Kathryn Hobgood, better known as “Katie,” is a happy, healthy seven-year-old, and former patient of Prisma Health Children’s Hospital–Upstate’s Bryan Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Born five weeks early in 2011, Katie spent two weeks in the NICU before going home. Katie is Brian and Kathy Hobgood’s second of three babies to spend time in the NICU.

Prior to Katie, her late infant sister, Abigail (Abby), spent 127 days in NICU before passing away on August 7, 2009. Born on April 1, 2009, at twenty-four weeks, Abby was also a twin to her stillborn brother, Joshua. Abby and Joshua were the Hobgoods' first-borns and now rest as their perfect angels.

No words can truly express the feelings associated with the loss of a child, but to lose two caused mom, Kathy, to experience, “…panic attacks… then, like a wave, the grief would come,” she says. For at least a year—but what felt like a lifetime—Kathy found herself bound by grief and turmoil due to the loss of their twin babies. Then one day, a glimmer of hope appeared. 

“Even when I knew nothing else for certain, I felt a determination that the tragedy of losing Abby and Joshua could not, under any circumstances, be the central, defining point of the rest of my life,” says Kathy. Soon after this acceptance, the grief and pain she felt slowly lifted, making each day a little more bearable than the days before.

With this newfound freedom, soon came a new bundle of joy for Kathy and Brian: little Katie.

Now, Kathy, Brian, and Katie have annual traditions done in remembrance of Joshua and Abby, such as volunteering at Children’s Hospital helping other families who are waiting for their infants to come home from the NICU. 

“These rituals comfort us and we look forward to them every year,” says Brian.

Bereavement

When a child dies, a family’s world is turned upside down. The pain is intense and each person’s experience of grief is unique. Grief does not follow a map, and individuals may recognize many different feelings: anger, hurt, sad, scared. Children and adults will cope with grief differently, in varied expressions and at different times.

Children’s Hospital Bereavement Services were developed to provide grief support to families who experience the death of a child treated by Children’s Hospital. The program facilitates support groups and provides keepsakes for parents and age-appropriate memory items for siblings along with counseling and support. It also supports the staff that cares for grieving families. 

Support our Bereavement team with a donation!

Among other items, funds raised through this year's Radiothon for Bereavement Services will be used to purchase items to help families create Memory Boxes. The boxes will help families remember and honor the child they lost.

Need another way to give? You can use our text-to-give option!
Simply text HOBGOOD to 41444, then follow the link in the reply to access the donation form.