News Article 2

KIHEI
   The holidays are a difficult time for those who have lost a loved one, particularly those who have lost a child. A Maui mother whose 13-year-old son died Jan. 12 and a California mom who lost her 15-year-old boy Feb. 17 are not only comforting and supporting each other in their grief, but are reaching out to other bereaved parents through the Internet. 

   Diane Heyerdahl of Kihei and Cecilia Gabrielli of Davis, Calif., met through a grief support group on the Internet and became fast friends. Cecilia and her family have traveled to Maui to take part in a number of events to celebrate the lives of their sons, Michael James Heyerdahl and Maximilian Alexander Sanchez I, and the lives of departed children all over the world. 

   On Monday, the mothers will be at the summit of Haleakala at sunrise where they will recite the names of 600 children from all 50 states and from many parts of the world, whose parents learned of the commemoration online. 

   At 6 a.m. Tuesday, canoes will depart from the beach across from Suda Store for a sunrise blessing chant by Kahu Rennie Mau of Keolahou Church in Kihei. This will be followed by a small, environmentally safe balloon release at Hookipa Beach Park at 9 a.m. along with similar releases of balloons and butterflies in many parts of the country. Anyone interested in being part of these activities or having a child’s name read at the Haleakala ceremony should e-mail MauiMama@balloonrelease.com or MaxzMom@balloonrelease.com.

   Heyerdahl has also begun the Maui Chapter of the Bereaved Parents of America, which will have its first meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hale Aina Fellowship Hall behind Keolahou Church in Kihei. The purpose of the group is to assist bereaved parents and siblings to overcome the adverse effects of grief that they may experience following the deaths of one or more of their children or siblings. The assistance includes mutual aid, self-help and interaction with others who share this experience. 

   For more information on this group, call Diane Heyerdahl at 891-9064 or 283-2643, or Phyl Redden at 879-4106.

   Friday, the worldwide group, Compassionate Friends, will sponsor the annual Heavenly Angels event, when candles are burned all around the world for each child who has died.

For more information, visit www.groww.org or www.BalloonRelease.com.