I lost my son Danny on July 1, 2008, to an overdose of alcohol and prescription drugs. He was 22 years old, a beautiful mountain of a kid with his whole life ahead of him, gone in an instant due to an error in judgment.
In the last two and a half years since that harrowing day in July when his father and I discovered him, I have been on a mission to find Danny through any means available to me. I am currently working on a book to share some of the roads I have explored in my search for Dan, all which have led me to one conclusion: Danny exists!
Minus his physical body, everything that I know to be true about Danny from his inner strength to his humorous personality exists. Although he is no longer here with me in physical reality, he has by no means been erased from the universe. He has made his presence known in so many ways, through so many different means that I would be in denial not to accept the validity of Danny’s continued existence.
While going through some of my recordings and notes from the past 2 and a half years, and I came across a message that came through medium Roland Comtois that I would like to share. Roland, who is both a gifted and compassionate medium, receives messages sometimes months before he actually meets up with the person who the message is for. He jots the messages down on big pieces of lilac construction paper and he is working on a book now about what he calls his “Purple Papers.”
In the fall of 2010, I took a workshop with Roland and we were given the opportunity to ask a question. I asked if Danny had any message for the other parents who had lost children. The following is copied directly from my “Purple Paper.”
“Tell them that our hearts and our love goes on. Tell them to look everywhere, every day, without pain and without sadness. We are all in the most holiest of healing light. Just know we are not gone. Keep telling them I exist.”
I think this is really an important thing to consider. I can live with the idea of being separated from Danny, but the idea that he has been erased from the entire universe is something entirely unacceptable and I believe erroneous! I do understand that many suffer from the delusion that only the physical is real and that their loved ones have been totally annihilated. For those I offer this quote from Albert Einstein: “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.”
To those of you who are open to prayer I offer The Prayer Registry. This free website service is dedicated to all of the families who have lost children, whatever age that child was when they passed. This site registers the anniversary day of our children’s crossing.
To learn more see my website: www.sheriperl.com/the-prayer-registry. To register a child for prayer, email Sheri at theprayerregistry@gmail.com.
Sheri Perl 2011
Tags: signs and connections
Sheri, How beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing. Your contribution in sharing your story helps others and takes a lot of courage. I feel honored to have learned from your heartfelt words. Much love, Lauren
To register your child to receive prayer every year on the anniversary day of his or her passing send the full name and passing date of your child to me at : theprayerregistry@gmail.com and your child will be registered, their name will be published on The Prayer Registry calendar and you will be invited to become a member of The Prayer Team and receive reminders a day before every Prayer Date. Each member prays in their own time and in their own way, but the combined energy is powerful and helps the children. You are all welcome. No matter what religion or background you come from, prayer has meaning.
Hello Sheri,
Your story sharing your thoughts, your beliefs, your continuing journey – have touched my heart right when I needed it. I also realize that a few days ago was the third anniversary of your Danny’s passing. We never forget those dates, but some how get through them.
My son, John, passed away very suddenly on October 4, 2008. He was 28 years old. His story is long and complex, but he died from a very heavy addiction to Vicodin. On the day before he was to be discharged from the hospital, as he was admitted for severe abdominal pain due to pancreatitis, his doctor called me early in the morning to tell me John was just placed in intensive care and put on life support as it appeared he was in liver failure and arrangements were being made to air lift him to U of M Hospital for a transplant. While I was waiting by his door at the hospital while he was being prepped for transport, John went into cardiac arrest. He never came back.
I think what I want to share is that I am having a great deal of trouble moving on. I sometimes believe that John is still here in spirit, and some days I can’t. He was very much a well loved young man (I could go on about that for a long time 🙂 and at his funeral his friends, many who flew in from all over the country, outnumbered family. John was so troubled, very much an ‘at risk’ teen which I tried everything in the world with him regarding counseling and treatment. John was an all-star athlete in baseball; he was a pitcher and won many awards. He was also very gifted intellectually and artistically, and had a sense of humor that seemed never ending. He brought so much joy and happiness into everyone’s lives, but I’m not sure if John ever really knew that.
I am in counseling and I see a psychiatrist as I have had symptoms of PSTD that have taken over my life. It so difficult for me to reconcile the physical loss of John with the spiritual life I know he has. All I know is that I am a new person with a new label, a different identity, and I hurt.
One thing you have brought to light for me is my lack of faith. I do not pray anymore. But I was at one time a person of great faith. You have reminded me of something very important; not only for myself, but also in memory of John. Again, Sheri, thank you for sharing.
With Loving Thoughts,
Debbie
P.S. I am going to register John on the Prayer registry.