Tribe Support

One of the missions we have at the Tribe is making sure others never feel alone. Below we would like to introduce you to some of our Tribe parents and share a little bit of their testimonies with you. We hope that if you find yourself in need of fellowship or direction, you will not hesitate to reach out to one of us. When we ourselves were navigating some seemingly impossible journeys, the wealth of knowledge and support from others who had walked these paths before us was priceless.

“You were called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness” (Ephesians 4:4-6 MSG).

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November 4 ^th, 2020, I delivered my daughter, Stella Sarai, stillborn at 20 weeks and five days. Her life and death have changed me to the core of my being. The trauma of losing her (and the miscarriage I had earlier in the year at just six weeks along) will forever be a part of me. But over time, the grief that boiled up inside of me – the grief that was always trying to choke me out at every turn – well, it spilled out as goodness. That is how I know that God was with me! I know it for certain because I, Desere, am too weak to convert such pain into love; to expose my own heartache and use it for His glory.

Because of the support of the Tribe, I was able to start making “Blessing Boxes” in Stella’s honor. Since 2021, everyone who loses a baby at the same hospital where Stella was born (Cookeville Regional Medical Center) gets to bring home with them a little box of love from the Tribe. And because of the outpouring of support we have received since starting these boxes, we were able to create a second fund in 2022 to send Blessing Boxes to families outside of CRMC as well. Stella’s boxes have now been sent all over TN as well as all over the United States. But the best thing to come from this project has been the friendships of other loss parents, and the inclusion of their angel babies in our mission to spread awareness and support.

As Christians, we are called to “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NKJV). That is no longer just a scripture to me. It’s a living, breathing call to action. It’s a pain in my chest that whispers to me there are others out there hurting like me who need to be loved on, taken care of, and advocated for. Pregnancy loss is so isolating because people don’t know how to talk about the uncomfortable; they don’t want to talk about it. That’s where our brothers and sisters-in-loss come in! Because we do want to share about our babies. We do want to include them in our daily lives. And our loss family not only empathizes with all we went through in loss and grief, but in all we hope for in preserving memories.

At some point, I started feeling like I needed to open myself up and share Stella’s story, as well as my own. I was so nervous and fearful of judgement from others about what I was feeling, but I knew how much hearing from other mommas like me had been mending my heart. So, I took the scary plunge and wrote a few different pieces that I posted on social media as well as on a blog for people like myself who use writing as part of their healing journey. Then, about a year and a half after losing Stella I felt led to give a spoken testimony – something so far out of my comfort zone that I still can’t believe I did it, but Stella has given me a bravery I never knew I was capable of! This time, I wanted to be transparent about the PTSD, anxiety, and fear that had been crippling me post-loss (https://youtu.be/wernN1–VdQ). I truly hope you will not have to wrestle with any of these emotions on your grief path, but if you do, please know that you are not alone in them. And whether or not you want to share your own story publicly, you never have to suffer in silence.

Everyone’s grief and healing journey will be different. Mine is a messy collaboration of tried-and-true personal restoration, advice from seasoned grievers, and peace from the good Lord above. I share with you hoping that maybe something will speak to your hurting heart as well. But the most beneficial thing to me, was the support and prayer of others. This is what held me up when I was unable to do so myself.

Please feel free to reach out to me anytime. My prayers are forever with you.

~Desere

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My name is Brent and I am the Chaplain for the Tribe. My wife and I have three children here on earth and another two who were born into the arms of their Heavenly Father – one who was lost shortly after we found out we were expecting and another who was delivered stillborn during my wife’s fifth month of pregnancy.

We were at the routine anatomy scan when we were told “Stella doesn’t have a heartbeat today”. I was in disbelief. I kept telling the ultrasound tech to check again, all the while saying desperate prayers. And when the only sound that filled the room was sobbing – instead of a little heartbeat, all I felt was pure malice.

Stella was born later that same day. After holding my little girl, I didn’t think I was going to make it out of the hospital. Then, God gave me the vision of our Stella safe in His arms. I am so thankful for my faith in Jesus, and I am so grateful to Him for dying on the cross so that we can live again in Glory. Because of Him, I know I will get to spend Eternity with all of my children.

Seek Him whenever you find yourself facing unbearable pain and you will find peace. Be blessed.

~Brent

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I am a wife, mom of five children, and a special education teacher. Children are my purpose in this world. I know that the Good Lord gave me this blessing and gift to serve Him. With that being said, raising children and educating special needs children in this modern world isn’t for the weak. When you hear the words, “Your daughter has Leukemia,” your knees hit the ground and you find out exactly how strong you are. You realize how much you need God and the support of others to exhibit this strength.

