. She gave Alexis and Drew matching elephant stuffed animals that they could keep when they were apart. Alexis still has her elephant sitting on a shelf next to a picture of herself and Drew.



They lit three candles, each one symbolizing a step in the journey of grief. The first candle represented our memory of the children we had lost. The second candle represented our hope as we face the future and the third candle represented the peace we seek in our lives. At the conclusion of the ceremony they read each name that was represented on the memorial tree, while a woman played a harp. There was not a dry eye.

It was a really beautiful experience. It warms my soul to know that Drew will continue to be remembered through this memorial. I find myself drawn back to visit that tree and a place where we can go to remember him.