A Cariboo area mom whose son died from cancer at the age of five is eager to help others with the grieving process.
Jenn Rempel's son Tristan was originally diagnosed with ependymoma when he was six months old. Tristan received treatment and was eventually declared cancer-free. Eighteen months later in January 2021 they learned the cancer had returned. Ependymoma is a type of tumour that can form in the brain or spinal cord. It can occur at any age, but most often occurs in young children.
After Tristan's death on Jan. 19, 2023, Jenn and her husband Matt Rempel along with their three other children grieved as a family.
They had some successes, which has inspired Jenn to want to help others.
She has enrolled in two grief certificate programs for this fall and this past May was invited to speak to a team at the Child Development Centre in Williams Lake about helping guide children through grief.
鈥淭hrough sharing our story I talked about the six different types of grief that people experience," Rempel said of the presentation to the CDC. 鈥淚 talked about how grief shows up in people's bodies and affects their behaviour and sometimes behaviour can be misunderstood as other things.鈥�
Rempel said she gets excited talking about it, which some people might think is strange,
鈥淚t did bring up things from Tristan and stuff, but overall I want to start a conversation around grief. I want people to get used to talking about it so this was a really good opportunity and something I鈥檓 very passionate about.鈥�
Vanessa Riplinger, executive director of the CDC, said the staff is deeply grateful for the opportunity to have learned from Jenn鈥檚 "powerful and courageous" presence.
"Her ability to share both the professional insight and personal depth of her journey through unimaginable loss helped our team not only grow in skill, but in empathy,鈥� Riplinger said in an emailed statement. 鈥淛enn鈥檚 approach reminded us that the heart of child development work lies in the compassion we bring to it, especially in the face of grief.鈥�
Rempel herself said she benefited from some resources at the CDC, including a course called Body Based Healing that she took after Tristan鈥檚 second diagnosis and a year and a bit before he died.
鈥淭hat really helped re-frame how I approached my big feelings and the scary bits of what I was going through so it wasn鈥檛 as scary," said Rempel.
She described her CDC talk as a kick-starter and said she hopes to put together a course for schools, health care workers and support people to help people.
The timing is right, she added.
鈥淲e are all doing fantastic,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he kids are thriving. Matt and I are doing really well. We are all at peace with what has happened.鈥�
Tristan, she added, is a part of the their lives every day.
鈥淗e鈥檒l never be gone for us.鈥