FLORISSANT, Mo. — It was a bittersweet reunion for one mom when she picked up her son from the train station on Sunday.
A visit from her son Jeffrey was what Diana Gorham needed on Mother's Day.
"It's eye contact and it's an immediate embrace that a mother and a child share and it just brings smiles to not only our face but to our heart," she said.
Gorham raised two boys, Jeffrey and her son Michael who died ten years ago at 39 after a battle with cancer.
"There's the sweet moment of having my other son present to celebrate the blessings of motherhood but then there's that other side of sorrow," Gorham said.
The mom and wife has since used her grief to give back to others dealing with the loss of a child.
She leads retreats at the Pallottine Retreat & Conference Center in Florissant to be a beacon for bereavement.
"It gives them [participants] the opportunity to share with other mothers that understand. The loss may be different. Many of us lose children to illness, violence, and drug overdoses, but we all know the feeling."
Through those meetings, Gorham shares lessons.
"Not to be afraid to cry. Not to apologize if we cry. To family and friends who may be gathering today. Break the sounds of silence. Say that child's name."
Jeffrey Gorham - Diane's son "It's a time for them to form the bonds so that the social glue in this difficult time in remembering," added Jeffrey Gorham, Diane's son who traveled from Chicago to be with her.
It's an important opportunity to be with family and maintain those relationships.
Gorham keeps her late son close too, by wearing a necklace and bracelet he gifted her.
It [the bracelet] said 'God gave us someone to hold our hand through life and he named her mother.'
Anyone who would like to get involved who needs help coping with the loss of a child, you can contact the Pallottine Retreat & Conference Center in Florissant to connect with Gorham.