In September of 2008, Anne Pazier had tragically given birth to her stillborn baby girl, Brooke.
"It was devastating," recalled Anne, who at the time was already mother to her then 4-year-old son, Aiden. Anne said she often kept quiet about her loss-feeling guilty for talking about it as if her grief and heartache would somehow be contagious.
When a friend suggested that she look into Hospice of Santa Barbara's services, Anne's first thought was that the local nonprofit was only for people who were in the process of death. But Anne and her husband were soon signed up for a group workshop with other couples who had experienced similar losses. While it wasn't a "club" she would have wanted to be a part of, Anne soon found how helpful it was to speak with others who had gone through similar situations.
Anne was also surprised by how open her husband was during these group meetings, and it's where she really discovered what he was going through. Hospice of Santa Barbara was also able to assist her with individual counseling and other soothing therapies, all free of charge.
Anne was scared when she later became pregnant with her daughter Cadence, who is now 5, but with the help and counseling from Hospice of Santa Barbara, she said the fear didn't paralyze her.
"I don't know that I would be able to be the sort of mother that I am today to our daughter Cadance if I hadn't had that opportunity to really heal," said Anne, who sees Brooke as the family's "Little Angel."
Hospice of Santa Barbara opens the door to healing to anyone in our community grieving the death of a loved one.