Mary Bariola hopes to help parents who have lost their children.By Melissa Meehan
THERE is no death as sad or shocking as the death of a child.
When a child dies, whether by violence, accident, suicide or illness, no parent is ready to accept such a tragedy.
Mary Bariola knows this first hand.
And she hopes to help others who have faced the death of their children by starting a Social Luncheon Group with the Support of Compassionate Friends, a support group for bereaved parents and siblings.
Almost nine years ago Mary lost her 34-year-old son Mark in a car accident that saw him leave behind his wife and unborn child.
Tears still fill Mary’s eyes when she speaks of her lost son, his caring personality and his excitement over the birth of his first child.
Sadly Mark was not able to witness the birth of his daughter Grace Amethyst Rose. She was born four months after the accident.
“I suppose I am luckier than some,” Mary said.
“At least I am lucky enough that Mark left a piece of him behind.”
Mary said that after Mark died she struggled to cope with her grief.
“I needed to get away, I was consumed by grief, so we went down to the beach, it was pouring with rain and we had no where to stay,” Mary said.
“I prayed that we would find somewhere to stay, and we were lucky enough to find a motel with a vacancy.”
Mary said that on arrival she told the man at the reception about her son, because she found it helpful to talk about her pain.
“It is important to know that the way you are feeling is the right way to feel, if you feel like you need to talk about it, talk, if you need to cry, cry,” Mary said.
Not long after Mary said there was a knock at her door.
A man appeared and explained that he had overheard that her son had died, and explained to her that his son had also died nine years previously.
“That’s how I got on to Compassionate Friends,” Mary said.
“He introduced me to them, and it really helped me. I just hope that this group will be able to help others.”
Mary said she attended support groups run by Compassionate Friends soon after Mark passed away, but said that travelling as far as Rowville and Box Hill forced her to not go as frequently as she would have liked.
Mary will hold the Luncheon Group on Thursdays.
For further information contact Mary on 5962 3287 or 0432 283 537 or Compassionate Friends Victoria on 9888 4944.
