To You From the Rojas Family
Hello,
We would like to express our deepest sympathy to you. We want you to know that we truly empathize with you in this time of deep sorrow.
Like your family, we too have suffered the loss of a child. On April 26, 2005 our 10-year-old Joshua, was practicing with his Irondequoit travel soccer team when he collapsed on the field and I was unable to resuscitate him. After 18 weeks, the medical examiner finally determined that Joshua was born with Megalencephaly. In simple terms, Joshua’s brain was larger and heavier than the average person’s brain. This congenital defect most likely triggered a seizure that ended Josh’s physical life here with us.
We are not sharing this information with you to further burden you; nor are we attempting to say that we fully understand all that you are going through. We just want you to know that your beloved child and your entire family are in our thoughts and prayers.
When Josh passed away, there were three things that we needed to have validated, but no one seemed comfortable to do so. Here is what we have come to realize over the past 17+ years while on this grief journey honoring Josh. We share these certainties with you.
- Your child is safe.
- He/she knows exactly how much you love them and all is forgiven.
- You will be seeing him/her again someday.
We promise you.
Our foundation was created in memory of Joshua to assist other families who are also struggling to survive this journey of sorrow and devastation. When we lost Joshua, our family struggled to make sense of something that seemed unimaginable. The sudden devastation took our breath away. We went through the motions of the service, burial and visits from family and friends. However, when the quiet returned to the house, we were left craving and searching for professional support and guidance. This search just added to our exhaustion and agony.
On this site you will find various pieces of grief literature from our foundation and from other grief agencies in our area. There is also a list of organizations in the Rochester, Syracuse, and Buffalo areas that offer bereavement support and guidance.
We hope that having this information will, in time, allow your family to take the next steps in this new and agonizing journey. Allow yourselves to grieve for your amazingly precious child. The unconditional love between a parent and child will sustain you until you can someday have the honor of reuniting with your beloved one again.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need anything. However, please don’t feel obligated to do so. Please just know that we are here treasuring our daughter and remembering, missing, and honoring our precious Joshua, and now your beloved child, as well.
Yours in sorrow,
Kristan, Pat, Katrina & Joshua Rojas
