Healing the Tigress Ep. 45 - What Joey Taught Me: Parenting After Infant Loss with Dr. Jenny Kim, PharmD, BCPPS
*Special Thanks to our sound engineer Dr. Tony Huynh, PharmD for helping us edit this episode and introducing us to Dr. Jenny Kim*
*Trigger Warning: This episode discusses infant loss.*
We had the honor of interviewing our guest today on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day last month (October 15) to hold space for her story and loss. Dr. Jenny Kim, PharmD, BCPPS is a Chinese American board-certified pediatric pharmacy specialist who has worked in the NICU, PICU, and CVICU for almost 10 years in places like Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, Boston Children's Hospital, and UCSF Benioff Children's in Oakland.
On today's episode, Jenny shares with us in poignant detail the tragic accident and story of losing her son Joey Tate Kim right around 7 months old in 2022. We also talk about:
- What it was like being on the patient side of things after having worked in pediatric critical care for so long
- What the stages of grief looked like for her and how they evolved over time
- How Jenny processed Joey's loss with her two older sons
- The complicated emotions and decision around trying to conceive again after losing Joey and being blessed with twin girls
- How Jenny is supporting other parents now on their grief journeys and the customizable children's book she's written to honor angel babies
This episode is deeply raw and vulnerable, and we thank Jenny for bravely sharing her story and feelings to help others feel less alone if they are also going through infant loss or any sort of loss journey. We also love the work she is doing to honor lost babies and creating a beautiful keepsake in remembrance of others' angel babies. Please check out her work if you're looking to support a loss mama and also see ways to connect with Jenny below:
- Instagram:
@whatjoeytaughtme for my grief space
@grieversandfriends for updates on support items for grievers and friends - Book Website: https://www.grieversandfriends.com/
This is a platform to customize children’s grief storybooks to nurture grief conversations through the lens of living with grief while carrying grief forward with memory, care, and love. The first book, Look To The Sky, just launched on Joey’s 3rd Angelversary on July 23rd.
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