How 'hope for the unknown' is slowly helping a mother patch up a heart torn into pieces

Jasmine Lopez poured her grief and sadness into words and illustrations, and hopes that families like theirs will find hope too. Credit: Jasmine Lopez

SBS Filipino

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Mother of two, Jasmine Lopez, had two unexpected surprises that turned out to be heartbreaking in the end. As a mother, she knew she had to pick up the pieces, she just didn’t know how until her older son gave her an idea and hope.

Key Points

Jasmine Lopez gave birth to her pre-mature son Ezra, he was in hospital for four months but the night before he was due to come home, he suffred a fatal cardiac arrest.
After a family holiday, Jasmine discovered she was preganant with her fourth child, sadly she miscarried weeks later.
Grief has taken a toll on her, and explaining the death to her children was not an easy thing to do because she, too, didn’t have answers.

NOTE: This interview talks about death, grief, and may be distressing for some.

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How 'hope for the unknown' is slowly helping a mother patch up a heart torn into pieces

SBS Filipino

09/05/202519:52

I think the hardest part is having two kids at home and one at the hospital. My heart is torn every time I realise I’m away from my two kids, and every time I go home, I have to leave my baby at the hospital.
Jasmine Lopez, during the four months, her third child, Ezr,a was at the hospital

'Totoo pala yun sa movies yung buong mundo mo magugunaw, thinking about it right now, I can still feel the pain it's still so real.' Jasmine on watching her son Ezra being revived and flat-line Credit: Jasmine Lopez

For the second time I had to explain it and I had no words.
Jamsine, when she had to explain to her two children that she had miscarried.

Each memorable moment or a special day like Mother’s Day and every holiday reminds her of the hole left in her heart, that life will never be the same again.

‘Nobody told me this, when you’re grieving for someone, every happy moment you experience, and even my kids, they would mention Ezra, how he would enjoy this moment too. It’s hard, you are all grieving, and my children want to talk about it, they want to remember him, so that they can feel, they still belong to your family.’

Jasmine hopes that her story can help families experiencing grief and loss find words for the emotions that can never be described. Credit: Jasmine Lopez

Writing and illustrating was therapeutic for Jasmine, having put into words and illustrations feelings of loss and grief helped her find hope. She hopes that her story can help others too that are grieving and looking for answers, she hopes they find hope too.