I should start with a little background. My oldest four children are all amazing boys. When we added our fifth and last child to our family, we were blessed with a little girl. Charlee Sue was the perfect addition to our family. When you have four older brothers doting on you, you are indeed a princess.

My children were always healthy, other than typical childhood ailments. During Charlee
Sue’s Kindergarten year, she became sick and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. She had
allergy symptoms, low grade fevers, nausea/vomiting, leg pain, bruises everywhere, and eventually knots in her neck. I took her to the pediatrician three times in two months. The doctor kept blaming it on Covid and being a kid. My mom instinct knew this wasn’t the case and I kept following up. One day, her teacher walked her to my classroom because she was so worried about her. She was so fatigued that she couldn’t even hold her head up off the desk and had intense dark circles under her eyes. I knew we were waiting on bloodwork to come back from the pediatrician that she had drawn the previous day (that I had to push for). When the lymph nodes in her neck started swelling and bruising right in front of me, I decided not to wait on her doctor. I loaded her up and took her to the closest ER. After bloodwork, Charlee was
immediately transported by ambulance to Monroe-Carroll’s Pediatric Hospital at Vanderbilt. My husband, Jeremiah, met us there.

They kept telling us they thought it was a form of Leukemia, but I kept praying for them to be wrong. By 6am on October 21, 2021, after running tests on her all night, our sweet Charlee Sue was diagnosed with B-Cell ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia). Our whole world was turned upside down. I had left the room to call and check on my boys. When I came back in, my husband told me the doctor had come in and confirmed the diagnosis. I went to the bathroom, hit my knees, and had a meltdown crying into a towel so my daughter would not hear me. After a bit, I prayed for strength for my child and strength for us. I knew my feelings and emotions at that moment were insignificant compared to the fight she was about to have to endure. I wiped my tears, sucked it up, and went back into the room with Charlee and my husband while we absorbed the news and listened to the doctors. All I can say, is my husband is a rock and we both needed him. That’s a hard load for him to carry – always having to be the strong one for all of us.

Her blood cells upon being admitted were 86% blasts. This means her blood cells were 86% overtaken with Leukemia cells. Upon further testing, the team was relieved that the cancer had not spread to her spine or brain stem. We had to tell our four boys by video phone afterschool that day that their sister had cancer. To see your children hurting and scared, but not be there to comfort them is another challenge all on its own. We had a great support system with my parents, his parents, and my sister-in-law. They took care of our boys and our entire hometown also supported them. She was given blood and platelets, was put to sleep to have a port put in, endured intense chemo, and took lots of medicine. She spent 18 days in the hospital on this initial admission.

Despite the worries, hardships, and tears, the blessings poured in. By the next day, my Facebook was covered in “Team Charlee” profile pictures for everyone we knew, and even people we didn’t. People sent mail, money, food, gifts, and things we didn’t even know we needed. Money was raised, and our bills were paid. We knew those first couple weeks that we were in for a long gruesome road ahead, but we were not alone. The biggest comfort to me was two cancer parents that I had never met who reached out to me. I relied on them so heavily the first few months. They knew exactly how I felt and gave me hope. They told me what to ask the medical team, what to expect, and what we needed. God knew I needed these parents.

I then did what every mom and teacher does, and educated myself on everything there was to know about B-Cell ALL. My husband provided comfort to us both, but especially Charlee. She has always been a daddy’s girl. Our sweet Charlee Sue has endured many hospital trips, ambulance rides, lots of different kinds of chemo, lumbar punctures, ng tubes, and I could go on and on. She has been in the hospital more than some people will ever experience in a lifetime. I watched my beautiful, blonde curly-haired baby girl lose all her hair, lose weight, and become so sick. She is truly a warrior princess. She endured all these things, but never lost her smile. There were days we had to work extra hard to make sure that smile was still there, but she never lost it. We did everything we could think of to support her. We went bald with her, we played with her, we held her, and we always showed up as a team. She needed us both and we needed each other.

Her total treatment is 2.5 years. She is currently in maintenance and was able to go back to school this year. She still has roadblocks from time to time, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Her fight started on October 21, 2021 and she will take her last dose of chemo in December 2023. Our Charlee Sue is destined for greatness and will influence many people in her lifetime. She already has. She is the toughest person I know. This battle will just be part of her future testimony. If this sweet, innocent little gal can kick Leukemia’s butt like a champ, then any of us can endure anything put in our paths. She always smiles and never complains. She inspires me to be strong every day.

The other parents I have met in this journey are what provided me the most comfort. They give you suggestions, love, emotional support, and hope. I have tried my best to provide this to other parents. Anytime I hear of a new diagnosis of a child with cancer in our area, I reach out. I try to be the support to them that others have been for me. If you need support, I would love to talk with you. Sometimes it helps just knowing someone is going through the same battle as you, and that you are not alone.

~Autumn

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