PRECIOUS GIRL LEAVES LEGACY
SAGE Beaumont was lovingly tucked into bed, happy and healthy. The adorable toddler with sparkling blue eyes and a captivating smile never woke. She was only 16 months old. That was five years ago. “Time doesn’t heal the pain of my baby’s passing,” Sage’s mother Lee Beaumont said.
“I only got to keep her for 16 incredible months, but I will spend a lifetime missing her deeply.”
What does help the motherof- five is hope that no other family will go through the “isolation” after losing a child.
The Beaumont family, with the help of family friend Cayce Lewis, has raised $ 5000 to help establish a face- to- face support network in Townsville.
Red Nose Grief and Loss, formerly SIDS and Kids, will host the Peer Supporter Training programs in Townsville between July 21 and 23.
The program is b beingi f fundd ed directly from money raised in memory of Sage.
“Sage fitted so much energy into her short life. She will never, ever be forgotten,” Ms Beaumont said. “I could have simply collapsed in a heap after she passed, but I had to be strong for my other children.”
Ms Beaumont said the peer support training was for bereaved parents and would help provide “an ear to listen, share and offer hope”.
“After Sage passed away, the family felt so isolated,” she said. “We wanted to do something to ensure no other family felt the same way as we did.”
Lisa Gelbart, a project offic cer with Red Nose Grief and Loss, said trained supporters had always provided a vital part of the service offered to bereaved families.
“Trained peer/ parent supporters offer a very special and personal service that can only be delivered by those parents and grandparents who have themselves directly experienced or been impacted by the loss of a baby or child during pregnancy, birth, infancy and childhood,” she said.
“The aim of the training program is to give participants sufficient information, skills and confidence to listen, share and offer hope to other bereaved families, based on their own experience.”
Anyone interested in attending can contact Ms Gelbart on 03 9034 1285 or l i sagelbart@ rednose. com. au; or Kate Middleton on 02 8073 1090 or katemiddleton@ red nose. com. au Townsville Families: page 25