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Andrew & Julie's Story
Hello, we are Andrew and Julie Heath. On August 26th 2012, our lives were turned upside down and changed forever. Our son Jeremy was found to have a tumor in his brain. Surgery was performed three days later, and the biopsy revealed Glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Eight weeks later it returned and again, more surgery. In February 2013, the tumor had returned along with several others. Jeremy’s cancer journey ended on April 1st, 2013. He was 29 years old and left behind a wife and two sons.
“God often uses our deepest pain, as the launching pad of our greatest calling.” -Cheri Miller-
Months later, as we were celebrating our anniversary, we shared with one another that God had placed a burden on each of our hearts. God was laying on our hearts how we could help other parents facing the same loss and grief we had experienced. After looking online to see if there was something out there like what God was showing us, we found two that dealt with the death of a child. One of the places was Healing Hope Ministries. Soon after, we contacted Denny and Karri Allen, Founders of Healing Hope Ministries, and shared with them our heart and our vision of beginning a retreat center in the Tennessee region. Since then, we’ve teamed up with them and are in the planning stages of opening a retreat center.
The Retreat Experience
The retreat is designed to give you and your family a safe place to grieve. A place away from all distractions, allowing you time to reflect and learn how to navigate this journey you find yourselves on. We believe that a retreat experience is one piece in helping families move successfully through the grieving process.
While on retreat, you will...
· Share openly and honestly about your loved one’s story.
· Spend time focusing on the different emotions that parents experience after a child dies and how to deal with these emotions in a healthy way.
· Develop a deeper understanding of how men & women grieve differently and not to fear the differences.
· Begin to learn how to prepare for the “firsts”.
Different from other retreats, Healing Hope will host only 1 family at a time, creating a unique one-on-one experience. The facilitators walk alongside the families, not as counselors, but as peers that have been on a similar journey.
