You are grieving the loss of someone you love.

You have just experienced a sudden devastating loss. You may feel disoriented, in shock, or numb. This is not what you imagined for your future. You may think that what you are feeling isn’t normal, but it is. It’s okay to not be okay. Still, there are Important decisions to make and tasks to be done. Where do you start? Heartsight is here to help guide and support you as you move forward with your grief. You are not alone.

Hindsight

What happened to my loved one?

When a cardiac arrest ends in a tragic loss, you may have so many questions and so few answers. The articles below will help with your understanding of what happened to your loved one and what you saw, heard, and experienced. We encourage you to read them in the order provided.

5 Things To Know

1. Cardiac arrest is a life-threatening condition in which the heart suddenly stops beating and pumping blood to the brain and important organs.

2. A very common type of breathing seen in a person after cardiac arrest is agonal breathing, a reflex, that can give the illusion that someone is having real breaths.

3. Paramedics check a person’s responsiveness, breathing, and pulse to determine cardiac arrest and to initiate specific emergency procedures immediately.

4. After initial resuscitation and treatment to stabilize the vitals, paramedics if unable to achieve a heartbeat have to make the hard decision to terminate resuscitation in the field. 

5. As hard as it may be to accept, sometimes everything is done right, and the person still doesn’t survive. Families should ask themselves whether the person needing care got care. If the answer is yes, then everything that needed to be done was done.

Insight

What happens next? How do I handle all the decisions?

You may feel so many emotions and thoughts that are strange and unexpected. Things feel complicated like you have lost a part of yourself. You may experience some of the unspoken rules in society of what families supposedly can or cannot do after the death of their loved one. You may feel uncertain and unprepared to take action and make difficult decisions on things you never anticipated. The articles below provide insights to help.

5 Things To Know

1. Many families and friends feel invisible and isolated in a system that does not recognize their unique needs and challenges.

2. Most families don’t know what to do or where to start after the death of a loved one.

3. Grief is a natural response to a meaningful loss. It is not only a mix of emotions but a powerful whole-body physical response.

4. Most bereaved people are able to gradually regain their footing in life, but some might struggle with intense, debilitating grief for years.

5. Be aware that children feel not heard and are very often forgotten mourners.

Foresight

Where do I go from here?

You still can’t believe this is real. It’s painful to feel like you are leaving your loved one behind, as you start to make sense of the changes going forward. It is important to understand that these feelings are normal, and you are free to feel your feelings. In the articles below, Heartsight members share their personal experiences and how they came to understand grief and lessen their feelings of uncertainty.

5 Thing To Know

1. We all have a unique connection with the loved ones we lost. We need to make every effort to normalize grief!

2. It is important to remember those we have loved and lost. It’s normal to continue to talk and share our tears and laughter with those who know them.

3. Good Grief is how we navigate the toughest and most challenging parts of our lives and do the best we can. Don’t hold the grief in and take your time. 

4. Prolonged grief is a condition where initial intense grief persists for a long time and takes a significant toll on a person’s life.

5. There are effective therapies now, such as Prolonged Grief Treatment, that can be very helpful to a person struggling with prolonged grief.

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